Liberia Turns to Rwanda for Peace Museum Model

By Lewis S. Teh

MONROVIA, August 31, 2026 — Liberia is studying Rwanda’s approach to preserving the memory of its violent past as the Boakai administration moves toward establishing a national Peace, Reconciliation and Memorial Museum to document the country’s civil wars and promote reconciliation.

A high-level Liberian government delegation has concluded a study mission to Rwanda, where officials examined institutions and programs established to preserve historical records, promote peace education and advance reconciliation following the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

The delegation was led by Minister of State without Portfolio Hadja Mamaka Bility, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

According to the government, lessons from the mission will help shape the proposed Liberia Peace, Reconciliation and Memorial Museum.

Bility said the initiative forms part of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s broader reconciliation agenda and is intended to move the country beyond discussions about its violent past toward establishing permanent institutions capable of preserving its history.

“This study tour is part of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s vision for national reconciliation, with the support of UNDP,” Bility said.

“We want to move Liberia beyond simply talking about reconciliation to building strong institutions that can preserve our experiences, tell our story, and pass the lessons of our past on to future generations,” she added.

The initiative follows President Boakai’s July 2025 public apology on behalf of the Liberian state to victims and families affected by the country’s civil conflicts.

Liberia endured two civil wars between 1989 and 2003 that killed thousands of people, displaced hundreds of thousands and left lasting social and political wounds.

Government officials say the proposed museum is intended to ensure that the country’s conflict history is preserved for future generations and protected against distortion or loss.

The planned institution is expected to go beyond the traditional function of a museum by serving as a center for historical documentation, research, peace education, reconciliation and public engagement.

Photographs, official records, personal testimonies and other materials relating to Liberia’s civil conflicts remain scattered among government institutions, private collections and archives outside the country.

The proposed museum could provide a centralized institution for collecting, documenting and preserving those materials.

During the study mission, the Liberian delegation examined how Rwanda has incorporated historical memory, reconciliation, citizenship education and community-based initiatives into its post-conflict recovery.

The delegation visited the Gacaca archives and its digitization program, Rwanda’s National Archives, the Campaign Against Genocide Museum, the University of Rwanda’s Centre for Conflict Management, the Rwanda Peace Academy and the Mutobo Demobilisation and Reintegration Centre.

Officials said the visits provided the delegation with insights into methods used to collect, authenticate, digitize and preserve photographs, films, documents, testimonies and other historical materials.

The delegation also studied how memorial institutions can be linked with education, research and community participation rather than functioning simply as repositories for historical artifacts.

According to officials, those lessons could prove important as Liberia determines the structure, mandate and operations of its proposed museum.

Bility said findings from the Rwanda mission will be incorporated into the design and institutional framework of the Liberia Peace, Reconciliation and Memorial Museum.

The government and UNDP expect the institution, once established, to document Liberia’s conflict experience and help transmit lessons from the country’s past to younger generations who did not experience the civil wars.

The proposed museum is also expected to support broader national efforts aimed at reconciliation, peacebuilding and preserving the historical record of Liberia’s years of conflict.