Government has asked all of its diplomats accredited to various countries and organizations across the world, including, but not limited to, multilateral and bilateral bodies, to return home.
This notice gets in full swing as of Tuesday, August 1 and affects all Foreign Service officials accredited to multilateral and bilateral missions either as diplomat or ambassador of Liberia to other countries for over 5 years.
Foreign Minister, Dee Maxwell Saah Kemayah, told the media briefing yesterday, at the Information Ministry in Monrovia, that this is a normal practice globally; therefore it should not be misconstrued by the public as a “witch-hunt” of any Foreign Service official.
He said the tenure of a diplomat is normally 3 years and not more than that, which has been on the book of the Foreign Ministry, but regrettably, some of these regulations have not been followed since the 1960s until now.
Kemayah then cited the example of the United States outgoing ambassador to Liberia, Michael McCarthy and his Deputy Chief of Mission, likewise the Head of the European Union Delegation to Liberia, Laurent Delahousse; and the Ghanaian Ambassador, amongst others, who served their countries as diplomats in Liberia for three years and were recalled.
He stated that these diplomats left following three years of service here for their countries, therefore, Liberia must begin to go by the book, because the Foreign Service job is not perpetual.
Kemayah said communication to that effect has been mailed to all of the country’s diplomatic missions around the world already he, however, did not state what would become of a diplomat, or what measures would be taken against those who refuses to return as per the mandate.
Liberia is believed to have 34 representatives abroad and they include these consulates in Australia, Cyprus, Austria, Brazil, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Jamaica, Norway, Sweden, and Argentina.
Embassies are in Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Cameroun, Israel, Republic of Congo, United States, China, Japan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
Multilateral organizations include the African Union, European Union, United Nations Geneva (Permanent Mission to the United Nations and international organizations) New York (Permanent Mission to the United Nations), United Nations for Education, Scientific and Cultural Organizations Paris (Permanent Mission to UNESCO).
Others are the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and that of the Mano River Union (MRU) amongst others which are believed to have been fully staffed for decades.
