Monrovia – The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Madam Sara Beysolow Nyanti, has disclosed that the directive requesting the suspension of Liberian Diplomatic, Official, and Service passports issued under the July 2023 Revised Passport Regulations is not political; rather, it is a plan to ensure that the Liberian passport is respected around the globe.
“We don’t want people who are not citizens to get our ordinary passports, and we don’t want people who are not privileged to get our privileged passports. So, it requires all Liberians to join hands to ensure that we protect our identity and be proud of the fact that we Liberians have our Liberian passports,” Madam Nyanti said at the Ministry of Information Special Press Briefing on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
On March 18, 2024, Foreign Minister Nyanti emphasized that the Liberian government’s action to suspend Liberian Diplomatic, Official, and Service passports was a national security concern, something she says cannot be postponed or delayed.
“Due to national security concerns, the Government of Liberia through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs hereby suspends with immediate effect the July 2023 Revised Passport Regulations and reinstates the March 2016 Passport Regulations,” stated Madam Nyanti.
She further announced, “All those bearing Diplomatic, Official, and Service passports with a validity period exceeding two years are hereby requested to return them to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs commencing Tuesday, March 19, 2024, with the end date of this exercise being April 18, 2024.”
It is exactly three weeks into the process. However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs told journalists that the process will include every passport issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“This process is not a political process. It is a process to ensure that Liberians are respected. They started with the privileged passports, but this exercise is for all passports,” Madam Nyanti said.
She added: “It is about Liberians holding Liberian passports, it is about the right people holding our passports, and the people who have a nefarious attitude and behavior not using our passports and using Liberian identity to carry out their crimes. It is about us Liberians being proud, ensuring that we have a system where only those who are entitled to our passports use them. We do not want our passports to get into the hands of drug dealers and so on.”
The Liberian Foreign Minister also praised her team at the ministry for what she termed excellent work. According to Madam Nyanti, people who are returning their passports are not experiencing any form of leakage of information by the Foreign Ministry team.
“This team has achieved 61 percent results in terms of passports handed in. As of April 5th, 2024, they received 115 diplomats, 9 official, and 76 service passports, and they have been able to ensure that those who were to have received them in a timely fashion,” Minister Nyanti said.
