Monrovia – Just weeks before the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Liberian President George Manneh Weah has recalled the country’s representative to the world body. Ambassador Lewis Brown was notified of his recall in a letter dated Monday, August 20, 2018.
Report by Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
The letter in possession of FrontPageAfrica signed by Foreign Minister Gbehzongar M. Findley reads:
“Mr. Ambassador, I present my compliments and have been directed by the President of Liberia, H.E. George Manneh Weah, to have you recalled from post with immediate effect. You are directed to provide the names of your family members for the purpose of providing air tickets and shipment of your personal effects and to officially take leave of Secretary General of the United Nations immediately. You will also be contacted by the office of the Deputy Minister for Administration with respect to your return to Liberia. I take this opportunity to thank you for your invaluable services to Liberia as well as your laudable representation of the country to the United Nations.”
Mr. Brown acknowledged the minister’s letter and in a communication dated Tuesday, August 21, 2018 obtained by FrontPageAfrica, the ambassador thanked the government for giving him a chance to serve for the past seven months.
Said Ambassador Brown: “Minister, I present compliments, and acknowledge receipt of yours, date August 20, instructing my immediate recall, as directed by His Excellency, the President. I thank you for the kind acknowledgement of our service, and for the support we received. Please convey my gratitude to the President for the opportunity to have served our country at the United Nations for the better part of seven months including the new administration, as well as my continued best wishes for a successful stewardship of the Liberian government. As instructed, I look to interact as quickly as possible with the office of the Deputy Minister for Administration, to facilitate and ensure my immediate repatriation.”
The 73rd session of the UNGA will open on 18 September 2018. The first day of the high-level General Debate will be Tuesday, 25 September 2018, and is scheduled to last for nine working days. Liberian President Weah who is expected to attend is due to speak on the morning of September 26.
María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President-elect of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), announced in July 2018 that the theme of the general debate will be, ‘Making the United Nations Relevant to All People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies.’
Ambassador Brown is a former Minister for Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism. He was appointed by former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as Liberia’s permanent Ambassador at The United Nations and Liberia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Republic of Cuba in 2016. He’s also the chairman of all ECOWAS’s Ambassadors at UN. Amb. Brown also served as National Security Advisor to former Charles Taylor and also Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company during the Taylor era.
Ambassador Brown has won praise in recent months for his representation at the UN. He was recently elected as Chair of the Fourth Committee of the 73rd Session of the UNGA.
This committee reviews a broad spectrum of issues, some of which include decolonization, peaceful uses of outer space, relief for Palestinian refugees, atomic radiation, assistance in mine action, peacekeeping operations and special political missions. The Fourth Committee is one of six major committees of the United Nations General Assembly. It was initially referred to as the Special Political and Decolonization Committee.
Brown’s election follows the huge endorsement of the African Group of Ambassadors to the United Nations in January; an endorsement that Ambassador Brown described as a testament of “Liberia’s growing ability to meaningfully contribute to the ongoing search for and maintenance of international peace and security, as well as improvements in the lives of all peoples, after years of conflict and instability.”
During a recent visit to Liberia, Madam Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations hailed Brown’s representation as one of the few quality performers amongst African countries at the UN.
A Foreign Ministry source told FrontPageAfrica Wednesday, they were unsure why the minister is being recalled at this time, especially so close to the UNGA. “Ambassador Brown did nothing wrong that I know of. From all the report we have been getting, he has been overperforming,” said the source speaking on condition of anonymity Wednesday.
The Executive Mansion in a statement Wednesday announced Mr. Dee Maxwell Kemayah, Sr. as Brown’s replacement.