Editorial: Foreign Minister Kemayah owes Liberians explanations

Exactly what occurred at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 12^th December 2023 that led President George Manneh Weah to reverse Liberia’s previous vote against humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, with a stern condemnation still remains a serious public concern that needs to be addressed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dee-Maxwell Saa Kemayah.

Minister Kemayah and Liberia’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Sarah Safyn Fyneah, were clearly not in one accord or so it appears, in reaching a decision on how Liberia should vote in this crucial matter thus, leaving the country to flip-flop, which has sent a bad diplomatic signal, demanding more explanations.

In rescinding the previous vote, President Weah was enraged, and described the

Liberian official that voted against war at the General Assembly as wicked, because the President said he or she acted unilaterally, further swearing that God will not spear that person’s life.

“They voted wrongly and we will fix it. Our vote will be with the other countries that voted diplomacy and not war. Maybe, he was doing it to tarnish my character and government because we are leaving power. But I want to tell him or her that they are wasting time”, President Weah reacted. 

The President’s intervention would have been accepted as normal because he is the chief architect of Liberia’s foreign policy and has exclusive right in determining which diplomatic path the country should take. But  Permanent Representative Ambassador Sarah Safyn Fyneah’s letter from New York to Minister Kemayah, revealing lack of communication from Monrovia and underscoring a need for thorough review and clarification on how the vote went or should have gone, draws public concern with unanswered questions that should need to be addressed.

No one but Minister Kemayah, who is Dean of the Cabinet is in the right position to set the record straight, as direct emissary of the President on foreign matters. He should do so as soon as possible, not only to redeem the image of the Mission in New York but the government and the country as a whole.

This is important particularly when President Weah says he is innocent of the earlier decision to vote against humanitarian ceasefire along with 10 countries, including the United States because his government had earlier decided in consultation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dee-Maxwell Kemayah to vote peace over war, noting that the person who voted in favor of continuous conflict, acted unilaterally based on personal interests. 

Mr. Weah explains that when the war started initially, he wrote a letter on November 4, 2023, to the Israeli Embassy, appealing to President Benjamin Netanyahu to consider diplomatic approach in restoring peace because, peaceful lives are being lost in Gaza, especially children, hence the need for a humanitarian truce.

But in her letter to Monrovia, Ambassador Fyneah clearly highlights that on December 8th, she instructed the Deputy Permanent Representative at the Mission to seek Minister Kemayah’s guidance to co-sponsor the draft resolution A/ES-10/L.27, but received no response, adding that on 12^th December 2023, she again communicated with the Minister and the Acting Foreign Minister, to confirm their directive on the vote on the resolution and, based on their affirmative response, she eventually instructed a staffer to implement the directive or to vote no.

Consequently, the onus is on Kemayah to say whether he did convey President Weah’s mandate to the Ambassador at the United Nations, as was instructed,  which way Liberia should have voted, and whether or not, he approved the no vote taken earlier against UN resolution A/ES-10/L.27 that has ignited the hullabaloo.