New ERSG visits Sierra Leone’s Permanent Mission to the UN
The new Executive Representative of the United Nations Secretary General to Sierra Leone, Mr. Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen, last week paid a courtesy call on the Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the UN, Ambassador Shekou M. Touray, at the Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone in New York. The ERSG was accompanied by the Senior Political Affairs Officer of the UN Department of Political Affairs, and Team Leader for West Africa, Ms. Cherrie-Ann Vincent. (Photo: Ambassdor Touray emphasizes a point to the new ERSG)
The ERSG and Ambassador Touray discussed matters of interest to Sierra Leone and the ERSG’s assignment to the country .
Mr. Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen, who is a citizen of Denmark, expressed delight about his appointment and said he was eager to go and start his work. He told Ambassador Touray that he was at the Mission to introduce himself and stated that he wanted to be on the ground so that he would have a sense of direction before the UN Security Council delegation, about to start a mini-West Africa tour, arrives in Freetown on May 22.
In welcoming the new ERSG, Ambassador Touray thanked Mr. Toyberg-Frandzen for his gesture and described him as a man of experience, emphasizing that “We will learn from you. ” He told the ERSG that the government of Sierra Leone was waiting to receive him on the ground and that ”We are waiting to drink from your well of experience”. He described Sierra Leone as an open-minded, hospitable and very friendly country, very much in love with strangers, and that Mr. Toyberg-Frandzen will enjoy his stay in the country.
On the present political situation in Sierra Leone, Ambassador Touray informed the ERSG that the Government has set structures in place , like the biometric system of registration and voting, to ensure free, fair, credible and peaceful elections. Both diplomats agreed that where there are elections, tensions are bound to exist, and according to Ambassador Touray, ” That is where the ERSG has to draw a clear line of impartiality and neutrality. ” Ambassador Touray assured him that unlike other countries, Sierra Leone is free from religious tensions and conflicts.
The new ERSG brings to his new job over 30 years of experience in development and humanitarian issues gained from serving in post-conflict settings, notable in Bhutan and Bosnia and Herzegovina .He has also served in Yemen, Iraq and Palestine.
He was supposed to have left for Sierra Leone on May 14.
Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu, Minister Plenipotentiary, Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone to the UN, USA
