By Jessica Cox
The Outgoing French Ambassador to Liberia, H.E. Isabelle Le Guellec, has been honored by the Angie Brooks International Centre for Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security (ABIC) and the Eminent Women of the Women’s Situation Room for her diplomatic service and contribution to strengthening relations between France and Liberia.
Ambassador Le Guellec received the Judge Emma Shannon Walser Medal for Rule of Law, Good Governance and Patriotism during a special luncheon held Thursday, August 20, 2026, at the Boulevard Palace Hotel in Monrovia. The award was presented as the ambassador concludes her tour of duty in Liberia.
France’s official public-service directory currently identifies Isabelle Le Guellec as France’s ambassador to Liberia, while Liberian government institutions have also identified her in that capacity.
The luncheon, hosted by the Eminent Women of the Women’s Situation Room, brought together prominent Liberian women, including former government officials, judges, lawyers, diplomats, educators, civil society leaders and peace builders.
In welcoming participants, Cllr. Dr. Yvette Chesson-Gibson, Executive Director of the Angie Brooks International Centre, Initiator of the Women’s Situation Room and Co-Chair of FemWise-Africa/ECOWAS, described the occasion as an opportunity to recognize Ambassador Le Guellec’s service, friendship and contribution to Liberia. She said diplomacy goes beyond official meetings and agreements, emphasizing that its lasting impact is also reflected in relationships built between people and nations.
According to Chesson-Gibson, the Women’s Situation Room is a women-led mechanism designed to prevent and respond to conflicts before, during, and after elections.
She said the mechanism has been implemented in Liberia, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Ghana, while technical assistance has also been provided for electoral processes in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Malawi.
Chesson-Gibson further explained that the Eminent Women bring experience, credibility, influence and access to the mechanism, enabling them to engage government officials and vulnerable communities when conflicts or other urgent issues arise.
She said the women can use their relationships and direct access to decision-makers to seek rapid solutions to emerging problems. Ambassador’s Contributions Highlighted
During the reflection on Ambassador Le Guellec’s tenure, Hon. Cyvette M. Gibson, CEO of Global Management International and former Mayor of Paynesville City, highlighted a number of initiatives and areas of cooperation involving France and Liberia.
Among those highlighted was the opening of the French Visa Application Center in Monrovia in November 2023, with the service later extended to official passport applications in April 2026. Gibson also referenced France’s engagement on Liberia’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), noting that the issue of ratification was raised with the Liberian government in March 2024 and that the process resumed in June 2024.
She said the French Embassy also developed a guide to Liberia in 2024 to help provide information about the country to French friends and colleagues. Other initiatives cited included scholarship opportunities for Liberian students, support for Liberia’s participation in international summits in France, and efforts surrounding Liberia’s ratification of the BBNJ Agreement, an international treaty concerning biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction.
Gibson also highlighted French-supported initiatives involving school-based drug prevention, rural women’s microcredit schemes, health services, French-language education and cultural activities. She referenced the preparation of a general cooperation agreement signed in Paris in October 2025, as well as President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s official visit to Paris in October 2025, during which engagements were held with French companies and investment groups interested in opportunities in Liberia.
France’s development support in Liberia has included programs in health, education, livelihoods and social protection. For example, Liberia’s Ministry of Health has identified French support for the Better Health Outcomes for Liberia (BEHOL) initiative, while the REALISE project has received significant support from the French Development Agency.
Gibson further cited the launch of the AFD-supported WISE project in December 2025 and the opening of a clinic in rural Montserrado under the BEHOL project in August 2026. She also mentioned support for a mission involving Liberian institutions, the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission, and UN agencies to examine the impact of Burkina Faso migration in southeastern Liberia, with a report published in March 2026.
Other areas she cited included support to the Alliance Française, training of French teachers, the opening of a cultural café in June 2026, support for Liberia’s candidacy to the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), and assistance with an assessment of French teaching and learning in Liberia.
She also said France supported preparations for a planned visit by French companies and business groups interested in investing in Liberia. The French ambassador’s involvement in education and youth development has also been publicly acknowledged by Liberian institutions. In March 2024, First Lady Kartumu Yarta Boakai thanked Ambassador Le Guellec and the French government for support to youth development, including a joint Liberia-France Development Agency scholarship initiative in Côte d’Ivoire.
Women Recall Judge Walser’s Legacy
A major part of the ceremony focused on the life and legacy of Judge Emma Shannon Walser, after whom the medal is named.
Hon. Olubanke King-Akerele, Chair of the Board of the Angie Brooks International Centre, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Executive Director of the Liberian Institute for “Growing” Patriotism, recalled Judge Walser’s stand for due process during the aftermath of Liberia’s 1979 Rice Riots.
King-Akerele recounted how Judge Walser challenged efforts to condemn young people detained in connection with the unrest without what she considered proper legal procedures.
She said Judge Walser’s position eventually led to her removal from the judgeship through legislative action.
King-Akerele also recalled how a group of young Liberian women, including herself, organized a petition against the action and gathered 500 women’s signatures.
She said the women took the petition to the Legislature, accompanied by the press, in an effort to defend Judge Walser’s rights and the principle of due process.
Although the women’s immediate demands were not successful, King-Akerele said the significance of their action was reflected years later in Liberia’s constitutional framework concerning the removal of judges.
Historical accounts confirm that Walser, Liberia’s first female circuit court judge, challenged the government’s handling of people detained following the 1979 disturbances and was subsequently removed from the bench by a joint legislative resolution.
King-Akerele also quoted former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who described Judge Walser as unique in Liberia’s judicial history for standing firmly for the respect of individual and collective human rights.
The Judge Emma Shannon Walser Medal has been used by Liberian organizations to recognize individuals for contributions to the rule of law, good governance, patriotism, peacebuilding, and nation-building
Medal Presented to Ambassador
The citation for Ambassador Le Guellec’s award was read by Cllr. Felicia V. Coleman, Vice Chair of the Law Reform Commission and former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia.
The citation said the medal was presented to Ambassador Le Guellec in recognition of her “distinguished diplomatic service and exceptional contribution to strengthening friendship, cooperation and partnership between France and Liberia.”
The citation was dated August 20, 2026, in Monrovia, Liberia, and signed by Hon. Olubanke King-Akerele, Chair of the Board of the Angie Brooks International Centre, and Cllr. Dr. Yvette Chesson-Gibson, Executive Director of the Centre. Following the reading of the citation, King Akerele presented the medal to Ambassador Le Guellec.
Women’s Leadership and Peace
The program also included a toast to friendship, women’s leadership and peace by Hon. Clara Doe Mvogo, former Mayor of Monrovia and National Technical Coordinator of the West Africa Quality Program for ECOWAS and UEMOA.
The vote of thanks was delivered by Cllr. Frances Johnson-Allison, CEO, Johnson Allison and Associates Inc., former Chief Justice of Liberia, former Chair of the National Elections Commission and former Minister of Justice.
The ceremony concluded with an official photograph involving the guest of honor, the medal presenter and Eminent Women of the Women’s Situation Room.
The event also reaffirmed the broader role of the Women’s Situation Room in supporting women’s participation in peacebuilding, democracy and conflict prevention across Africa. A message displayed in the program was emphasized by Former Foreign Minister Olubanke King, who attributed it to former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, in his capacity as Chairperson of the Commonwealth Observer Group at Uganda’s 2016 elections, who commended the Women’s Situation Room as a mechanism for monitoring potential hotspots, violence, harassment and intimidation.
At the program, Akerele also referenced former UN Security Council President Mogens Lykketoft, who emphasized the role of women and civil society organizations in preventing and mitigating armed conflict and welcomed women-led prevention initiatives such as Women’s Situation Rooms across Africa.
The luncheon ended with appreciation for Ambassador Le Guellec’s service and a recognition of the continuing role of women-led institutions in promoting peace, rule of law, democracy and national development in Liberia and across the continent.
