Sierra Leone
"Situation volatile and unpredictable," UN report says

afrol.com, 5 August - The UN Secretary General yesterday presented a report about the situation in Sierra Leone to the Security Council, stating that the situation was "volatile and unpredictable." As a response, the Security Council decided to strengthen the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).

According to the Secretary-General, the situation in Sierra Leone during the reporting period was tense and volatile, under conditions that resembled civil war. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) continued to attack United Nations peacekeepers and pro-Government forces and, until recently, to detain and surround United Nations personnel. The programme for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration came to a standstill as various pro-Government groups re-armed and formed an alliance to fight the RUF. 

Addressing civil affairs, the Secretary-General states that due to the resumption of hostilities early in May, no further progress has been made in the Government's efforts to restore civil authority throughout the country. Civil authorities in the Government-controlled Southern Province and in parts of the Eastern Province continued to operate without disruption, but under serious resource constraints. UNAMSIL redeployed a civil affairs coordinator to Kenema on 24 May and intends to redeploy one to Bo soon. In the Western Area, civil affairs coordinators have continued to work in both urban and rural districts. 

The Secretary-General goes on to say that in a letter dated 12 June, President Kabbah requested the United Nations to help establish a special court to try Foday Sankoh and other senior members of RUF for crimes against Sierra Leoneans and for taking the Organization's peacekeepers as hostages. The subject- matter jurisdiction of the court should include international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law, consistent with the reservation entered by the United Nations at the signature of the Lomé Agreement. At the same time, crimes under national law would not be excluded. 

Turning to regional efforts, the report states that members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have been actively seeking a solution to the crisis. The ECOWAS Committee of Six on Sierra Leone, whose task was to facilitate a cessation of hostilities, visited Sierra Leone from 13 to 20 June, and paid a one-day visit to Liberia to meet with the President, Charles Taylor, on 19 June. Regrettably, the Committee was unable to secure any firm commitments. The ongoing hostilities have aggravated tensions between Sierra Leone and Liberia, which could undermine the efforts of the Mano River Union to build confidence between Sierra Leone and its neighbours. The Liberian Government has made allegations about Sierra Leone's support for Liberian dissidents and accused Guinea of providing support for the recent incursion by dissidents into northern Liberia. 

Addressing the security situation, the Secretary-General says that during the review period, the general security situation was volatile and unpredictable due to continuing RUF attacks on UNAMSIL and on an alliance of pro-Government forces. This alliance consists of the Sierra Leone Army, the Civil Defence Force and some of the forces loyal to the former Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. The Freetown and Lungi peninsulas remained relatively stable due to the deployment of UNAMSIL, pro-Government forces, and the troops deployed by the United Kingdom at Lungi. The RUF attacks on UNAMSIL and on the pro-Government forces have been carried out mostly in the Northern Province since its advance on Freetown was halted in May. 

The report goes on to say that since intensive diplomatic and political efforts to seek a solution by peaceful means were unsuccessful, UNAMSIL decided to launch a robust military operation to ensure the security of United Nations personnel and to restore their freedom of movement. The operation was carefully planned in advance by the Force Commander of UNAMSIL, Major General Vijay Kumar Jetley, and the UNAMSIL military staff, in close consultation with his Special Representative. The operation itself was conducted by elements from four contingents. The majority of troops engaged in the operation were from the Indian contingent, while vital support was provided by units from Ghana and Nigeria. The United Kingdom provided important logistical support. 

Providing an update on the deployment of the Mission, the Secretary-General states that since his last report, new troops from Bangladesh, India and Jordan have arrived in the Mission area, bringing the troop strength of UNAMSIL as of 22 July to 12,248. With the expected arrival of a Russian military aviation unit, the military strength of UNAMSIL would approach the ceiling set under Security Council resolution.

According to the Secretary-General the disarmament and demobilization process remained at a standstill. There is general consensus among the Government and its international partners, including the United Nations, that the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme will require a comprehensive review. 

The report states that persistent fighting in many areas of the country continued to have a direct effect on the civilian population and resulted in human rights violations by all fighting groups. Based on testimonies from newly arrived internally displaced persons at Mile 91 and in Port Loko, UNAMSIL has documented several cases of summary executions and some new amputations and mutilations of civilians by the RUF. Eyewitnesses also report that there have been civilian casualties in attacks by the Government-operated helicopter gunship. 

On the issue of child protection, the Secretary-General states that the RUF and pro-Government forces continue to use children as combat soldiers. The RUF has engaged in fresh recruitment of children. At Makeni, both children and adults were put under pressure by RUF fighters to join them. RUF troops are reported to have killed two boys and a young man on 31 May at Maforay village near Port Loko, after they refused to join their fighting forces. Government-allied forces are also reported to be using child soldiers in combat. On 12 June, in a demobilization of alleged child soldiers in Government-allied forces at Masiaka, only 13 children out of 135 handed over were serving as combatants (nine were with the Civil Defence Force and four with Armed Forces Revolutionary Council). The Secretary-General urges all fighting forces to immediately release all child combatants among their forces and to cease the recruitment of children as combatants. 

Addressing humanitarian aspects of the situation, the Secretary-General says that following the resumption of hostilities in Sierra Leone, more than 150,000 new internally displaced persons have been registered by aid agencies, bringing the total number to about 310,000. An additional 100,000 new internally displaced persons are estimated to be residing within host communities, while more than 1.5 million war-affected individuals, 1 million of whom are in inaccessible areas under RUF control, are also in need of assistance. Some 5,000 Sierra Leoneans were reported to have fled into Guinea, joining about 450,000 Sierra Leonean refugees already in that country. 

The Secretary-General states that given the deteriorating humanitarian situation, resources are needed to provide immediate life-saving support first to some 200,000 of the most vulnerable Sierra Leoneans displaced by the current crisis. Serious shortfalls in shelter materials, in particular in plastic sheeting and non-food items, remain a critical concern as the rainy season advances. 

The report then goes on to review efforts to enhance the effectiveness of the Mission. The Secretary-General states that following the events that occurred early in May, he sent a high-level multi-disciplinary assessment team to Sierra Leone to review the operations of UNAMSIL and to report on measures that could be taken to make the operation more effective. The team found a serious lack of cohesion within the Mission as well as a number of other shortcomings. In particular, the team found that there was no commonly shared understanding of the mandate and rules of engagement, as well as other problems in command and control. An important cause of those shortcomings was the fast growth of the Mission, from a small team of military observers to a large multi-disciplinary peacekeeping operation with complex organizational and logistical requirements. 

The report goes on to say that additional contingent equipment, including vehicles, has arrived in Freetown in recent weeks. Those contingents, which had lost equipment in confrontations with the RUF, have now replaced all but their heavy equipment. Those efforts, however, need to be supplemented by outside assistance. The Secretary-General therefore calls upon all Member States to help all contributors to meet United Nations standards of equipment. The Secretariat also continued to seek contributions by Member States of specialized military units, such as logistical and signal units. However, until very recently, no Member States had come forward to make such units available. 

The Secretary-General notes that despite some improvements, the situation in Sierra Leone has remained dangerous and volatile. UNAMSIL, after the setbacks suffered early in May, has demonstrated its capacity assertively, especially since the successful operation conducted recently to rescue the military observers and troops surrounded by the RUF at Kailahun. The threat posed by the RUF remains a matter of grave concern. So far, it has shown no credible sign that it would be ready to resume the peace process and it has continued to attack UNAMSIL and pro- Government forces. The preferred collective approach should be to concentrate efforts for a political solution based on a robust and credible international military presence. It is evident , says the Secretary-General, that the Mission's presence remains indispensable for that purpose, and he therefore recommends that the mandate of UNAMSIL, which expires on 7 August, be extended for another six months. 

The Secretary-General states that in his previous report, he had made initial recommendations on the expansion of UNAMSIL. However, he is reviewing the requirements of the Mission in the light of changing conditions on the ground and the possible adjustments in its mandate, which the Security Council has been considering. He is convinced that it will be necessary to further strengthen UNAMSIL to enable it to fulfil new tasks in Sierra Leone. He therefore intends to submit proposals to the Security Council in the near future, after a thorough assessment of the political and military situation in the country. 

The report goes on to state that as efforts focus on promoting the peace process in Sierra Leone, there is a need to remain mindful of the tensions which continue to mount along the borders of the three Mano River Union countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. If unchecked, those tensions could contribute to the further destabilization of Liberia and result in instability in Guinea, which remains host to over 500,000 refugees from neighbouring countries. 

Furthermore, the civilian population continues to suffer as a result of the ongoing fighting in many parts of the country. The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about reports of continuing abductions, rape and sexual abuse, destruction and looting of civilian property, and forced recruitment of children. He is also concerned that the current hostilities have had a dramatic impact on food security and caused dozens of civilian casualties, as well as the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians, increasing their vulnerability to malnutrition, disease and other hardships. 

The Secretary-General welcomes the adoption on 5 July by the Security Council of resolution 1306 (2000), prohibiting the worldwide importation of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone, except those with a certificate of origin issued by the Government of Sierra Leone, and strengthening the implementation of the embargo against the supply of arms and related matériel to non-government forces. He expects to announce shortly the appointment of members of the five-person panel established under resolution 1306 (2000) which will collect information on possible violations of the arms embargo and the link between the trade in diamonds and arms. 

The Secretary-General says that it is with deep regret that he reports to the Council that nine peacekeepers, seven from Nigeria, one from India and one from Jordan, have been killed during the present crisis. He offers his condolences to the families and Governments of those peacekeepers, who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of peace. In addition, eight soldiers are still missing. 

Source: UN

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