Sierra Leone
UN troops in Sierra Leone out of the crisis?

afrol.com, 14 October - After months of insecurity about the future of the UN mission to Sierra Leone, lately the good news are accumulating. For long time, one has sensed a fatigue relating to ill-managed but much needed UN troops. Yesterday, afrol reported that the UN reasserted its commitment to Sierra Leone. Today, the British reassured their commitment by increasing their contribution.

The UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, yesterday welcomed the decision by the British Government to provide more military assistance to the Government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country (UNAMSIL).

The reports of small victories of the UNAMSIL have kept ticking in. Heavy weapon, earlier lost to the RUF terrorists, is being handed over and the "West Side Boys" are disintegrating. Many areas are secured, and in Lungi, UNAMSIL engineers have started blowing up unexploded bombs which lie around the airport to make the area safe. Peace is returning to many parts of the country and refugees are returning.

This should be great successes to show to. However, forceful critics of the UNAMSIL leadership has made it difficult to recruit peacekeepers. Norwegian military, for example, has criticized the UN for not having competent leadership. Now that India is pulling out of the UNAMSIL, the situation seemed to get critical. India's decision has sent the UN scrambling to find replacements as well as additional troops to bring UNAMSIL's troop strength from 12.447 to 20.500. There was talk of a crisis in the context of UN recruitment.

Other countries urged a strengthened commitment from NATO countries to go into Sierra Leone. Jordan even threatened to leave unless another NATO country is brought into UNAMSIL. Thus, the latest positive focus on Sierra Leone has been crucial. 

The Security Council mission travelling in West Africa to promote regional stability seems to have made a difference. On 12 October, Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, who is leading delegation, said they would return to New York with a "renewed, two-fold commitment" to the Sierra Leonean people in rebuilding their future, and to United Nations peacekeeping.

"The Security Council has some important decisions coming up on the future shape, mandate and structure of UNAMSIL, and our determination to make this operation as effective, capable and robust as possible has been reinforced by this visit," Ambassador Greenstock said, noting that the Mission had been through a "traumatic period of pressures and challenges this year."

The delegation, which is expected back in New York on Sunday night, will brief the Security Council on its trip next Monday.

The British renewed commitment, further, has been an important signal that Greenstock's words would not only remain words. As Kofi Annan's spokesman said yesterday, the readiness of a permanent member of the Security Council to deploy, if required, a rapid reaction capability, is "likely to provide additional confidence to the people of Sierra Leone and demonstrate the resolve of the international community."

- In this new context, the Secretariat will continue to seek additional troop contributions for the UNAMSIL so that it can effectively discharge its mandate, according to the spokesman.

The bid of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim to OAU member states to provide troops for the UNAMSIL stands a better chance now that Britain, the former colonial power, has reasserted its responsibilities.

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