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United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata appealed on Monday for aid to Sierra Leone and other governments in West Africa so they could implement the Lome agreement that ended a civil war in the country.
In her appeal, made in a briefing to the UN Security Council, she said aid for the return and reintegration of refugees and internally displaced people, to their areas of origin, was of "paramount importance".
She said that the Sierra Leonean conflict had created deep divisions and mistrust and that the longer people stayed away from their communities, the more difficult reconciliation would become.
Also she made a special appeal for help for people who have lost limbs, citing her recent visit to a rehabilitation centre as "one of the most shocking experiences of my eight years as High Commissioner".
In her briefing, she said, "the end of the civil war in Sierra Leone may bring about a positive solution to the worst current refugee problem in Africa" but the road to peace would be long and difficult.
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