UN Secretary-General says violations continue

Human rights abuses and other violations are continuing in Sierra Leone despite progress in implementing a peace agreement the government and Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels signed in July in Lome, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Tuesday. Annan noted in a report that progress had been made in the implementation of the Lome Agreement but that serious human rights abuses, ceasefire violations, extensive troop and weapons movement and the targeting of humanitarian personnel gave cause for "very serious concern". "The continued violence against the people of Sierra Leone and international personnel is unacceptable and perpetrators should expect to be held accountable for their actions," Annan added in his first report to the Security Council on the new UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). Arbitrary clearance procedures and threats are also obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance and this should stop, he added. International rights organisations recently reported that human rights abuses against civilians have been escalating over the last three months, particularly in the Northern Province. The UN report also noted the need to strengthen and speed up the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants as fewer than 10 percent of the estimated 45,000 fighters have registered in weapon-collection camps.