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Civilians must not be forgotten

    ABIDJAN

    The international organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, Bernard Miyet, to strengthen the resolve and capacity of his troops to “fully protect civilians in Sierra Leone”.

    “Miyet is concerned about the safety of the peacekeepers, but the peacekeepers must be concerned about the safety of the people of Sierra Leone,” Peter Takirambudde, executive director of the Africa Division of HRW said on Tuesday.

    He added that he supported the statement of the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on sending a rapid reaction force to Sierra Leone but stressed that any such force should have the protection of local civilians at the heart of its mission.

    “The people of Sierra Leone must not be abandoned,” he said. “The UN should respond rapidly to their crisis, as well as its own.”

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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