Security Council praises disarmament, urges follow-up

Members of the UN Security Council welcomed on Thursday the recent progress in the disarmament process and UNAMSIL deployment in Sierra Leone but noted that progress in other areas was needed before elections can take place, Council President Alfonso Valdivieso said.

These measures, he said, should include “the deployment of a robust police presence” extended throughout the country. Members also said the government and partners needed to develop a fully working strategy to hold the elections and should produce an outline of plans by the UN Mission in Sierra Leone to support the process.

Noting the moratorium on diamond mining recently announced by the authorities and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), the Council said the government ought to produce a long-term strategy for managing the diamond districts.

Meanwhile, representatives from the government of Sierra Leone, UNAMSIL and the RUF met in the eastern town of Kenema on Friday to review the implementation of the general disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme and the overall peace process. They will also suggest ways hasten the process and are likely to discuss the deployment of the Sierra Leonean police to Makeni which has been delayed by RUF. Since the current disarmament process started on 18 May, at least 1,300 fighters have been disarmed. The RUF has released at least 1,100 children, the UN reported.