Most chiefdoms now safe for resettlement

Most of the 150 chiefdoms in Sierra Leone have now been declared safe for resettlement by internally displaced persons (IDPs) with the exception of 11 in the former rebel-held eastern district of Kailahun, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), reported on Tuesday.

The announcements, by a joint UN-Government committee, have been made as peace gradually returned to Sierra Leone after 10 years of fighting between the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the government. The war was officially declared over in early January. The deployment of UN peacekeepers, national and civil authority across the country and the approach of the planting season have encouraged many IDPs to return home voluntarily and independently, OCHA said.

The government, in collaboration with UN agencies, donors and NGOs, is implementing a 'Resettlement Strategy' which aims to "support the resettlement and reintegration of internally displaced, refugees and ex-combatants with their dependents back into their communities," OCHA reported.

As part of this strategy, IDPs and former refugees who have returned to Sierra Leone, are offered resettlement packages including a two-month food ration, household utensils and plastic sheeting, OCHA reported. The strategy also offers support to community based rehabilitation programmes which were destroyed during the war. Priority areas include agriculture, health, water, sanitation and education.

"Efforts are being made to ensure that limited resources are strategically targeted to address community needs before the rains," OCHA said. The UN agency called for continued support by the international community to help restore basic community services and encourage economic recovery to prevent any possible disruptions to the peace process.

Since the resettlement process began in 2001, over 65,000 IDPs and returnees have resettled in two phases between May 2001 and February 2002 mainly in the Western Area, Southern Province and the northwestern districts of Port Loko and Kambia, according to OCHA. In the third phase which began in March, some 155,000 IDPs registered for resettlement in the Northern Province and the eastern districts of Kono, Kailahun and Kenema, according to OCHA.

Meanwhile, to encourage participation in 14 May general elections, the National Electoral Commission has allowed people who registered in their area of displacement to transfer their voter registration to their home area. The closing date for voter transfer is 30 April, after which no facilitated movements will take place until after elections have taken place, OCHA said.

Since 2000, a total of 163,517 refugees have returned to Sierra Leone from Guinea and Liberia, according to UNHCR's regional office in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Of these, 87,161 have been assisted by UNHCR, it said on Thursday.