UN urges greater help for recovery effort

UN Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette has called on the international community to increase its efforts in Sierra Leone to ensure that its wide ranging involvement to help the country recover from war bears positive results. “Having taken on this responsibility, we can ill afford the price of failure - neither in terms of human suffering in Sierra Leone, nor in terms of the damage such a setback could inflict on the world’s faith in the international community’s ability to address conflicts in Africa and elsewhere,” she told a high level donor’s conference in London. The conference focused on the reintegration, rehabilitation of ex-fighters and reconstruction in Sierra Leone. It was jointly hosted by Frechette, British Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short, and the vice-president for UN and external affairs at the World Bank, Mats Karlsson. The British Department for International Development (DFID), which published the results of the meeting, said the conference was attended by President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, high level representatives from the UN, the World Bank, the European Commission, the IMF and other donor countries. Frechette spoke of the need for members of the international community to work in unison and for them to articulate and implement a common strategy. “The situation in Sierra Leone is fragile - fragile enough that there is the risk we could lose the peace if we do not cooperate, communicate and coordinate fully,” she said. In his recent report to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan outlined four key areas that need attention: the early disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration of all ex combatants; the extension of State authority, including law enforcement throughout the country; national reconciliation and democratisation; and the improvement of Sierra Leone’s capacity to ensure its own security. Responding to these needs, Short announced an additional 17.5 million pounds sterling (about US $27.78 million) from DFID towards Sierra Leone’s recovery and in support of the peace process in the run up to the elections earmarked for 2001. Her announcement brings the amount of British aid to over 65 million pounds (about $103.2 million) since March 1998. She said Britain would also help Sierra Leone establish an accountable police service and it would send a military advisory training team to help rebuild and train the army. The conference concluded that speeding up disarmament was essential, combined with increased security and rapid support to the population. Delegations pledged additional resources and to speed up the aid delivery.