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Sierra Leone needs continued international support to consolidate the peace and stability that have prevailed since the end of its 10-year conflict and the holding of elections in May 2002, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday.
He added that the primary responsibility lay with the government. "Unless it firmly extends its authority throughout its territory, restores control over the country's national resources, and begins to assume responsibility for its own security, stability will remain vulnerable," he said.
"The people of Sierra Leone and the international community have accomplished a great deal together in helping the country to recover from a long and devastating conflict," Annan told a Consultative Group Meeting for Sierra Leone in Paris. "But the newly laid foundations for peace and development will remain fragile unless potential sources of renewed instability are addressed."
The downsizing of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) over the next two years, Annan added, created a "window of opportunity" to tackle critical issues of post-conflict peace building and to lay the foundation for sustainable development while the security umbrella provided by UNAMSIL was still present.
The gradual reduction of UNAMSIL's strength "will be carefully synchronized with efforts to build up the capacity of Sierra Leone's security sector," he said in an address delivered on his behalf by the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hedi Annabi.
Annan welcomed Britain's contribution to the training and restructuring of Sierra Leone's army and the rehabilitation of its penal system and judiciary. However, he said "additional assistance is needed so that the police force has the training, infrastructure, vehicles and communications equipment to take on primary responsibility for internal security as UNAMSIL departs".
Annan told the meeting that at least 32,000 Sierra Leonean ex-combatants had been reabsorbed into society and another 24,000 were awaiting reintegration. But "despite generous contributions, the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for this process faces a shortfall of approximately US $10 million", he added.
Sierra Leone's Truth and Reconciliation Commission also faced a funding shortfall, Annan said. He appealed to governments to respond to an appeal for additional resources by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The 13-14 November meeting, convened by the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank, was attended by international agencies and donor governments. "Sierra Leone is making progress in recovering from a decade of devastating conflict, and the government is seeking more international support for the huge task of rebuilding and to accelerate efforts to reduce widespread poverty that afflicts more than 80 percent of its people," UNDP said on Monday.
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