Sierra Leone, 1998

Permit me to offer, on

behalf of President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and the

Government and the people of Sierra Leone, our warm

felicitations to Mr. Didier Opertti on his unanimous election

as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third

session, and to express our delegation?s confidence that

under his able guidance our session will be a successful

one. We are in no doubt that his distinguished public record

adequately equips him for the position he has been called

upon to assume, and we have already seen evidence of this

in the last two weeks. We must also express gratitude to his

predecessor, Mr. Udovenko of Ukraine, for a job well done.

Our gratitude also goes to Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-

General, and to the entire staff of the United Nations

common system for their relentless efforts in helping the

people of Sierra Leone in the mammoth task of

reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement of hundreds

of thousands of our compatriots who were the unfortunate

victims of nine months of junta misrule. Mr. Annan has

put the international ship of state on the right course, and

my delegation wishes him continued success.

This time last year, my President addressed the

Assembly on the subject of the situation in Sierra Leone.

I am sure most members will remember the picture he

painted of the tragic events and the turmoil that followed

when a democratically elected Government was

overthrown by a bunch of military adventurists, aided and

abetted by some civilian opportunists who became their

active collaborators. Thanks to the resilience of the whole

of civil society, encouraged and backed by the

international community, I am here today representing the

legitimate, reinstated Government of Sierra Leone.

Against all odds, our people defied the violent and

misguided gun-toting anarchists who appeared to have

one objective, and one only: the total destruction of the

civil society of Sierra Leone. Mercifully, that nightmare

is now behind us.

In February this year, the forces of the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), under the then ECOWAS

Chairman, the late General Sani Abacha of Nigeria, led

by Nigeria and with the support of our Civil Defence

Unit, removed the junta. This was preceded by several

attempts to arrive at a negotiated settlement. The

international community was to learn that the junta and

their allies, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), always

negotiated in bad faith and were not to be trusted.

The atrocities committed by the junta during their

nine-month reign, especially after they retreated to the

eastern and northern parts of the country, had to be seen

to be believed. Rape, murder, mutilation, vandalism and

the burning down of whole villages were the order of the

day. Unarmed civilians, particularly women and children,

were their unfortunate victims.

Because of the wanton destruction perpetrated by the

junta and, much earlier, by the RUF, there is a great need

to revamp the economy and for reconstruction. In a report

to the General Assembly, the Secretary-General referred

to the Special Conference on Sierra Leone, which he

convened here at United Nations Headquarters on 30 July

this year. The international community was invited to

focus on the situation in Sierra Leone.

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We were very much encouraged, not only by the

deliberations and results of that conference, but also by the

deliberations of the second ministerial-level Security

Council meeting on Africa, held last week, in which Sierra

Leone featured prominently.

The humanitarian crisis is immense: there are many

refugees and displaced persons. The disarmament and

demobilization exercise and the resettlement, rehabilitation

and reconstruction processes require many resources. Some

of the pledges that were made are now being fulfilled, but

much remains to be done.

Allow me to echo the appeal of the Secretary-General

to those who have yet to pledge, and to others who have

yet to deliver, to do all they can to help us. In the

meantime, I would like to express profound gratitude to all

members, and especially to the members of the contact

group to be coordinated by the United Kingdom, for what

has been achieved so far.

As soon as the legitimate Government was

overthrown, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), at

its meeting in Harare in June 1997, unanimously

condemned the takeover and called on the junta to return

power and constitutionality to the elected Government and

to the country respectively. The prompt action of

ECOWAS, the resultant peace in Liberia and now the

return of democracy to Sierra Leone, clearly demonstrate

what a regional organization can achieve if the

determination and the leadership are there. ECOMOG has

the capacity to deliver, but it needs the tools, which only

the international community can provide.

My country is fully aware that even though the Armed

Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC)/RUF junta has been

ousted, the peace and security that were achieved with

enormous sacrifice by the people of Sierra Leone have yet

to be consolidated. It is therefore in the interests of the

people that the international community in general and the

forces of the subregion in particular, maintain their presence

in Sierra Leone until we can create a new national army. In

this regard, the Federal Republic of Nigeria has agreed to

the secondment of Brigadier-General Maxwell Khobe,

Commander of the ECOMOG Force in Sierra Leone, as our

Chief of Defence Staff. He is already working on the

modalities for forming a well-trained and dedicated army

which will be alive to its responsibility as defender of our

Constitution. I have every reason to believe that that

assignment will be carried out with the same

professionalism that has been the hallmark of ECOMOG

operations in both Liberia and Sierra Leone.

At this juncture, I would like to state that the

Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone is committed

to the demobilization, disarmament and integration of all

ex-combatants, as provided for in both the Abidjan Peace

Accord and the Conakry peace plan, despite the lack of

good faith that has been demonstrated by both the RUF

and the junta. This programme is at the top of our post-

conflict agenda, and the Disarmament Committee itself is

under the chairmanship of no less a person than our

President.

Because of its overwhelming desire to uphold the

principles of democracy and good governance, the

Government lays much emphasis on the rule of law,

human rights and freedom of expression. There are over

48 newspaper publications in a country with 80 per cent

illiteracy. Despite propaganda to the contrary, no

journalists have been prosecuted, let alone convicted, for

practising their profession — not even when the headlines

of a few have sometimes bordered on libel. Of the 16

people recently convicted of treason, after a trial that was

declared transparent and fair, five were journalists; but

they were not charged for the practice of journalism.

President Kabbah and the ECOMOG Force

Commander informed the Special Conference on Sierra

Leone that more than 90 per cent of the country was

secure and safe. Remnants of the junta and the RUF are,

however, perched in small areas in the east and north-east

and operate only because they continue to have a safe

haven in a neighbouring country, while one other country

renders its support to them from outside Sierra Leone.

That notwithstanding, every effort is now being made by

both ECOMOG and the Civil Defence Unit to flush them

out and to finally put this whole tragic affair behind us.

The treason trials of both civilians and former junta

members are still in progress, under laws which have

been in existence since independence. Soon after sentence

was passed on the first group, some misguided

organizations began unfairly pressurizing the President to

intervene; they even mounted a vicious propaganda

campaign in the name of human rights.

My country is governed by the rule of law. Under

our constitution there is separation of powers between the

executive, the legislature and the judiciary. While the due

process of law is in progress, the President cannot and

will not interfere with it. At the end of the exercise those

who lose their final appeals to the Supreme Court can

apply to the Prerogative of Mercy Committee. Then, and

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only then, will the President step in, and he has already

given that assurance.

Our President has not only gone the extra mile, but is

seen to be bending over backwards to bring together all the

main political groups into the mainstream of the post-

conflict nation-building exercise, so as to secure permanent

peace and security. There have been no instances of human

rights violations since President Kabbah assumed office.

With regard to the armed rebellion in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo and the rebel wars in Angola, Sudan

and elsewhere, we appeal to the parties in those conflicts to

lay down their arms, to refrain from further provocative

activities that ignite tempers and to give peace a chance.

Our Government welcomes the successful outcome of

the United Nations Diplomatic Conference on the

establishment of the International Criminal Court, which

took place in Rome, Italy, in June 1998. Sierra Leone is

firmly committed to the early establishment of a permanent

international court, and my Government has already signed

the Statute of the International Criminal Court. We urge

every nation to sign and ratify the Statute. It will be not

only testimony to the common desire to overcome long

neglected failures of national legal systems, but a unique

chance to contribute to international stability deterrence

and, hopefully, the prevention of atrocious crimes.

Security Council reform is one of the most difficult

issues which have to be tackled during this session. While

progress has been made in some areas, and new ideas and

proposals have emerged, the Working Group has not

presented recommendations to the General Assembly. Sierra

Leone agrees with the position of the Non-Aligned

Movement on the curtailment, limitation and subsequent

elimination of the veto. Sierra Leone fully endorses the

decision of the Assembly of the Heads of State or

Government of the Organization of African Unity for two

permanent seats to be allocated to our continent.

As for the expansion of the Security Council, Sierra

Leone supports the position taken by the Non-Aligned

Movement, that, in order to enhance its credibility, the new

Council should reflect the universal character of the world

and correct existing imbalances in its composition.

My country cannot talk of conflicts and peace without

referring to nuclear arms. When negotiations were being

conducted in Geneva on a comprehensive test-ban treaty, a

few years ago, the Republic of Sierra Leone was one of

those countries which prayed silently for its success. We

are relieved and thankful that the Treaty has been signed

by a large number of countries. We continue to call on all

nations to sign the test-ban treaty and refrain from further

tests, with their attendant danger to the future of mankind.

In the same way as we oppose all future nuclear

tests, we must with all the emphasis at our disposal

condemn all forms of terrorism, both domestic and

international. We refer particularly to the recent bombings

which claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people,

not to mention the loss of property worth millions of

dollars in Nairobi, Dar-es-Salaam, Cape Town and

Northern Ireland. We call on the international community

to coordinate its efforts to fight this menace. Those who

insist on using this method to achieve their aims should

be tracked down and brought to justice. In this regard, my

country wholeheartedly supports the signing and

ratification of all the Conventions on terrorism and

appeals to the entire international community to adhere to

the Conventions in order to make the world a safer place

for our children?s children.

My Government noted with great delight the

conference convened last year in South Africa to focus

the world?s attention on the dangers posed to human life

by landmines. We revive the memory of the late Princess

Diana, who did so much to focus the attention of the

international community on the horrors of landmines. In

our own country, too, landmines were strewn around with

carefree abandon by the AFRC/RUF junta, resulting in

the maiming and death of innocent civilians, especially

children.

Many African and other third world countries,

including my own, are today still grappling with severe

economic problems. The effects of the debt burden, the

unfavourable balances of trade and payment, and the

unpredictability of the prices of their products on the

world market have all contributed to the deteriorating

economic conditions they are facing. In addition to these

external factors, misguided policies and political

instability caused by various kinds of civil strife have

caused their economies to sink further. Globalization and

trade liberalization have become inevitable phases in

world trade. It has, however, become obvious that our

countries have fared badly and will continue to be at a

disadvantage unless there is a change of attitude and even

procedure on the part of developed, industrialized

countries. The resultant imbalances can be overcome if

every effort is made to create a level playing field by

removing the debt burden of our countries and opening up

markets to African and third world products. Some

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countries have already done so; we hope that others will

follow soon.

I have already mentioned the refugee situation in my

own country. It is grim, and yet the situation is the same in

other parts of the world, especially Africa, which has the

largest refugee populations. This situation has continued to

exert tremendous pressure on the already weak economies

of the host countries, which are forced to spend part of

their meagre resources on the welfare of refugees. Having

gone through this experience both as recipient and exporter

of refugees, we must commend the donor community and

especially the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Much is being done

for us, but even the Office acknowledges that the situation

of our refugees in neighbouring countries is desperate. I

would like to appeal to the donor community to shed its

donor fatigue syndrome and continue to respond positively

to the needs of a people who are the innocent victims of

events not of their own making. A very urgent need now is

for the repatriation of our people from neighbouring

countries, where life in camps is now a nightmare.

Sierra Leone is one of the countries in our subregion

that still have the remnants of what were once the Upper

Guinea rain forest, which stretches from Sierra Leone down

to the Cameroons. The reserve supports the largest number

of animal species in Sierra Leone: a total of 46 mammal

species, including Western chimpanzees, red colobus

monkeys, Diana monkeys, duickers, leopards and forest

elephants. Two hundred and seventy four species of birds

are to be found in the Gola rain forest. These include 10

globally threatened species — 8 restricted to the Upper

Guinea forest block — and 169 forest-dependent species.

There is a very rich diversity of interesting invertebrates,

including two species of dragonfly, endemic only to parts

of the Upper Guinea forest, as well as the rare African

swallow-tailed butterfly, which has Sierra Leone as the

westernmost limit of its range in Africa.

Unfortunately, the Gola rain forest, like most other

forest areas on the continent, is under considerable pressure.

Much of the forest cover is lost annually from logging and

from brush burning as well as shifting cultivation carried

out by an ever-increasing population. Conservation of these

forests in Sierra Leone, as in other parts of Africa, is linked

with poverty. The Forestry Division of our Ministry of

Agriculture and the Environment has a Gola Rain Forest

Conservation Programme. The programme is being operated

in collaboration with a local non-governmental organization,

the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone, the Sierra Leone

partner of Birdlife International, which sponsors the

programme.

Notwithstanding this valuable work, pressure on

forests in the third world will not be reduced unless we

enhance food production from the same piece of land year

after year, as happens in the industrialized countries. This

can only be achieved by a transfer of food production

technology to our own countries.

I have made frequent references to the role of the

international community in the restoration of democracy

to my country and to the reinstatement of President

Kabbah. I have mentioned the United Nations, the OAU,

ECOWAS and the Commonwealth. I would like to make

special reference to the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP).

The restoration of constitutional order and the

various efforts of the Government to effect durable peace

and to rebuild the country provide us with an opportunity

to regain donor confidence and ensure the completion of

various initiatives and programmes interrupted by the

events of the coup of 25 May 1997.

As lead agency in the partnership between the

Government and the donor community, the UNDP, prior

to the coup, had spearheaded the following: preparation

of a national poverty-eradication programme; facilitating

the establishment of a coordination mechanism for relief

assistance by the humanitarian community; and

facilitating the peace process through the provision of

diplomatic, logistic, technical and administrative support

to the peace negotiations and the preparation of the

demobilization programme. Since the return of the elected

Government in March 1998, the UNDP has spent

considerable amounts of money in the development of

various other programmes as well. I urge the international

community to continue its support for these programmes

and to help us in our task of rehabilitation.

Let me close by referring again to the report of the

Secretary-General, whom I have already thanked. I shall

refer once more to the special conference he convened,

for which I thank the Secretary-General.