Sierra Leone, 2007

The Sierra Leone delegation would like to join others in congratulating

you, Mr. President, on your election to preside over the

work of the General Assembly at this session. We also

take this opportunity to commend your predecessor for

her contribution to the work of the Assembly, in

particular for her initiatives in the ongoing process of

the United Nations reform.

Allow me to convey to you, the

Secretary-General and this Assembly greetings from

the newly elected President of Sierra Leone, His

Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma, who took the oath of

office just two weeks ago. President Koroma was not

able to come to this debate because of time constraints.

Sierra Leone would like to reaffirm its

commitment to the United Nations as the only

international body that has the capacity to combat the

multifarious problems of the world. The salvation of

the world from conflict, natural disasters, diseases,

hunger, poverty, oppression, abuse and violation of

rights and the menace of climate change, and the

achievement of our development goals will remain

distant dreams without multilateral action. The stronger

our United Nations, the greater our chances to realize

the objectives for which we set it up. That is why

Sierra Leone will never relent in its support for the

reform process of the United Nations to enable it to

respond appropriately to its numerous, diverse and

ever-increasing challenges.

The reform exercise has scored some major

successes, but the most critical and contentious reform

that of the Security Council remains elusive. As

long as the status quo is maintained, Africa will remain

disadvantaged, as the only continent without a voice of

permanent representation on the Council. We therefore

urge a speedy consideration of the expansion of, and

equitable representation on, the Council, to make it

more representative, democratic and accountable and

therefore more effective.

A new dawn has broken in the political landscape

of Sierra Leone. Once again, Sierra Leone has

demonstrated exemplary performance in the area of the

consolidation of democracy and governance. We would

like to acknowledge with humility the messages of

commendation we received from various parts of the

world for the conduct of the recent parliamentary and

presidential elections. As one influential Western

media organization put it, Sierra Leone is a pearl in the

political crown of African politics.

My delegation welcomes the statement issued by

the members of the Security Council in which they

congratulated the people and institutions of Sierra

Leone, in particular the National Electoral Commission

and the Sierra Leone Police, on their conduct in the

election period and the commitment they demonstrated

to the democratic process. President Koroma has asked

me to convey, on behalf of all Sierra Leoneans, sincere

thanks to members of the international community for

their invaluable contribution to the electoral process.

We are grateful in particular for the logistical support

that the various institutions concerned with the election

received to enable them to perform their respective

functions. As the new President said after taking the

oath of office, the people of Sierra Leone must

congratulate themselves for their historic resolve to

ensure the victory of democracy and the free exercise

of the will of the people.

No one can deny that, after a brutal civil war,

Sierra Leone has enjoyed five years of relative peace.

However, peace is not an event. It transcends the

signing of ceasefire and peace agreements. It also

transcends the successful disarmament and

demobilization of ex-combatants, and the official

declaration of the end of armed conflict.

Peace is a process, a process that must be

consolidated, maintained and sustained. Indeed, that is

why the United Nations was established after two

world wars: to promote social progress and better

standards of life for the peoples of the world and to

unite our strength in order to maintain international

peace and security. The establishment of the new

Peacebuilding Commission to facilitate post-conflict

recovery is consistent with the objectives of the

Organization. It adds to the true meaning and scope of

the concept of peace.

The Sierra Leone Government considers the

recent elections as part of the peace process. The

people have once again exercised their constitutional

right to choose the men and women they would like to

serve the nation. Now we must not forget that the

people also have a right to economic and social

development. The right to vote is inextricably linked to

the rights to food, clean and portable water, basic

social services and, of course, development. All the

praise, all the commendation that Sierra Leoneans have

received in connection with the exercise of their

political right, the right to vote, will be meaningless

unless we create and intensify our collective efforts to

ensure that they see and enjoy the dividends of that

process.

Periodic elections are important, but they are not

a panacea for all needs. Now that the elections are

over, the Government is determined to meet the

challenge of translating the exercise of a political right

into the realization of the economic and social rights of

all Sierra Leoneans. There is indeed a change of

Government, but that change needs urgent and

substantial support to produce its desired dividends for

the citizens. Accordingly, I would like to solicit the

support of the United Nations, the entire international

community and our bilateral partners to help us to

deliver on the expectations linked to that change.

Sierra Leone will continue to have high

expectations for the United Nations, including its

Peacebuilding Commission and Peacebuilding Fund.

Sierra Leone was selected as one of the first two

countries on the Commission’s agenda, and thus

became eligible for funding, which has already had a

positive impact on our ability to consolidate the peace.

We thank the Commission and the Fund for that timely

consideration. We note with appreciation, for instance,

the timely support that the Sierra Leone Police

received from the Peacebuilding Fund to enhance their

capacity to manage public order during the recent

elections.

The four priority areas that have been identified

by the Government in consultation with the

Commission, the United Nations system in Sierra

Leone and other stakeholders, including civil society,

are still valid. They are all equally important. However,

in view of the inherent urgency and the critical nature

of the youth problem, the Government will make sure,

as far as possible, that youth employment and

empowerment continue to be accorded first priority.

We hope that the details of the integrated

peacebuilding strategy or framework for cooperation

with Sierra Leone will soon be finalized. While

recognizing the importance of partnership and

accountability, we strongly believe that national

ownership must be the core principle of the framework.

While Sierra Leoneans are being showered with

commendations for the outcome of the elections, and

deservedly so, and while the nation is today being held

in high esteem in the area of political and

constitutional order, we must not forget that the

country still finds itself in the unenviable position of

being ranked one of the least developed countries in

the United Nations Development Programme’s human

development index. Unfortunately for Sierra Leone and

the rest of the developing world, the prospects for

achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

by the year 2015 remain cloudy and distant. My

delegation shares the view that practical steps must be

taken as a matter of urgency to accelerate the process

of meeting the goals. We therefore welcome the recent

launching of the MDG Africa Steering Group, chaired

by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to mobilize the

heads of the United Nations system and major

multilateral and intergovernmental organizations in

support of African States in their effort to meet the

MDGs.

In principle, we support all initiatives that could

at least get Africa on track. Those include Prime

Minister Gordon Brown’s MDG call to action of last

July, and the declaration signed by a number of Heads

of State and Government and private-sector leaders.

We, for our part, acknowledge our responsibility to

meet the Goals. However, we strongly believe that the

developed countries should fulfil their commitments as

partners in an interdependent world, with special

support preference for countries emerging from

conflict, in order to accelerate their progress towards

meeting the goals.

Sierra Leone will continue to foster and maintain

friendly relations with all Members States of the

United Nations, in particular those in our immediate

neighbourhood, members of the Mano River Union and

the Economic Community of West African States

(ECOWAS). That is why, less than a week after

assuming office, President Koroma paid a visit to the

two other founding members of the Mano River Union,

Liberia and Guinea, and to Burkina Faso, the current

Chair of ECOWAS.

For far too long, the situation in some of our

countries has been a threat to regional and international

peace and security. Sierra Leone would like to assure

this Assembly that it stands ready to reverse that trend

in the subregion of West Africa, to help reduce tension,

prevent armed conflict and strengthen institutions and

machinery that have been created primarily to promote

the economic and social well-being of people.

We will continue to work assiduously with the

United Nations, the African Union, ECOWAS, the

European Union and individual sovereign States to

pursue the goals of peace and security enshrined in the

Charter of the United Nations, for Africa and the rest

of the world.