SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISES PEACE AGREEMENT ENDING SIERRA LEONE CONFLICT
Press Release
SG/SM/6117
SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISES PEACE AGREEMENT ENDING SIERRA LEONE CONFLICT
19961202 Following is the text of a statement by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali on the signing of the Peace Agreement by the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front in Abidjan on 30 November:I am pleased that the Peace Agreement between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has been signed today by President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and the RUF leader, Corporal Foday Saybana Sankoh. According to the Agreement, the two sides have declared the armed conflict in Sierra Leone to have ended with immediate effect.
I commend the parties for their dedication and commitment to the peace process and urge them to implement the provisions of the accord in good faith.
I hope that the conclusion of the peace agreement will usher in an era of peace, security and reconciliation essential for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the country.
I wish to express my deep appreciation, in particular, to President Henri Konan Bedié and Foreign Minister Amara Essy of Côte d'Ivoire for their tireless efforts in facilitating and mediating a negotiated end to the conflict, and for hosting the meetings between the parties, especially the signing ceremony today.
I wish to thank the Organization of African Unity, the Commonwealth, Member States and the International Committee of the Red Cross for their efforts in support of the peace process and for the cooperation extended to my Special Envoy.
* *** *