PRESS CONFERENCE ON SIERRA LEONE

PRESS CONFERENCE ON SIERRA LEONE

Lieutenant General Manfred Eisele, team leader of the Disarmament, Assessment Mission in Sierra Leone, briefed correspondents this morning at Headquarters, following the team's most recent visit to the country. 

He said that its findings constituted a "success story" of the United Nations and international community.  Compared to two years ago, the situation in Sierra Leone had improved considerably.  Earlier, during the civil war, tensions had peaked amid the hostage situations with contingents from a number of troop-contributing countries, and the mutilations, amputations and maiming by the warring factions.  Today, Sierra Leone was preparing for national elections on 14 May. 

The elections marked the end of a successful disarmament process, in the course of which roughly 20,000 weapons were collected and destroyed, he said.  More than 45,000 ex-combatants were demobilized and were in the process of being reintegrated into society in a procedure that dealt with reconciliation, reconstruction, and repatriation of approximately 100,000 refugees from neighbouring Guinea and Liberia. 

He said that support of those successes had been derived from those countries that provided "Blue Helmets" -- 17,000 of them had been deployed throughout Sierra Leone and were creating a situation of stability and cautious optimism regarding the country's future development.  At the same time, Sierra Leone could not be considered in isolation, since both neighbouring countries -– Guinea and Liberia -- had been playing an important role in the country's development. 

Friendly relations among the countries of the Mano River Union was critical to peace and stability in that subregion.  That posed a challenge to the international community, which should continue its support after the successful elections.  For some time to come, it would be difficult for that war-torn country to cope with the consequences of the war.  What remained was a very poor, dilapidated infrastructure, and a lack of shelter, especially difficult with the coming rainy season. 

Further reintegration also required the continued support of the international community, he said.  For some time to come, the continued presence of international peacekeeping elements was needed, as the build-up and restructuring of the Sierra Leonean police and armed forces continued.  Only when both the police and armed forces reached the required levels of professionalism, would the situation allow for an eventual drawdown and withdrawal of the United Nations presence. 

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