Sierra Leone

Expected Council Action
The Council is likely to consider a report from the Secretary-General on a completion strategy for the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL). Under resolution 1793 this was due by 31 January.

Key Recent Developments

On 21 December, the Council adopted resolution 1793 extending the mandate of UNIOSIL until 30 September 2008. The resolution requested the Secretary-General to submit by 31 January a completion strategy for UNIOSIL, including:

• at least a 20 percent reduction in staff by 31 March;
• a continued mission at 80 percent of the current strength until 30 June; and
• the termination of the Office’s mandate by 30 September.

(The intention is to replace UNIOSIL with a UN integrated political office to carry forward the peacebuilding process. The Secretary-General was requested to submit specific proposals to that end in April.)

On 7 January, the Special Court for Sierra Leone resumed the trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor at The Hague after a six-month delay to allow him to prepare his defense. Taylor faces 11 charges arising from the conflict in Sierra Leone of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including use of child soldiers, sexual violence and physical violence. The trial is scheduled to take about 18 months. Resolution 1793 granted exemption from the Council’s travel ban for witnesses who might need to appear before the Court.

Key Issues
Key issues for the Council over the coming months will be a successful drawdown and completion of UNIOSIL’s mandate while ensuring consolidation of peace in the country.

Options
Options include the following.

• Considering the January report on the drawdown of UNIOSIL in informal consultations and giving the Secretary-General feedback.
• Deferring consideration of the January report and taking it up at the same time as the April report on the future UN presence in the country.
• Reinforcing the Council’s collaboration with the PBC by holding a formal Council meeting on the drawdown report and inviting Sierra Leone and key PBC members to speak, and the Peacebuilding Support Office to brief during the drawdown period. This might be seen as a contribution both to Sierra Leone’s peace consolidation and the longer term process for integrating the PBC’s advice into the Council’s decisions.
• Taking up the conclusions of the sanctions committee about the need to streamline the sanctions regime and perhaps asking the Committee for specific recommendations.

Council Dynamics
The UK has taken the lead in prompting a report from the Secretary-General on a completion strategy for UNIOSIL by 31 January. It wants a clearer picture of the components of the mission to be affected by the drawdown as well as some reference points for monitoring progress in its implementation. Council members generally seemed ready to signal the Council’s resolve to terminate UNIOSIL’s mandate as scheduled. Despite the Secretary-General’s preference for a single report covering both completion strategy and the successor office in April, the Council requested two separate reports—one in January to be followed by another one in April.

The UK takes the lead on Sierra Leone. However, African members retain a strong interest and will be vigilant about the link between peace consolidation and mandate termination, especially if there are any signs of renewed risk of violence.

Underlying Problems
The recent elections highlighted that the deep-seated political tensions and schisms among the Sierra Leone population along ethnic and geographical lines are still close to the surface. They could re-emerge in the lead-up to the local government elections likely to be held in June. Moreover, the country continues to face serious economic challenges (a root cause of the war), with widespread poverty, worsening youth unemployment and endemic corruption.

Other Relevant Facts

Full forecast