Sierra Leone
Expected Council Action
The Council is expected to consider the first report of the new UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) in early February. (Its mandate expires on 30 September.) Council members will be looking closely to see whether the UNIPSIL model is adding value.
Key Recent Developments
On 4 August the Council adopted resolution 1829 which established UNIPSIL as a replacement for the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) for 12 months beginning on 1 October 2008. The Council required UNIPSIL to focus on support to the government of Sierra Leone in:
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providing political support to national and local efforts in identifying and resolving tensions and threats of potential conflict;
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monitoring and promoting human rights, democratic institutions and the rule of law;
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consolidating good governance reforms, especially antiācorruption instruments such as the Anti-Corruption Commission; and
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supporting efforts towards decentralisation, a review of the 1991 Constitution and enactment of relevant legislation.
The Council welcomed the peaceful and democratic local elections in July 2008 as another important milestone in consolidating sustainable peace in the country. It also emphasised the importance of the continued support of the UN system and the international community for the long-term peace, security and development of Sierra Leone.
UNIPSIL was tasked with coordinating the work of the various UN funds, agencies and programmes in the country. The Council stressed the need for the UN system to support and cooperate fully with UNIPSIL. UNIPSIL was also mandated to coordinate with the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) and support its work, as well as implement the Peacebuilding Cooperation Framework and projects supported through the Peacebuilding Fund. The Council requested a progress report by 31 January 2009. (The Secretary-General in his April 2008 report had recommended that the Council establish a UN peacebuilding office to tackle the political, economic and peacebuilding challenges facing Sierra Leone.)
The representative of Sierra Leone welcomed the resolution as another “significant phase in the United Nations experiment in post-conflict peacebuilding” and expressed gratitude for the support of the international community in that regard. He said that Sierra Leone needed sustained UN support to achieve the goals of the Sierra Leone Peacebuilding Cooperation Framework in the areas of energy, justice and security sector development, youth employment, governance and capacity-building. He also emphasised the need for continued support for the country if the risks to peace and security are to be contained.
Michael von der Schulenburg (who had been acting UN Representative since May) was appointed executive representative of the Secretary-General in Sierra Leone on 8 January. In accordance with Council resolution 1829, he concurrently serves as Resident Representative of the UNDP and UN Resident Coordinator.
Related Developments in the PBC
On 7 January the Organisational Commitee of the PBC confirmed Ambassador Frank Majoor of the Netherlands as chair of the Sierra Leone configuration as it commenced its third year of work. |
Key Issues
The key issue for the Council is whether UNIPSIL is adding value to sustainable peace consolidation. A second issue is whether there are areas where Council attention is needed to sustain progress.
Options
The main option the Council may consider is whether to respond at this time to note developments in the country (and if so, whether to issue a formal statement) or to wait until after the second report in May.
Council Dynamics
The content of the first report will likely influence members’ positions on next steps. The presence of the new members of the Council—Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda—is not expected to significantly affect the dynamics of the Council in terms of the currently existing consensus among members towards consolidating peace in Sierra Leone through peacebuilding.
The UK is the lead country on this issue in the Council.
Underlying Problems
Some of the serious socioeconomic problems that were factors in the war remain. These include widespread poverty and youth unemployment, in addition to inadequate resources to effectively combat endemic corruption and the drug trafficking challenges currently beginning to affect most of the West African subregion. While significant gains have been made in national reconstruction efforts since the end of the country’s civil war, Sierra Leone remains at the bottom of the UNDP Human Development Index. Also, the national and local elections highlighted the fact that political tensions and divisions along ethnic and geographical lines are still close to the surface.
Selected Security Council Resolutions |
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Selected Secretary-General’s Report |
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Other |
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Peacebuilding Commission |
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UNIPSIL Executive Representative of the Secretary-General |
Michael von der Schulenburg (Germany) |
Size and Composition of Mission |
Staff strength (as of December 2008); 14 international civilian, one local civilian, five military observers, two police and nine UN volunteers |
Duration |
1 October 2008 to present; current mandate expires 30 September 2009 |