Peace process funding needed.

• Author: Rutsch, Horst
• Position: PeaceWatch: Sierra Leone - Sanctions on Liberia - Brief Article

Noting a number of positive political developments in Sierra Leone, the Security Council on 8 November urged international funding to bolster the country's efforts to achieve peace. Citing steps being taken to transform the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) into a political party, as well as progress in the country's disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process, the Council noted that "additional resources, especially for reintegration', would be needed. On 18 September, it had extended the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone until March 2002. UNAMSIL was now deployed in all provinces, while the Government had further extended its authority across the country in areas formally controlled by the RUF. Noting that preparations for UN-supported elections, scheduled for 2002, were under way, the Council emphasized "the importance of funds not only being pledged but also being disbursed". In Freetown, the Government and the RUF on 8 November agreed to take "immediate action to facilitate fast disar mament" in all districts by 30 November. The two sides agreed to collect arms from 15 November to 31 December, and to carry out "a wide publicity and sensitization effort" to ensure the programme's success.

RELATED ARTICLE: Extension of Liberia Sanctions Recommended

An independent panel recommended on 30 October that the Security Council extend the arms embargo and rough diamond sanctions against Liberia. The Council had established sanctions against Liberia in March 2001, in response to evidence that the Government was supporting the Revolutionary United Front (RUE) in Sierra Leone, and that Sierra Leonean diamonds smuggled through Liberia were a major source of income for the RUF. In its sanctions, the Council had prohibited the sale or supply of arms to the country, banned the import of all rough diamonds from Liberia, whether or not such diamonds originated there, and prohibited travel abroad by senior members of the Liberian Government and armed forces.

In its report, the expert panel, chaired by Martin Chungong Ayafor of Cameroon, said that despite some progress, a steady flow of new weapons had continued to...