S/PV.6504 Security Council

I thank Mr. Von der Schulenburg for his briefing. I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. John McNee. Mr. McNee: It is a great pleasure to brief the Security Council in my capacity as Chair of the Sierra Leone configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC). At the outset, I would like to commend the impressive work of the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General, and indeed of the entire United Nations country team, in support of Sierra Leone’s progress and development. Mr. von der Schulenburg has given us a very clear and insightful briefing this morning. Sierra Leone is entering another transition period. This phase, marked by a gradual shift in emphasis from late-stage peacebuilding towards longer-term economic development, will be largely defined by three processes, namely, the continued pursuit of the Agenda for Change, which is Sierra Leone’s national strategy for peace consolidation and economic growth; the conduct of elections in 2012; and the steady realignment of international assistance behind development priorities. I would like to focus on each of those processes briefly and outline the PBC’s anticipated activities during the next six months. First, I would like to commend the tremendous strides that the Government and people of Sierra Leone have made since the conclusion of the conflict. The PBC is particularly pleased at the advances that have been made in three areas of focus, that is, good governance and the rule of law, youth employment and drug trafficking. However, in spite of that progress, each of those issues still represents a long-term risk to Sierra Leone’s stability. Each will require concerted attention from the national Government and from international community. As such, I would like to reiterate the need for continued financial support. The United Nations multi-donor trust fund established to fund the Joint Vision and to support the Agenda for Change remains nearly $175 million short of its $381 million objective. For its part, the PBC’s Sierra Leone country configuration will be active with donors and other key partners to help address Sierra Leone’s outstanding peacebuilding challenges. The configuration will also continue to seek innovative non-financial contributions to support the Agenda for Change by facilitating South-South and North-South partnerships. Secondly, Sierra Leone also faces a more immediate challenge in conducting successful national and local elections in 2012. It is essential that political conditions be established for free, fair and peaceful elections. That will require continued progress on implementing the agreements in the joint communiqué of April 2009, further strengthening the Political Party Registration Commission and providing the National Electoral Commission with the necessary support. It is especially important that the national institutions charged with overseeing the elections, and the major political parties, build a stronger relationship based on improved cooperation and mutual trust. Successful elections depend on the commitment of the parties that contest them to play by the rules and respect the results. The elections must be not only technically sound, but also widely accepted. In that respect, the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General and the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone have played an invaluable role in facilitating open dialogue and building relevant national capacities. The PBC fully supports those efforts and will focus more directly on elections preparations in the coming year. Should the necessary support be provided, there is every reason to be optimistic. Last December’s peaceful by-election in Kono district demonstrates that collective efforts to avoid violence can yield powerful results. It is telling that the Sierra Leone police played a significant role in the successful by-election. Unfortunately, the police lack the capacity to perform a similar service throughout the country. We see that as an important gap. Continuing to build the capacity of the Sierra Leone police to serve as a neutral and effective force for stability is critical. The Sierra Leone configuration has reiterated its appeal to the international community to ensure that the police have the necessary resources at their disposal — particularly vehicles, parts and fuel — to respond to cases of election-related violence in a timely manner. Thirdly, the PBC will continue to have an important role to play in the next two years as focus shifts further from peacebuilding to development. However, a number of risks will endure over the longer term. Sierra Leone’s significant youth population expects progress and prosperity. Disappointment could present a latent risk of political instability. In that respect, rising investment in natural resources offers promise for economic growth, but also poses a number of challenges, some of which the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General outlined this morning. That was a major topic of discussion during my most recent visit to Freetown. The international community, including the PBC, should be prepared to respond promptly to any requests for technical assistance or other forms of support. Sierra Leone will also have to contend with threats from outside its borders. Sustainable economic development depends heavily on stability within the subregion and on access to the assistance necessary to weather any financial difficulties. Similarly, the flow of illicit drugs and other forms of trafficking remains a serious challenge, with the potential to encourage corruption, undermine democratic progress and create new socio-economic problems. Those challenges demand continued support and a wider regional focus. The Sierra Leone configuration seeks to build stronger partnerships with relevant international institutions and regional actors to address those issues. It will also encourage closer collaboration between the four West African country configurations of the Peacebuilding Commission to facilitate the pooling of resources, the exchange of national approaches and the adoption of regional initiatives in order to address those shared challenges, particularly in the areas of illicit drug trafficking and youth unemployment. A recent regional seminar on youth unemployment, sponsored by the Austrian Government and the Peacebuilding Support Office, as well as the West African Coast Initiative, sponsored by the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States, are two examples of the kinds of partnerships through which the PBC will support more effective action on transborder risks. In conclusion, Sierra Leone rightly stands as a multilateral success story in peacebuilding. Yet the story is not quite finished. One of the important lessons learned over the past two decades is that peacebuilding requires constant and continued support. Faltering now would risk all that has been gained. I therefore strongly encourage all donors and partners to provide Sierra Leone with the support it needs to pursue its Agenda for Change, conduct successful elections and embark on long-term development. As always, the Peacebuilding Commission stands ready to be a constructive partner through that transitional process.

I thank Mr. McNee for his briefing. I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Joseph Dauda, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone.

Let me begin by congratulating you, Mr. President, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of March. I also wish to extend a warm welcome to the representatives of the new members of the Council. I would also like to thank you, Sir, for convening this meeting on the situation in Sierra Leone, as well as for giving my delegation the opportunity to contribute to this debate. On behalf of my delegation, I wish to express our sincere appreciation to the Secretary-General for his detailed report (S/2011/119) on the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL). Among other things, the report highlights the important developments that have taken place in the country, the challenges to surmount and, of course, the activities of UNIPSIL during the period under review. I would also like to thank the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General for introducing the report. In a similar vein, we appreciate the Council’s sustained engagement and interest in Sierra Leone as we continue to work in partnership to ensure sustainable peace and development in the country. We are also grateful for the indomitable efforts of the Sierra Leone configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), through the tireless efforts of its Chairperson, Ambassador John McNee of Canada, to maintain the momentum. We also thank him for his progressive and innovative efforts and his instructive remarks in contributing to this debate. We take note of, and acknowledge with satisfaction, the reference made in the report to some of the progress and achievements since September 2010 and the challenges that we still have to contend with. Those achievements are the product of the joint efforts of the Government and people of Sierra Leone and the United Nations, through the United Nations Joint Vision aligned with the Agenda for Change and development partners. To that end, I would like to express my appreciation for the investment that has been made in successful peacebuilding efforts and to encourage the further consolidation of the gains made by continuing to stand by Sierra Leone as it deals comprehensively with the remaining challenges and invests and builds on the success already achieved. His Excellency President Ernest Bai Koroma, in partnership with the international community, remains fully committed to consolidating peacebuilding and the sustainable economic development of Sierra Leone as mapped out in the Agenda for Change. Youth unemployment, corruption and illegal narcotics were the three risks identified in the Agenda for Change and endorsed by the Sierra Leone PBC configuration in its outcome document of September 2010. As reflected in the report, we are making steady progress in the fight against corruption and, with the support of development partners and the United Nations, we have created the structures at the local and regional levels to stem drug trafficking and organized crime. In response to youth unemployment, which remains a significant challenge to the peace consolidation process, a new Ministry of Youth Employment and Sports has been established and a national Youth Commissioner and Board have been appointed to provide the policy framework and implementation that would pave way for the meaningful participation of young people in national development. The Government is fully cognizant of the importance of some of the issues raised by the Secretary-General in the report regarding the implementation of the joint communiqué of 2 April 2009 and has, in that regard, with UNIPSIL’s support, established the All Political Parties Youth Association and the All Political Parties Women’s Association aimed at preventing political violence, fostering inter-party dialogue and, in the case of the Women’s Association, further enhancing women’s participation in politics. Here, I am happy to report that 14.5 per cent of political offices are now held by women, almost halfway to our target of 30 per cent. We also continue to make progress towards the education of the girl child and providing free health care to pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under the age of five. The Government remains committed to the conduct of peaceful, free, fair and transparent elections in 2012, and we welcome the support of the United Nations and development partners in passing what has come to be identified as a key test for the consolidation of peace and stability in Sierra Leone. The National Electoral Commission and the Political Parties Registration Commission enjoy the independence to deliver effectively on their constitutional mandates, free of interference. Additionally, structures, such as the former national broadcasting service, which was recently transformed into the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation, the Independent Media Commission and the Editors’ Guild are also of added value. President Ernest Bai Koroma recently made his Cabinet more inclusive by appointing ministers from across political and regional divides to further promote national unity and cohesion. He has equally been responsive to concerns regarding the mining sector by taking measures to improve the governance of the sector, ensure greater transparency and maximize benefits from the country’s mineral resources. To that end, we have sought the support of development partners to build the capacity of the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources. Despite all these efforts of the Government and the progress that has been made to date in addressing the many problems that led to the civil war, the sustained support of the international community and our development partners is required if we are to build on the gains made and to further consolidate peacebuilding in Sierra Leone, as well as to enhance the country’s capacity to absorb shocks, be they economic, social or political. Support is still required in several areas, in particular youth unemployment; the provision of vehicles to the Sierra Leone Police to enhance their capability and visibility during and after the elections; drug trafficking; and the reparations process as recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. On the socio-economic front, prevailing global economic and financial uncertainties are seriously undermining our efforts to turn the economy around as quickly as we would wish. In the light of the severe impact of these uncertainties on our efforts and in support of the strides we have made in socio-economic development, we urge and support the appeal that urgent and appropriate attention be given to the delivery of pledges made at the most recent consultative conference on Sierra Leone, held in London. His Excellency President Ernest Bai Koroma is committed to reducing aid dependency through partnership with the private sector, in particular in the mineral and agricultural sectors, and recognizes the importance of strengthening institutions that will drive the economy, leading to the ratification by Parliament of the Public Private Partnership Act of 2010, which aims at providing the legal framework for the private sector to design, build and administer major infrastructure development programmes with the intention of attracting more foreign investment. In conclusion, we welcome recent developments in Guinea resulting in the conduct of peaceful, free and fair elections and the smooth transfer of power to an elected Government. This development will contribute to peace consolidation efforts in Sierra Leone. However, we see the situation in Côte d’Ivoire as a threat to subregional peace and security and we support subregional, regional and other international efforts to adequately address it before it escalates into a full- blown conflict that could undermine the stability of its neighbours, including Sierra Leone. Once more, I wish to thank the United Nations, the Peacebuilding Commission and all development partners for their contributions to the peace we have achieved so far.

I thank Minister Dauda for his statement. There are no further speakers inscribed on my list. I now invite Council members to informal consultations to continue our discussion on the subject.