S/PV.6609 Security Council

I thank Mr. Von der Schulenburg for his briefing. I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Guillermo Rishchynski.

As the new Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada, it is an immense honour and pleasure for me to be here this morning, and I thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to take the floor. (spoke in English) I am pleased to address the Council on behalf of the Sierra Leone country-specific configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission. A decade following the civil war, Sierra Leone is poised to shift its national strategic focus from peacebuilding to economic development. As both the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General and my predecessor have previously noted, that represents a remarkable success story for post-conflict recovery. Yet, it is not quite finished. Sierra Leone will require continued support as it prepares for elections next year, strives to address the enduring challenges in the areas of good governance, youth employment and combating drug trafficking, and builds resilience to weather unexpected political and economic shocks. Drawing upon the findings of a delegation visit to Freetown earlier this year, I would like to highlight issues of particular importance and outline the Peacebuilding Commission’s plans for the coming six months. As the Executive Representative noted, the presidential, legislative and local elections in 2012 have great symbolic importance. A campaign free of intimidation, conducted in a spirit of open dialogue and accepted by all, will signal that Sierra Leone has built a stable and democratic foundation upon which to build a sustainable peace. As the elections approach, it is essential that all actors involved build greater trust and generate a common understanding of the ground rules with respect to reforming the electoral laws and making further progress on implementing the agreements reached in the joint communiqué of April 2009. As the Security Council considers the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL), I would like to emphasize the central role that the mission has played in facilitating dialogue and assisting electoral preparations, as well as to commend Mr. Von der Schulenburg for his personal leadership. In that respect, the appointment of the Sierra Leone People’s Party presidential candidate opens the door for the main political parties to engage in a more open, regular and productive high-level dialogue. The National Electoral Commission must deliver not just a technically sound election, but also one that is widely accepted by all participants. The Political Parties Registration Commission will continue to be an important forum for resolving potential disputes. It is critical that the relationship between those bodies and the major political parties improve. The Sierra Leone Police has served as a neutral and effective force for stability in the recent past, but continues to face serious equipment shortages. The current limited supply of police vehicles poses a serious transportation constraint and could hamper response times to remote areas during the election period. I would urge all donors to help fill that capacity gap. Looking beyond the electoral period, lasting solutions to many of Sierra Leone’s challenges will depend on increasing private sector investment. Good governance is essential for spurring such progress. The Anti-Corruption Commission continues to advance an ambitious agenda that includes the prosecution of egregious offenders, public outreach and regular institutional reviews. Such efforts have yielded steady progress in the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings. They must continue and accelerate. Sierra Leone is also experiencing a surge of investment in the extractive sector. That holds promise for generating growth and reducing dependency on aid, but it also brings associated risks. Resources must be managed in a transparent manner that delivers benefits to the population as a whole. Sierra Leone can build on its efforts to mitigate such risks through its participation in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the Kimberley Process. Economic growth represents an essential component in the long-term resolution of Sierra Leone’s high levels of youth unemployment, but the country has taken sensible steps in the short term. Since the previous delegation visit in 2010, which focused closely on the issue, the Government has established a National Youth Commission, appointed a new Youth Commissioner, restructured relevant responsibilities to create a Ministry of Youth and Sports, and revised its national strategy to better match supply-side interventions to actual market demand. Those are most welcome developments. As the 2011 World Development Report argues, creating jobs is a core component of peace consolidation, but it often receives too little attention. By providing additional support to Sierra Leone, international partners could seize the opportunity to begin implementing the recommendations of the World Development Report and to invest in Sierra Leone’s long-term success. Sierra Leone continues to face the unwelcome threat posed by drug trafficking and organized crime. Recognizing the regional nature of the problem, the West African configurations of the Peacebuilding Commission held a joint meeting earlier this year, with the high-level participation of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the United Nations Office for West Africa, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and INTERPOL. The discussion yielded several relevant findings. First, while Sierra Leone is the most advanced member of the West Africa Coast Initiative, the slow pace of progress elsewhere hinders intelligence-sharing and early warning. The limited capacity within the region to track financial flows is another significant challenge, especially given the risk that illicit profits may aggravate corruption. Secondly, the West Africa Coast Initiative requires additional funding to meet the scale of outstanding needs. Allow me to close by briefly outlining the Peacebuilding Commission’s forthcoming activities. In October, the Sierra Leone configuration will meet to consider the second annual joint progress report on the Agenda for Change, prepared by the Government of Sierra Leone in collaboration with the United Nations, international partners and civil society, including women’s groups. Over the course of the next six months, I also plan to visit Sierra Leone and will convene a meeting to assess preparations for the 2012 elections, featuring the participation of relevant Sierra Leonean officials. I will convey the findings of that visit and the conclusions of the Peacebuilding Commission’s deliberations to the Security Council in due course. Finally, let me express my gratitude to both the Government of Sierra Leone and UNIPSIL. Sierra Leone has demonstrated what strong national leadership can achieve in the face of adversity. UNIPSIL, ably led by Executive Representative of the Secretary-General Michael von der Schulenburg, in conjunction with the entire United Nations country team, has developed an innovative and integrated approach to peacebuilding that is yielding impressive results. It is a privilege to work with such strong partners. The Peacebuilding Commission stands ready to continue to assist Sierra Leone’s efforts to consolidate peace.

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

At the outset, I join previous speakers in congratulating you, Mr. President, for assuming the presidency of the Security Council for the month of September. At the same time, I would like to thank the members of the Council for giving me the opportunity to participate in the discussion of the agenda item under the Council’s consideration, namely, the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL). On behalf of His Excellency President Ernest Bai Koroma and the people of Sierra Leone, I wish to convey our profound appreciation for the unremitting support and active interest by the United Nations and friends of Sierra Leone to consolidate our peace, stability and development. In that regard, permit me to single out the strong leadership and commitment in the pursuit of peace and development in Sierra Leone displayed by Ambassador John McNee as Chair of the Sierra Leone configuration, and to express our sincere gratitude personally to him, his Mission staff and the Government and the people of Canada for the exemplary and record-setting role they have played, which is worthy of emulation and recognition. We wish Mr. McNee well in his future assignments. We look forward to continuing to work with Canada in consolidating the gains made in the transition from the post-conflict phase to a more development-focused phase. We welcome Ambassador McNee’s successor, Ambassador Guillermo Rishchynski, with open arms and high expectations and greet him today with a very warm embrace. We thank him for his instructive participation in this debate. Our thanks also go to the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Michael von der Schulenburg, for his remarkable show of understanding of the situation on the ground, as well as to the United Nations country team for its strong support in helping to consolidate peace and in maximizing the gains of our post-conflict development effort. I acknowledge the kind sentiments that Mr. Von der Schulenburg expressed in my regard in his statement. I would like to assure him of my continued cooperation and support in the efforts to consolidate our peace process. The Secretary-General’s seventh report on the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (S/2011/554) accurately catalogues the progress made and the challenges that remain in our efforts to consolidate peace and transition towards a more developmental phase. President Ernest Bai Koroma and the Government of Sierra Leone remain firmly committed to the vision of our international partners, including the United Nations and the Peacebuilding Commission, for ensuring durable peace and stability and in fostering socio-economic development as mapped out in our Agenda for Change. It is within that context that President Koroma launched the idea of an all-inclusive and non-partisan national conference during his speech celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of our independence. The concern for the implementation of the joint communiqué of 2 April 2009, alluded to in the report, is well noted. We would like to assure the Council that the Government of Sierra Leone will continue to engage with all stakeholders, as was demonstrated in working with UNIPSIL to establish the All Political Parties Youth Association and the All Political Parties Women’s Association, both of which aim at preventing political violence, fostering inter-party dialogue and, in the case of the Women’s Association, further enhancing women’s participation in politics. In the latter regard, I am happy to share with the Council that we now have 14.5 per cent of women holding political office, almost half of our target of 30 per cent. We also continue to make progress towards the education of the girl child and towards providing free health care to pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five years old. We are also making steady progress in putting structures in place to address youth unemployment, corruption, transnational organized crime, the participation of women in peacebuilding and public service, and gender-based violence. 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, along with a National Youth Commission — whose commissioner and board members have been appointed — to provide the policy framework. These measures will pave the way for the meaningful participation of youth in national development. The Government of Sierra Leone remains committed to the conduct of peaceful, free, fair, credible and transparent elections in 2012. We welcome all the support of the United Nations and our development partners to that end. President Koroma’s commitment to a peaceful political environment was recently demonstrated by ensuring that there was an atmosphere conducive to the main opposition party, the Sierra Leone People’s Party, being able to select its party officials, including its presidential candidate for the 2012 elections. Indeed, a successful outcome of those elections will be a highly acclaimed benchmark and indicator of whether meaningful peace and stability has really taken firm root in our national efforts, as will the realization of the much talked-about idea of a transition process or a phasing out of UNIPSIL into a United Nations country team. The National Electoral Commission and the Political Parties Registration Commission enjoy the independence necessary to deliver effectively on their constitutional mandate free of interference. Efforts are also being made by the Electoral Commission, in consultation with all stakeholders, including political parties, to consider the reform of the electoral process. The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation, the Independent Media Commission and the Editors Guild continue to play a central role in providing equal access to radio and television air time to the public, and to political parties in particular. We are equally committed to responding to concerns raised in the report on the mining sector and the management of our natural resources by taking measures to improve the governance of the sector and ensuring greater transparency and accountability in order to maximize the value derived from the country’s mineral resources for the benefit of all Sierra Leoneans. To that end, we have sought support from our development partners in order to build the capacity of the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources. However, continued support from the international community and our development partners is still required to build on the gains made to further consolidate peacebuilding in Sierra Leone. In particular, such issues as support for the National Electoral Commission, addressing youth unemployment, support for the Anti-Corruption Commission, the reparations process as recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the provision of vehicles to the Sierra Leone Police to enhance their capability and make them more mobile and visible during the elections and after, are issues that require urgent attention and solutions in order to consolidate the gains already made. The successful conduct of peaceful, free and fair elections largely requires all stakeholders to be responsible and adhere to the electoral laws and other relevant national legislation. In particular, there is a need for all stakeholders, including international players, to be biased in favour of consolidating peace and stability in Sierra Leone and not to be seen to be supportive of perpetrators of gross human rights abuses and violations. At this stage of the peacebuilding process, such conduct could tend to be misunderstood and incite violence, which could then lead to a relapse into conflict. Furthermore, drug trafficking and organized crime continue to pose a serious challenge to the Economic Community of West African States subregion. With support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Sierra Leone, within the framework of the West Africa Coast Initiative, has gone far ahead of other affected countries in putting in place the structures for the Transnational Organized Crime Unit to be functional and effective. Additional assistance to the Government in promoting good governance and the rule of law; combating illicit drug trafficking and organized crime; providing support to the Human Rights Commission; and assisting in strengthening national capacity-building in the areas of law enforcement, forensics, border management, money laundering and the strengthening of criminal justice institutions is also required to consolidate and build on the gains made in those key peacebuilding areas. On the socio-economic front, the prevailing global economic and financial uncertainties, as well as debt crises, are seriously undermining our efforts to turn the economy around as quickly as desired. In view of the severe impact of those uncertainties on our efforts, and in support of the strides we have made in socio-economic development, we look forward to the adoption of effective ways and means by which the international community and development partners could respond to the needs of the funding gap in the implementation of the United Nations Joint Vision for Sierra Leone. We appreciate the positive response by some of our development partners and friendly countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland and Italy, in terms of their contribution to the Multi-Donor Trust Fund. We appeal for appropriate steps to be taken towards fulfilling commitments with regard to the pledges made at the Consultative Group meeting on Sierra Leone held in London in 2009. We are fully aware that attracting foreign direct investment and establishing a conducive and purposeful business environment remain key in establishing a more secure Sierra Leone and in protecting its citizens from fear and want. The Government will relentlessly continue to pursue that objective. While we share the accolades for the progress made, it is important to gently urge our friends, the international community and the United Nations to continue investing in success as we relentlessly work towards achieving our shared objectives in peace consolidation and development. I would like to draw the Council’s attention to the increase in mercenary activities in the Mano River Basin, which require our collective effort and support so as to address the issue before it eventually gets out of hand and undermines peace and stability in the subregion. We welcome United Nations support to the trial of Charles Taylor by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Before concluding my statement, I would like, with the leave of the Council, to provide a briefing on recent developments in terms of political violence in Sierra Leone. The flag-bearer of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) for the 2012 presidential elections, Mr. Jurius Maada Bio, scheduled a national thank-you tour to personally express his gratitude to SLPP members for having elected him as the presidential candidate of their party. The party secretariat is said to have duly requested the necessary police clearance, which was granted by right, with the understanding that Mr. Maada Bio was to deliver his thank-you message to his audience at the Bo Coronation Field. Mr. Maada Bio left Freetown on Friday, 9 September, made stopovers at Mile 91 and Moyamba Junction and arrived in Bo without any incident. He was welcomed by huge and jubilant crowds at all points. On his way to the Coronation Field, the convoy was routed along Mahei Boima Road, where the party offices of the All People’s Congress (APC) and the People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) are located. It is reported that, between the offices of the PMDC and the APC, there was an incident of stone- throwing, to which Mr. Maada Bio, who is said to have been riding in an open-top vehicle and in a standing position, fell victim with an injury to his head. It is further reported that he was then rushed to a hospital for medical attention. With that, violence immediately erupted at the scene of the incident, which led to the burning of the APC office building. An additional two buildings at two different locations were also burned down, as was the residence of Mr. Sheku Sillah, APC-Bo District Chairman, and a rental building housing the offices of De Pa In Yai. Journalists are reporting that police efforts to contain the rampage involved the use of tear gas and live bullets, which is said to have resulted in one death, while 17 people were injured and hospitalized. This ugly political incident was starkly condemned in a press release issued immediately after the incident by the Office of President Ernest Bai Koroma, and in many subsequent press releases by other political interest groups, including the APC and the PMDC parties, the Independent Media Commission, the Political Party Registration Commission (PPRC) and the Campaign for Good Governance. Wide and unequivocal condemnation has also been strongly expressed by the general public through radio phone-in programmes and in print media editorials. The President called a short security meeting on Saturday, which was attended by invited executive representatives of the PPRC, the media and civil society. The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Defence, the Minister for Internal Affairs, the Deputy Minister for Information and Communications, the Chief of Staff, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Sierra Leone Police, the senior cadre of the Office of National Security, the president of the fire force and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. In his opening remarks, the President thanked all for responding in such good numbers on very short notice. He firmly reiterated his personal condemnation of the incident, which he said was sending very undesirable and wrong signals ahead of the 2012 elections, and which could potentially negate and derail the national gains made in terms of rebranding the country’s image, peacebuilding and peace consolidation, which were so painstakingly achieved with the help of our development partners and the international community. The President emphatically described the unfortunate incident as ugly and unacceptable, inasmuch as it portends possible violence during the forthcoming 2012 elections. He added that it could undermine the peace, security and stability of the State. President Koroma then categorically stated his personal commitment to nip this inimical tendency in the bud, as he would not allow a recurrence of such apparent re-emergence of political violence, be it inter-or intra-party violence. In the light of what I have described, the President then issued a series of stern directives. He ordered an urgent investigation into the entire political incident of Friday, 9 September and the submission of a comprehensive report as soon as possible. He also ordered that a competent committee be properly and immediately constituted and stressed the need to include members of the PPRC and civil society organizations so as to ensure transparency and the outcome of an objective report that would be credible in the eyes of the nation and the international community. The President added that he would like to see the investigation conducted in such a professional manner as to leave no room for suspicion by anyone of being unduly disadvantaged. He said that the committee must engage in an extensive fact-finding exercise aimed at producing a comprehensive report that is expected to provide credible evidential basis for the prosecution of all those found culpable, without exception, prejudice or favour. The President reaffirmed his determination to ensure that, without exception, anyone found responsible would bear the full penalty of the law. He then implored members of the committee to be constituted to keep in mind that their assignment is a special national call for their patriotic service in a very crucial situation affecting our national development, image and pride. In thanking all of those in attendance, the President said that he expected a speedy and transparent investigation, as well as a very comprehensive and credible report for the sake of easing the anxiety of the nation. It is to be noted that the investigation will be conducted independently of, but simultaneously with, the Bo police investigation, which may be seen as political in nature. A similar approach was taken in the case of a recent incident in Kono during a visit by the Minister for Internal Affairs. The committee was scheduled to depart Freetown on Sunday, 11 September. On realizing that Mr. Maada Bio cut short his tour and returned to Freetown over the weekend, the committee membership decided to seek an interview with him before he departed the country for a medical check-up. That is the end of that briefing. Finally, allow me once again to reaffirm our deep appreciation to the United Nations, the Peacebuilding Commission, its Chair and the members of the Sierra Leone configuration, as well as our development partners, for their continued support to peacebuilding and peace consolidation in Sierra Leone.

I thank Mr. 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 of the subject.