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PERMANENT MISSION OF THE
REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE
TO THE UNITED NATIONS
 
PRESIDENT KABBAH SPEAKS TO UN-GA
SHORT BACKGROUND ON THE CIVIL CONFLICT IN SIERRA LEONE

1. A rebel group calling itself the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) initiated an armed campaign against the State of Sierra Leone in 1991 with the aim of overthrowing the Government of President Joseph Momoh. The RUF, was led by an ex-army Corporal Foday Sankoh, who had less than five years of formal schooling. He was dismissed from the army in 1976 after serving a jail sentence for his part in a plot to overthrow another Government in 1972 by a military coup.

2. Corporal Foday Sankoh launched his armed campaign with the help of the Liberian war-lord, Charles Taylor with whom he collaborated during the first phase of Taylor's rebellion in Liberia. The RUF leader has had close ties with some African countries which provided him and his men with revolutionary and military training, as well as material support.

3. Tile RUF campaign involved the use of indiscriminate atrocities targeted mainly at defenseless civilians in rural areas. Over the past five years more than ten thousand people have been killed and thousands more maimed. More than two million out of a population of about four and a half million were displaced, with a significant number living as refugees in neighbouring countries. The RUF's followers consisted mainly of abducted villagers and school children including girls of ages seven and above. Their loyalty was maintained mainly through the use of drugs and terror.

4. The RUF financed its war to a large extent with proceeds from diamonds, gold and cash crops which they obtained by attacking mining areas including the internationally owned rutile mining company, and crop producing areas.

5. The activities of the rebels virtually paralyzed the economy of the country and seriously undermined its social cohesion. The country, which is endowed with abundant precious mineral, fishing and agricultural resources was reduced to bankruptcy as investor confidence evaporated. The rebel campaign also created the potential for long term violence and criminal activity in the country. Efforts to resolve the war peacefully came up against stiff intransigence by tile RUF who seemed determined to take power by force or protract the state of hostilities for as long as possible so that they can continue amassing company through raids on mines and agricultural areas.

6. Tile RUF refused to take part in internationally supervised multiparty elections organized in February 1996, even though they were invited to participate over one year before the elections, and inspite of consistent encouragement and offer of assistance by the United Nations, the Commonwealth and other international organizations. Instead the RUF attempted to collude with the then military junta to scrap the elections and share power with tile latter. The vast majority of the people resisted those attempts and the elections were held as scheduled, inviting vicious retribution by the RUF against the populace. Having failed in its attempts to stop the elections and share power with the

Military junta, the RUF agreed to enter into serious negotiations with the new democratically elected Government, with the Government of neighbouring Cote d'lvoire as mediator.

7. After protracted and painstaking negotiations in Cote d'lvoire, involving the offer by Government of a general amnesty to all RUF members; an undertaking to help set up a trust fund for the RUF to assist it organize itself into a political party; the offer of positions in Government to the RUF leader and other members, including absorption into the army, police and other government institutions as well as the offer of other incentives, the RUF leader finally indicated his readiness to sign the agreement negotiated. He, however, asked to be allowed to brief his supporters in the bush before signing. A whole month after the RUF leader made his commitment to the Cote d'lvoire authorities, he failed to make the trip and to sign the agreement. Instead he made excuses for his refusal to sign.

8. It became clear that the RUF leader was not prepared to sign a peace agreement soon, and in the process, was determined to continue to hold the entire country to ransom while our people continue to be brutalized and the country destroyed.

9. Continued intransigence and prevarication by the rebel leader threatened a resumption of hostilities, given the growing level of distrust and suspicion. The Government renewed its call for action to forestall the potential catastrophe by demanding that the RUF sign the Peace Agreement by the first week of December, 1996, failing which the imposition of sanctions against them was to be considered, including the denial of access of facilities and territories of third countries, and the prospect of their arraignment before War Crimes Tribunal for the serious crimes perpetrated against defenseless and innocent civilians.

10. The Government on its part set in motion the process of rehabilitation and resettlement of internally displaced persons, refugees and ex-combatants in the hope that the international community would persuade the RUF to sign the peace agreement. Several friendly countries and organizations pledged immediate support for the programme at a Pound-table Conference in Geneva (I 7 - 1 8 September 1996) and the target figure of US$2 I I million was exceeded. Several other traditional donors including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden offered support conditional on the signing of a peace agreement.

I 1. Subsequently, on 30 November, 1996 the Government and the Revolutionary United Front signed the Peace Agreement in Abidjan, bringing an end to the bitter conflict which had caused appalling suffering to the people of Sierra Leone.

12. Under Article 3 of the Agreement, a Commission for the -Consolidation of Peace was established as a verification mechanism responsible for supervising and monitoring the implementation of, and compliance with the provisions of the Peace Agreement.

13. The United Nations had prepared a detailed plan to assist in the demobilization and disarmament of combatants.

14. The Commission, which included representatives of the RUF was already at work when on 25 May 1997, elements of the military staged a bloody coup to overthrow the democratically elected Government of President Kabbah, and invited the RUF rebels (now describing themselves as the "Peoples Army") to form an illegal regime the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).

1 5. The overwhelming majority of the people of Sierra Leone have made it abundantly clear their opposition to the military junta. There has been widespread atrocities against innocent people. The whole country is under siege. Students and others opposed to the illegal regime are being terrorized. Most banks are still closed, following the burning of the National Treasury and parts of the Central Bank during the military takeover.

16. A large number of the citizenry of the capital, Freetown, including professionals lawyers, doctors, engineers etc. business people and senior civil servants have left the country and are now in refugee camps in neighbouring countries and other parts of the world. Civil defence units are resisting the junta which continues to defy the call by the international community, including the U.N. Security Council and the sub-regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), for the restoration of the democratically elected Government of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.