PRESS BRIEFING

Alan Doss, UNAMSIL Deputy Special Representative
for Governance & Stabilization
Friday, 1 February 2002

I want to brief you this morning on some things that are going to be happening next week that are of considerable importance to Sierra Leone. We are hosting next week - the Government and UN agencies here in Sierra Leone - a visit by a number of representatives of donor countries. We are expecting about 12, if not more countries to be represented and there will be a week-long series of visits and consultations by those countries or their representatives and institutions to Sierra Leone to meet with the Government, UN Agencies, NGOs, and civil society. They will visit various parts of the country to look at the immediate humanitarian needs that have been put forward in the UN Consolidated Appeal for Sierra Leone 2002.

But also I want to underline this: recovery and reintegration needs, as well as the additional demands arising from what we call the extension of state authority - the return of key Government services to the newly accessible districts. With the end of the disarmament process, we all are looking forward to a period now to both consolidate peace and to deal with some of the other consequences of the conflict. There are hundreds of thousands of people who have to return to their communities and we want to help them rebuild those communities and their lives. We have thousands of ex-combatants who need assistance to take up new lives and, of course, we have the consequences of the terrible devastation in the country, which has been wrought over the last 10 years.

There are literally thousands and thousands of houses that have to be rebuilt; people need shelter, particularly those who are returning, be it refugees or internally displaced. But there are also hundreds if not thousands of key Government buildings, clinics, hospitals, court houses, district offices that also need to be rebuilt and be rebuilt soon if we're to ensure that effective state services return to every part of this country.

In addition, areas that have been under Government control for several years also need help. They have not benefited much either because as you know Sierra Leone is a poor country. We are very anxious now to build on the momentum created by the end of the disarmament programme to begin the process of transition; to begin the recovery process or to accelerate it; to ensure the reintegration and resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people who have been uprooted; and of course, we hope to help the economy revive, not just here in Freetown but in the rural areas where most of the people still live in this country. To do that is going to require a mix of national efforts, but also we hope for increased assistance from the international community. Now is the time to build on the tremendous investment we made through the United Nations, in particular the work of UNAMSIL, to build on those achievements to ensure that we can help consolidate the peace.

Personally I'm also very anxious that Sierra Leone remains very much on the international community's radar screen. We want to ensure that the country get access to the resources that it needs to help it rebuild, to sustain the momentum that has come out of the successful conclusion of the disarmament process. This is going to need a combined effort first and foremost by Sierra Leone and the people of Sierra Leone but also their international partners. So as I said we are bringing a team of international donors here. We want them to see what has been achieved so far but also what needs to be done. That is what we are going to be focused on next week. I just wanted to mention that to you because I feel that this is an important step for Sierra Leone. We are very anxious to widen the circle of donors. There have been a number of partners who have provided a large amount of assistance to Sierra Leone and now is the time to move Sierra Leone into the post-conflict column and enable Sierra Leone to benefit not just only from humanitarian relief aid, but increasingly a broader range of development as well as assistance for recovery.

Questions and answers

Clarence McCauley (Associated Press): Can you help us with the name of the countries you will be bringing and the estimated projected amounts they will be donating?

Mr. Doss: We can certainly give you a list of the countries. Regarding the amounts, we will be preparing a document for next week's meeting of the National Recovery Committee (NRC). The NRC is where these policies are coordinated and the Committee will meet next Thursday afternoon if all goes well with the donors. That will be the moment when some of these needs will be spelled out in detail. I do not want to give you headline figure today because I don't want to preempt that meeting. But the needs are substantial and we can't quantify all of them, but as you know there are hundreds of thousands of people who have to come back - refugees as well as IDPs - infrastructure has to be rebuilt, Government services have to be refurbished, roads, health infrastructure, education - that all has to be done, which will require resources. I think it's manageable and by next Thursday we will have an idea of the immediate needs.

I do know the humanitarian community through the consolidated appeal is asking for $89 million for humanitarian needs, which will include some of the reintegration work. In addition to that, there will be recovery needs for infrastructure, etc. The bottom line is the initial $89 million for humanitarian needs and I must say that its worth pointing out that last year 2001 we had a pretty good response to our humanitarian appeal; about 80% of what we asked for. We believe that was a good number compared to many other countries, which only got a fraction of their needs fulfilled.

Clarence McCauley (Associated Press): Can you give us a date when the meetings will be held?

Mr. Doss: There will be a series of meetings next week. Monday we will meet to discuss immediate humanitarian need with the UN agencies. Tuesday and Wednesday we will be taking them out to visit some of the regions. We have chosen four districts to show a wide variety of conditions - Kambia, Pujehun, Kono and Kailahun, and they will be visiting a of variety of activities on the ground. Thursday, they will meet with the National Recovery Committee. On Friday morning we will have a specific meeting on the DDR Programme - reintegration for ex-combatants.

Clarence McCauley (Associated Press): When will they be arriving?

Mr. Doss: They will be arriving over the weekend. On Monday morning, the SRSG will welcome them. The Minister of Development will brief them on the country's economic prospects. The Commissioner of NCRRR will brief them on immediate humanitarian recovery needs.

Arthur Caulker (Salone Times): Will you also be assisting in the repatriation of Sierra Leonean refugees that are based in Liberia and Guinea?

Mr. Doss: This is part of the consolidated appeal. UNHCR has included in that appeal financial requests to assist in the repatriation.

Question: Will you be assisting them (refugees) before the forthcoming election?

Mr. Doss: UNHCR, which has the primary responsibility for the return of refugees, is now discussing with the Governments concerned, the timetable and the phasing of that return. UNHCR's concern by international convention is to ensure that they can return in safety, and that the conditions of course allow for the speedy reintegration of those returnees.

Clarence McCauley (Associated Press): With the billions of leones the United Nations has invested in Sierra Leone in bringing peace, how do you see the start of this electoral process, especially the registration of voters?

Mr. Doss: It's very important to underline that this is a national responsibility at the end of the day. We are here to support that and assist that. But at the end of the day, only Sierra Leoneans can assure that. On the registration, I think it's too early to make an assessment. We are only half-way through the registration process; we still have another week to go. We saw that things were a bit slow; there were logistical difficulties; not all the materials were where they should be on day one and some polling stations opened late. There have been difficulties. The initial days from what I could see were a bit slow, but it is picking up. I hope through you, the media, you can be getting word out that people must exercise their right to register. I think that's very important, it truly is. If people don't register, they can't vote - even when they register, they don't always vote. At least let's get to the starting gate, so please urge everybody not just in Freetown - get out to register, it's critical. But it's too early to say how the process has gone yet.

Thank you very much.

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For additional information, contact UNAMSIL Public Information Office: UNAMSIL Headquarters, Mammy Yoko, P. O. Box 5, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Tel: 232-22-273-183/4/5 Fax: 232-22-273-189