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UNAMSIL PRESS BRIEFING
12 JUNE 2001
(Near Verbatim)
MARGARET NOVICKI- SPOKESMAN
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES RENEWED POLITICAL COMMITMENT TO CHILDREN'S RIGHTS
As government representatives gathered in New York to lay the groundwork for an upcoming forum on children's rights, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette yesterday, 11 June, urged a renewed political push to meet the needs of the world's young people.
Addressing the Preparatory Committee for the UN General Assembly's special session on children in September, Ms. Fréchette cited "real and significant" progress in a number of areas since the landmark 1990 World Summit for Children. Child mortality rates were down, immunization levels were up, and more girls and boys were receiving an education than ever before.
"Clearly, children now have a much higher profile on the national and global political agendas," said Ms. Fréchette, introducing We the Children, a report by the Secretary-General which reviews progress since the 1990 Summit. "Yet much more needs to be done." She noted that over 10 million children still die each year "often from preventable causes," while an estimated 150 million others suffer from malnutrition. Conflicts took the lives of approximately 2 million children over the past decade, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic has left more than 13 million orphans in its wake.
The General Assembly's special session on children "must aim at regenerating political will and commitment in order to address the remaining challenges and emerging issues affecting the well being of our children," Ms. Fréchette told the final preparatory session, which opened yesterday and runs through Friday, 15 June.
DISARMAMENT BEGINS IN LUNSAR TODAY
Disarmament of combatants in Lunsar is expected to begin today. Over 1,500 RUF combatants are expected to enter the DDR process in Lunsar. UNAMSIL MILOBs and officers of BANARTY visited Lunsar yesterday to finalize arrangements for the commencement of DDR there. The RUF's Col. Molesky Kallon confirmed that the RUF would start disarming today at noon. DDR is also expected to begin at Masiaka on 13 June.
At the 2 June meeting in Magburaka of the Government of Sierra Leone, UNAMSIL, and the RUF, it was agreed that disarmament in Lunsar and Kono and Bonthe districts would take place in June. A second recce was conducted to Bonthe district yesterday by a DDR team comprising UNAMSIL, NCDDR, RUF, CDF and the Government to make further arrangements for the refurbishment of the selected DDR facilities in the district. A team from UNAMSIL, RUF, Government, CDF and NCDDR, as well as chiefs from the Kono district, traveled to Yengema on 9 June to make arrangements for the DDR facilities selected for combatants in Kono district.
Meanwhile, 12 RUF combatants disarmed in Sandaru in the Kailahun district on 10 June. Over 100 CDF combatants from Sandaru are also expected to disarm today. The combatants will be demobilized at the Daru DDR camp.
UNAMSIL TRUST FUND TO SUPPORT PROJECT FOR EX-COMBATANTS
A project on skills training and reintegration of adult and child ex-combatants and women and girl victims of sexual violence and rape has been awarded a $14,861 grant from the UNAMSIL Trust Fund. The project, which will last for six months, will be implemented by the Faith, Hope and Charity Foundation, a local NGO. Twenty-five adult ex-combatants, 60 child ex-combatants and 40 girls and women will benefit from the project.
GAMBIAN DELEGATION VISITS UNAMSIL
The Chief of Staff of the Gambia Armed Forces, Col. Babucar Jatta, and the Permanent Secretary in the Department of Defense, Mr. Essa Khan, accompanied by four journalists from Gambia Radio and Television Services, arrive in Freetown today to obtain first-hand information about the contributions of Gambian Military Observers to peacekeeping in Sierra Leone.
The team will meet with UNAMSIL and Government officials and visit Port Loko, Hastings, Lunsar and Makeni.
SRSG ADDRESSES DONOR CONFERENCE IN PARIS
Yesterday, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, appealed to the donor community to "respond generously" to the Government of Sierra Leone's request for financial assistance for the full completion of the DDR programme, at the meeting in Paris of the Sierra Leone Multi-donor Trust Fund, organized by the World Bank. The meeting, which was expected to conclude today, was convened to replenish the Trust Fund that had been established to support the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process in Sierra Leone.
In his address, the SRSG commended the "spirit of collaboration in recent weeks" by both the Government and the RUF, which had made progress in the peace process possible. He outlined UNAMSIL's role in the DDR process, which consists of provision of security in the DDR camps; reception and processing of ex-combatants; collection and destruction of weapons; managerial support at the demobilization sites; and facilitation of the dialogue between the parties in order to plan and monitor the successive phases of the DDR.
The SRSG noted due to the momentum gained in the DDR process in the past few weeks, the NCDDR is under "enormous pressure" to deliver camps and facilities "in record time." Another "crucial issue" he identified was the reinsertion package to be granted to ex-combatants, and the longer-term reintegration of ex-combatants.
Ambassador Adeniji concluded, "We have before us a limited window of opportunity that we cannot afford to neglect. I am confident, however, that this meeting will confirm the faith that the people of Sierra Leone have placed in the international community to assist them on the road to durable peace and recovery."
FORCE COMMANDER BIDS FAREWELL TO BANGLADESH BATTALION
The UNAMSIL Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Daniel I. Opande, yesterday, 11 June, bade farewell to Bangladesh Battalion 1 (BANBATT 1) after its completion of a one-year tour of duty. The Force Commander, addressing the troops at their base at Lungi, said they had come from far away to restore peace to the people of Sierra Leone. He credited them for their achievement, dedication and commitment to duty in the Mission.
Noting that the battalion was leaving the Mission at a time when the disarmament process was under way, Lt. Gen. Opande expressed the hope that Bangladesh Battalion 4, which will replace the departing troops, would strive to fit the bill.
The Force Commander said that BANBATT 1 would be remembered by UNAMSIL and by the people of Sierra Leone for the invaluable security it provided to Lungi Airport and the surrounding villages.
RUF RELEASES MORE CHILDREN IN KAILAHUN
On Saturday, 9 June, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) handed over to the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) 59 more children, including four girls, in a brief ceremony in Kailahun, Eastern Sierra Leone. The latest release makes a total of 828 children associated with the fighting forces handed over to UNAMSIL by the RUF since 25 May.
Members of the National Child Protection Committee, including the Ministry of Social Welfare, UNICEF, and Save the Children, as well as the National Commission on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration, witnessed the event.
The children were flown by UNAMSIL to an interim care center in Daru operated by Save the Children.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: How crucial is the on-going multi-donor conference in France to the Sierra Leone disarmament process?
A: I think the meeting is of crucial importance to the success of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process. As we all know, the National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR) is limited in its capacity by funding constraints. So this meeting is very very key to the forward movement in the disarmament process, and we expect to get a report back once the meeting ends today. We hope that the donor community has been very forthcoming and supportive of this process.
Q: My concern is about the disarmament process that has been going on in Port Loko and Kambia Districts. How do you go about ascertaining the number of ex-fighters in the various districts before you commence disarmament?
A: If you remember the May 15 Freetown agreement, the agreement stipulated that the RUF and the CDF have to provide us with the number of combatants that are expected to disarm in any district. And they have been doing that so far--they have been providing us with figures. So the figure that I gave you today is an estimate provided by the RUF. But it could be higher. In fact we expect it could be higher than that.
Q: Do you undertake any follow-up exercise in districts where disarmament has been completed?
A: The May 15 agreement stipulated that once we are satisfied that the disarmament process has been concluded in a particular district, then cordon and search operations can be conducted and any person who is found to still be carrying arms at that time would be subject to the laws of the country.
Q: What are the achievements of the outgoing Bangladeshi Battalion at the Lungi Airport?
A: I think you know that the airport is a very key strategic location in any country, and the airport has to be protected and defended. The Bangladeshi Battalion has been stationed there, and they have done a very good job of keeping the airport secure and safe for travel, and also the surrounding villages.
Q: What preparation is UNAMSIL doing to celebrate The Day of the African Child?
A: This is a programme the Government of Sierra Leone handles every year. UNICEF is the specialized UN agency that deals with children and it is part of the government preparations. We at UNAMSIL hope to do series of radio programmes on Radio UNAMSIL about and for children.
Q: Will RUF maintain their bases in the various districts after disarmament?
A: No they won't retain their bases. If they are disarming, they are going into the DDR process. They are going into DDR camps, and then reintegration projects, hopefully at the end of it once funding is forthcoming. And then I would expect in all likelihood that most of them would want to go home.
Q: There was an arrest over the weekend of a very senior military officer. He is supposed to have been arrested with a large amount of ammunition in his premises. What is UNAMSIL doing to maintain a weapons-free-zone in Freetown?
A: I think you know that UNAMSIL has battalions in the Freetown to ensure its safety of and UNAMSIL works closely with the Sierra Leone Police, SSD and Sierra Leone Army to see to it that Freetown is weapons-free. Now as you know by this incident, a tip-off led the Sierra Leone Police to this individual's house where they found a large cache of weapons. And certainly there are a lot of weapons floating around in this country as a result of the ten years of war. But UNAMSIL is doing its best to see to it that when we get any indication of weapons anywhere, we take action in collaboration with our national partners-- the police and the Sierra Leone Army.
Q: What are the indications from the multi-donor conference on Sierra Leone DDR in France? What kind of reintegration package will be provided?
A: I haven't got any feedback yet from Paris as to what the response will be and I think that we have to wait and see what they are looking at in terms of the reintegration package. Obviously that would form a good portion of the discussion-- what the donor countries are prepared to offer in terms of the reintegration element for ex-combatants.
Q: Are children who were forcefully conscripted into the fighting forces likely going to be charged to court?
A: Not likely.
Q: You mean they may appear in court?
A: I think that when the Special Court is formed, the intention is that it will deal with those most responsible for human rights violations that occurred, and the atrocities that occurred. It is highly unlikely that children will face the Special Court.
Q: Could you please give us disarmament in Kono district?
A: As I said, a team has gone to Yengema to look at the site that has been selected for the disarmament center in Kono district. Work has to be done on it. And the NCDDR estimates that the work will take about two weeks to complete to make it habitable for the ex-combatants. So as soon as the work is finished in Yengema camp, UNAMSIL is ready to start the DDR process there.
Q: Now that peace is gradually returning to Sierra Leone, what are the long-term plans of UNAMSIL?
A: I think you heard the Force Commander the other day say here in this very room that yes, peace is coming, but it's still a long way off. And until it's here, until it's finally here, until the country is perfectly stable and calm, until all the refugees have been able to come home, until all the combatants have been disarmed, I think we have a role to play here.
Q: What is the complementary role of UNAMSIL in this reintegration programme especially when the ex-combatants are now disarming?
A: We have the NCDDR and the NCRRR that are responsible for that aspect. UNAMSIL assists in whatever way it can. I just outlined to you what UNAMSIL's role is in the DDR process.
Q: Can you confirm reports of problems between the RUF and SLA in the Kambia district?
A: As the 15 May agreement stated, the RUF combatants withdrew from Kambia district and Kambia district was disarmed, and the SLA was able to move in without a hitch. They moved in very smoothly into Kambia district. If there are some small disagreements on the ground between RUF and the SLA, I think those kinds of things can be sorted out easily.
*********** 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
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