S/PV.6137
6137th meeting
Monday, 8 June 2009, 10 a.m.
New York
The situation in Sierra Leone
Mr. Dabbashi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): I should like to join preceding speakers in welcoming Mrs. Zainab Hawa Bangura, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sierra Leone. I thank her for joining us today and for her statement to the Security Council. I would also like to thank Mr. Michael von der schulenburg, Executive Representative of the Secretary-General in Sierra Leone, for his briefing. I also thank Ambassador John McNee, Chairperson of the Sierra Leone country-specific configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission, for his briefing. In that regard, allow me to emphasize how much we support the activities of the Peacebuilding Commission in Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone is a post-conflict African country. We are very keen to see that Sierra Leone is not involved in conflict ever again. The wisdom of the leadership of Sierra Leone, supported by the international community, has been responsible for many achievements along the road towards stability. It is of the utmost importance to defend the achievements that have been made and to build upon them towards a State characterized by stability and well-being, where violence among the people has no place.
The wisdom of the political leadership, with President Koroma at the forefront and with the support of UNIPSIL, succeeded in defusing the crisis that broke out in March. The country has been spared a new spiral of conflict. Regrettably, party-controlled media outlets played a prominent role in the outbreak of the crisis by encouraging violence, which led the authorities to take the wise decision to temporarily suspend their operations.
The political leadership in Sierra Leone has overcome the crisis. The joint communiqué between the two parties was signed on 2 April 2009; the three main political parties have now committed to it. We express the hope that they will be able to implement all of its provisions, particularly those pertaining to political participation, respect for State institutions and State bodies such as the police force and the judiciary, the creation of non-partisan media and the disbanding of militant youth groups.
The living conditions of most people in Sierra Leone are a source of grave concern. Prices, particularly those of foodstuffs, are spiralling, while unemployment is rife and the population relies to a large extent on remittances from citizens living abroad. In this regard, we express our appreciation for the efforts of the African Development Bank and donor organizations and States: despite the lack of resources, they have supported local food production within the context of the Government’s reform policy. We look forward to further support being provided to the Government, as it lacks the financial resources it needs to implement its development programmes. We welcome President Koroma’s Agenda for Change, and we express the hope that it will be implemented.
We take note with satisfaction of the results of efforts being made to support institutions such as the National Electoral Commission, the Independent Media Commission, the National Human Rights Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission. We support the parallel plans adopted to provide job opportunities for unemployed young people. We note that young people played a central role in fuelling the disturbances in the recent crisis. Like Ambassador McNee, we also hope that the effective implementation of the Joint Vision of the United Nations family will change the lives of Sierra Leoneans and bolster the peace that was achieved after strenuous efforts.
In conclusion, we express our thanks and appreciation to the Secretary-General, the Peacebuilding Support Office and the United Nations country team. We congratulate them on reaching the political and development benchmarks for peacebuilding. We wish full success to the special session of the Peacebuilding Commission on Sierra Leone to be held on 10 June 2009. We call on all States to support that session.
