Sierra Leone - DHA-10: 6-18 November 1996
Sierra Leone - DHA-10: 6-18 November 1996
BI-MONTHLY INFORMATION REPORT SIERRA LEONE - No. 10
Period covered: 6-18 November 1996
This report has been prepared by the office of the
United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone
1. At the most recent MNRRR-NGO Consultative Group
meeting held on 13 November and attended by representatives
from MNRRR, NGOs and UN-HACU, agreement was reached on all
sides on the precise information required by MNRRR in order
to compile an operational profile of NGOs currently working
in Sierra Leone. The information required from each NGO
includes: Any previous registration with other line
ministries, experience in Sierra Leone, geographical
coverage in the past and the present, sectoral
interventions, intended areas of intervention, staffing
(professional and administrative), resources-annual budget,
current sources of support.
2. On 19 October, 1996, UN-HACU chaired a key one day
working session to enable representatives from MNRRR, the
World Bank and indigenous and international NGOs to review
in detail the manual containing the proposed procedures for
the Emergency Recovery Support Fund (ERSF). The ERSF is the
primary mechanism which will be used to disburse funds
under the World Banks Emergency Recovery Credit (ERC) in
support of the Governments National Resettlement,
Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Programme (NRRRP) within
the framework of the Quick Action Programme (QUAP). The
value of the ERC will be USD 15-20 million if approved by
the World Bank. After a productive exchange of views it was
decided that the procedures should be redrafted in order to
emphasise a more decentralised approach, particularly with
regard to the approval, monitoring and funding of projects.
A smaller working group comprising representation from
MNRRR, World Bank, NGOs and UN-HACU is involved in ongoing
discussions to iron out technical details.
3. The information collection exercise to determine the
vulnerability status of internally displaced households
started in Bo on 8 November, 1996. The purpose of this
exercise is to build on information already collected in Bo
through previous registration exercises in order to enable
food agencies and other interested parties to target
vulnerable households more accurately (as opposed to
individually displaced people) and to facilitate the shift
to targeted feeding programmes in 1997. The system
envisages household to household visits by interagency
teams (for registered and verified families only) for the
purpose of filing in a scoring sheet which grades different
categories of people according to their level of
vulnerability. These household scoring sheets will
subsequently be entered into the UN-HACU database in
Freetown. Preliminary results have shown that approximately
50 percent of households surveyed are no longer in situ
which is a clear indication that a large proportion of the
registered caseload has returned home. The information
collection exercise is a large logistical operation
involving all the different agencies in Bo and is expected
to take six weeks to complete. Technical details have been
worked out by the Regional Food Aid Technical Committee
based in Bo under the overall umbrella of the National Food
Aid Technical Committee. The HACU representative in Bo was
nominated the focal point for coordinating the exercise by
the National Food Aid Technical Committee.
4. The fourth Disaster Management Training Programme
organised by UN-HACU took place in Makeni from 13-16
November 1996. The workshop was resourced by
representatives from MNRRR, UNICEF, UN-HACU, WFP, NRC and
SLRC and attended by Sierra Leoneans from UN Agencies, NGOs
and line ministries. Topics discussed include: Causes,
types and characteristics of human displacement, needs
assessment, registration and verification of displaced
populations, system wide response, camp management,
repatriation and resettlement, preparedness and early
warning, coordination and the policies, structure and
operational guidelines of MNRRR. As usual, the Training
Programme was well-received by those present.
SECURITY
5. Kamajors have occupied Sulima Village and Mano River
Bridge in Soro Gberma chiefdom in Pujehun district as the
authorities in the chiefdom failed to comply with the
ultimatum delivered by the kamajors at the end of October.
(See point 6, Sitrep 22-5 November). While some of the RUF
regrouped at Camp Libya, the remaining RUF stronghold in
the area located in dense rainforest on the Moa River,
others fled across the border into Liberia. Approximately
200 of the RUF in Liberia have surrendered to ULIMO-K and
preparations are underway to repatriate them to Freetown.
Preparations by the kamajors to infiltrate Kailahun
district continue.
6. On 15 November, 1996, 9 people were killed in an ambush
5 miles East of Matatoka village on the Makeni - Kono
highway. Although it is conceivable that the few remaining
RUF in the Kangari Hills were responsible for this
particular attack, it is more likely that bandits or
renegade soldiers were the culprits.
7. No security incidents in Bo or Kenema district have been
reported during the period under review. The Task Force
established by the military seems to be having some success
in reestablishing a good relationship between the military
and the kamajors following the clash which took place on 30
October, 1996. (See point one of previous sitrep).
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
8. Corporal Foday Sankoh has asked the GOSL for permission
to visit Sierra Leone (with the assistance of ICRC) for one
week from 22 November, 1996 in order to brief his followers
on the content of the peace accord. The Government has
acceded to Sankohs request but has indicated that his visit
would be most productive if limited to the area around
Koindu in Kailahun, given the prevailing security climate
in Sierra Leone. It is hoped that Corporal Sankoh will
return to Abidjan after his visit and that the peace
agreement will be signed shortly afterwards.
9. President Kabbahs first official tour of the provincial
headquarters in Kenema, Bo and Makeni, which took place
from 16-18 November, 1996, was extremely timely. By
reinforcing the overall thrust of the General Assembly
issued on 5 November, 1996 (see sitrep 22 Oct. - 5 Nov.) in
several different speeches, President Kabbah hoped to
undermine RUF moral still further and prompt a conclusion
to the war by the end of the year.
DEMOBILISATION
10 (a). The National Demobilisation and Reintegration
Operational Plan has finally been approved by the Minister
of National Reconstruction, Resettlement and
Rehabilitation. The plan seeks to identify and coordinate
the activities and mechanisms for a successful disarmament,
demobilisation and reintegration policy for Sierra Leone.
The plan will cover the following categories of people:
RSLMF and dependants, Child soldiers (both Government and
RUF), war widows and orphans, RUF and dependants, Civil
Defence Forces such as the kamajors. Although the overall
plan envisages the demobilisation and reintegration of over
10,000 ex-combatants over a two year period, there are
still several uncertainties which need to be resolved: the
GOSL has not yet specified the number of RSLMF to be
demobilised, there are currently no plans for the
demobilisation of the kamajors and there are no accurate
figures of the numbers of RUF combatants (although the plan
is using a working figure of 3,000 RUF plus dependants).
10 (b). The plan also gives more details on the setting up
of reception centres in Bo and Kenema for the disarmament
of ex-combatants and their immediate support, the
reinsertion and reintegration component of the programme
and the sensitisation programme. It should be noted that
NGOs have been identified to manage the two reception
centres but that the funding to run these centres is only
available for 3 months under the UNDP-ODA Trust Fund.
FOOD AID
11. Food distribution figures for October 1996, are
available from IASB. On request.
AGRICULTURE
12. A Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources
(MANR)-FAO field trip to Bo, Kenema and Kono collected
data for an updated Needs Assessment as well as assessing
the impact of MANR-FAO emergency projects in the Southern
and Eastern provinces. The team believes that the need
for agricultural inputs are highest in the following
districts (in descending order): 1. Kailahun, 2. Pujehun,
3. Kono, 4. Kenema and 5. Bo.
13. Consultation between MANR and agricultural NGOs is
ongoing over the format of a memorandum of understanding
which will be submitted by MANR to NGOs operating in this
sector in Sierra Leone.
14. The FAO World Food Summit, which was held from 13-17
November in Rome, was attended by representatives from
Sierra Leone.
TRAUMA HEALING
15. On 8 November Caritas completed its second six week
training of trainers on Community-based Reconciliation
and Trauma following the success of the first session
which was held in Kenema earlier in the year. The
workshop, which was attended by representatives from NGOs
and the Catholic Church, aimed to train trainers who
would, in turn, train community animators to work at a
grassroots level to give local communities the
opportunity to resolve their own conflicts, care for
those in need and make joint efforts to rebuild their own
lives. The ethos underlying the workshop is that Sierra
Leoneans are a resourceful and resilient race whose
perception of their own situation is often different from
that of the -experts- and who are able to solve their own
problems. Any intervention which ignores the role of the
local community is perceived to be unlikely to succeed.
HEALTH
16. A recent mission by UNICEF to Kenema to assess the
nutritional and health status of the ex-RUF captives
highlighted two areas of concern: a) the high incidence
of STDs and the concomitant implications for HIV-AIDS and
b) reports of adolescent girls being sexually abused
resulting in pregnancy and subsequent social rejection in
some cases. The CEDC section of UNICEF is currently
assessing the needs of this newly identified group of
vulnerable children in order to develop an appropriate
course of action vis-a-vis health, nutrition and
psychosocial support. Concrete data on malnutrition rates
is currently unavailable.
17. The UNICEF watsan project officer has recently
visited Kenema to monitor progress on the construction of
two large diameter wells for unaccompanied children
centres and of latrines for UNICEF-supported satellite
clinics in Kenema town.
CHILDREN IN ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES
18. The Granca Machel report entitled the Impact of Armed
Conflict on Children, which was requested in late 1993 by
the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the
General Assembly, was launched in Sierra Leone on 19
November by the Minister of Gender and Childrens Affairs.
Statements at the launch were made by representatives
from the UN, the diplomatic community, Government and
NGOs. Ms Machel uses some graphic examples from Sierra
Leone to illustrate the brutalising impact of war on
child soldiers. In one such instance the report states
that the RUF has forced captured children to take part in
the torture and execution of their own relatives, after
which they were led to neighbouring villages to repeat
the slaughter.
Ms. Elisabeth Lwanga
United Nations Resident Coordinator
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Tel.:(232 22) 22 53 46 - 22 53 11
Fax:(232 22) 22 32 50 - (871) 151 31 21
Information Office at the Humanitarian
Assistance Coordination Unit (HACU)
Tel.:(232 22) 22 77 59 (Direct) or
(232 22) 22 97 67 (Switchboard)
Complex Emergency Division (CED) - New York
Mr. Kaoruko Seki
Tel.:(1 212) 963.9072
Fax:(1 212) 963.3630
E-Mail: dhagva at dha.unicc.org
Inter-Agency Support Branch (IASB) - Geneva
Ms. Deborah Saidy - Mr. Chris Kaye
Tel.:(41 22) 788.6384-788.6385
Fax:(41 22) 788.6386
E-Mail: Deborah.Saidy@dha.unicc.org
Press to Contact- Geneva:
Ms. Madeleine Moulin-Acevedo
Tel.:(41 22) 917.2856
Fax:(41 22) 917.0023
Telex: 414242 DHA CH
E-Mail: dhagva at dha.unicc.org