U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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WEST AFRICA
IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 105
05 - 11 January 2002


CONTENTS

SIERRA LEONE: Disarmament officially ends
LIBERIA: UNHCR suspends transport of refugees from border
GUINEA: New transit centre receives its first refugees
GUINEA-BISSAU: UN Security Council urges dialogue
THE GAMBIA: Main opposition party boycotts parliamentary polls
NIGERIA: Scores die in conflicts in northeast, centre
NIGERIA: HRW condemns Sharia execution
CHAD: Government, rebels sign peace deal
GABON: Ebola team temporarily relocated
TOGO: Higher court upholds opposition leader's appeal
CAPE VERDE: Babies receive Hepatitis B vaccines
WEST-CENTRAL AFRICA: Teaming up against child trafficking

SIERRA LEONE: Disarmament officially ends

Saturday 5 January marked the official end of the disarmament of former
fighters under Sierra Leone's disarmament, demobilisation and
reintegration (DDR) programme. Over 45,000 ex-combatants handed in their
weapons, about 20,000 more than the state body in charge of the programme
had bargained for.

The National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration
(NCDDR) had originally budgeted for 26,000 fighters, its executive
secretary, Francis Kai-Kai, told IRIN. It later revised the figure to
between 32,000 and 35,000, but the final tally turned out to be over
10,000 higher.

As a result, the reintegration component of the DDR programme faces a
shortfall, Kaikai said, adding that the Committee was revising its budget
to reflect the higher number and that the actual shortfall figure would be
available at the end of January.

The collection of weapons under a community arms collection programme
coordinated by the police in conjunction with the UN Mission in Sierra
Leone (UNAMSIL) was still going on, UNAMSIL spokesperson Margaret Novicki
said on Monday.

Sierra Leone has been affected by civil war since 1991, when the
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) started its rebellion against the state.
Many atrocities were committed during the 10-year war and, on 14 August
2000, the UN Security Council approved the creation of a special court to
try serious violations of humanitarian law during the conflict.

A UN team headed by Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Ralph
Zacklin has been holding discussions in Freetown on "practical
arrangements for the establishment and operation" of the war crimes court,
the UN News service reported.

While the UN has authorised the establishment of the court, it still faces
a shortfall in funding. However, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a
letter to the President of the Security Council, released on 3 January,
that he was convinced of the political will and commitment of states to
the success of the court.

As of 30 November 2001 the UN had received contributions of US $14.8
million for the first year, a shortfall of US $1.4 million, and pledges of
US $20.4 million - a US $ 19.6 million shortfall - for the two subsequent
years.

LIBERIA: UNHCR suspends transport of refugees from border

UNHCR reported on Tuesday that it had suspended the transport of Sierra
Leonean refugees from the Liberian border to resettlement camps following
improved security at the Sinje II refugee camp in Liberia and a subsequent
drop in spontaneous repatriations.

UNHCR said security conditions at the camp, located about 80 km north of
the Liberian capital, Monrovia, had improved significantly since
mid-December, when Liberian soldiers were accused of harassing the
refugees. The alleged harassment, as well as fears that the conflict in
Lofa County, northern Liberia, between pro- and anti-government forces
could spread to the south where the refugee camps are located, prompted a
surge in the number of Sierra Leoneans returning from Liberia in December,
the UN agency reported.

UNHCR also reported this week that, on 4 January it registered 31
refugees, mainly women and children, who had recently arrived from Liberia
at Kola camp in the south of Guinea. The new arrivals fled fighting in
Lofa and with the help of government soldiers, reached Monrovia where,
they said, peace was precarious. They then travelled to Guinea via the
northeastern Liberian county of Nimba.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Haile Menkerios,
former permanent representative of Eritrea to the UN, as head of the UN
Peace-building Support Office in Liberia (UNOL). He will replace Felix
Downes-Thomas as of 1 February, UN News service reported.

GUINEA: New transit centre receives its first refugees

A new UNHCR transit centre at Mamou, Guinea, received its first group of
250 refugees en route to their home country, Sierra Leone, on Sunday,
UNHCR-Guinea reported in its weekly update for 1-7 January. The camp is
some 200 km northeast of the capital, Conakry. Between December 2000 and 4
January 2001, about 31,700 Sierra Leoneans returned home with assistance
from UNHCR and its partners, including the International Organisation for
Migration (IOM).

GUINEA-BISSAU: UN Security Council urges dialogue

The UN Security Council issued a statement on Tuesday encouraging
Guinea-Bissau President Kumba Yala "in his pursuit of the policy of
national reconciliation and dialogue taking into account the established
constitutional norms". It said Security Council members also encouraged
regional and international leaders "to continue playing an active role and
redouble their initiatives of good offices for economic and financial
assistance".

The statement came in response to the Secretary-General Kofi Annan's
latest report on Guinea-Bissau [
 ] in which he said the
political situation in the West African country had "remained difficult
and volatile" during September -December 2001.

Annan had appealed to local political actors "to continue to resolve their
differences through dialogue and within the framework of the
constitution". He also urged the international community to "remain
engaged with and supportive of Guinea-Bissau" and to contribute generously
to a roundtable conference to be held in early 2002 to help raise
resources for the country.

THE GAMBIA: Main opposition party boycotts parliamentary polls

Gambians go to the polls on 17 January to elect their legislators but the
main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) is boycotting the election,
saying it will be "severely flawed", an accusation denied by the
Independent Electoral Commission. President Yahya Jammeh's Alliance for
Patriotic Reorientation and Construction will run unopposed in 33 out of
48 constituencies. In the other 15, it faces two smaller parties. Jammeh
nominates five other legislators to the 53-member parliament.

NIGERIA: Scores die in conflicts in northeast, centre

Scores of people have been killed in two separate clashes in Nigeria in
less than two weeks. The affected areas are Mambilla Plateau in the
northeastern state of Taraba and villages in Nasarawa State in the centre
of the country.

About 40 people were reported to have died in the clashes in Mambilla,
between farming and pastoral communities, which started on 31 December,
while others were said to have fled to neighbouring Cameroon.

In Nasarawa, local officials said on Thursday that at least 100 people
were believed to have died in clashes over ownership of a fishing pond.
Thousands of people reportedly fled the clashes, while crops, livestock
and houses were destroyed. Most of the displaced, particularly women and
children, took refuge elsewhere in the state, while others were said to
have fled to neighbouring Benue State.

Calm was said to have been restored to both areas.

NIGERIA: HRW condemns Sharia execution

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday condemned the first execution of a man
on the order of a Sharia court in Nigeria, and urged the Nigerian
authorities not to carry out the death sentences of such courts.  The man,
Sani Yakubu Rodi (21), was hanged in the northern state of Katsina on 3
January 2002 after a Sharia court found him guilty of stabbing to death a
woman and her two infants.

CHAD: Government, rebels sign peace deal

A peace agreement signed on Monday by Chad's government and the rebel
Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJT) capped three days of
negotiations in Tripoli, Libya, Chadian and Libyan state media reported.

The agreement provides for an immediate ceasefire, a general amnesty for
prisoners held by both sides, and the involvement of the MDJT in the
government and other state institutions, according to Libyan television. A
tripartite committee comprising representatives of the Chadian and Libyan
governments and the MDJT will be responsible for the implementation of the
peace deal, which was brokered by Libya.

The MDJT, headed by former defence minister Youssouf Togoimi, had launched
a rebellion in the Tibesti region of northern Chad in 1998.

"Contacts are also under way with other armed movements or opposition
political parties," President Idris Deby said this week in an address to
the diplomatic corps broadcast on Radiodiffusion Nationale Tchadienne
(state radio). "We are optimistic about other peace accords resulting from
these contacts.

Foreign Minister Mahamat Saleh Annadif travelled this week to Paris to
meet members of the Coordination of Armed Movements and Opposition
Political Parties (CMAP), Africa Numero Un, a Gabon-based radio, reported
on Thursday. It said Annadif was also scheduled to visit Burkina Faso,
Togo and Benin to meet opposition politicians.

GABON: Ebola team temporarily relocated

International Ebola experts have been temporarily relocated from an area
in northern Gabon because of hostility from villagers, humanitarian
agencies reported.

The team has been working to contain an outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic
fever in Gabon and neighbouring Republic of Congo. Red Cross officials
said it was moved from Mekambo to Makokou, both in northern Gabon, because
of hostility that arose over attempts to stop traditional burial rites,
such as washing the bodies of the dead, in order to curb the spread of the
disease.

The Red Cross and WHO said efforts were being made to enable the experts
to return to Mekambo.

TOGO: Higher court upholds opposition leader's appeal

An appeal judge in Lome on Thursday overturned a decision by a lower court
that had sentenced Togolese opposition leader Yaovi Agboyibo to six months
in prison.

Agboyibo had been sued for libel by Prime Minister Agbeyome Kodjo. The
appeal court disallowed the conviction because Kodjo had not paid the sum
of 20,000 CFA francs which, by law, a plaintiff is required to pay on
filing a suit. Although Agboyibo's lawyers had invoked the same argument
at the initial trial, the lower court had ruled against him on 3 August
2001.

Kodjo had sued Agboyibo for alleging that, before becoming prime minister,
he had formed a militia which beat and killed opposition supporters in
Yoto, the region from which both men originate.

Although acquitted, Agboyibo was not released immediately since, according
to his defence team, a second case was pending against him.

CAPE VERDE: Babies receive Hepatitis B vaccines

The health authorities in Cape Verde have now included Hepatitis-B among
diseases for which babies are vaccinated. UNICEF reported that the
hepatitis vaccinations, which started on 1 January and target infants
under the age of one year, are being funded by a four-year grant of US
$207,000 that Italy has provided Cape Verde through UNICEF. Hepatitis-B,
which is spread by a virus, can be transmitted from mother to child at
birth.

WEST-CENTRAL AFRICA: Teaming up against child trafficking

Representatives of West and Central African nations, UN agencies and
regional non-governmental organisations ended a three-day conference on
child labour and trafficking on Thursday with a pledge to lead a
consolidated effort against the practice.

The First Specialized Meeting on Child Trafficking and Exploitation in
West and Central Africa was organised by Interpol, and Cote d'Ivoire's
government.

Participants pledged to hold synchronized information campaigns and
implement or upgrade existing legislation on children and train security
agents and lawyers in better protecting children. They also called on
governments to work towards a regional agreement against child trafficking
and to issue children with special travel documents to allow them to
circulate freely. The international community was asked to provide
financial and technical assistance.

Participants included Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon,
Mauritania, Senegal, ILO, Save The Children's Fund, UNICEF and Interpol.


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