25/1/2002
Peace Returns to Sierra Leone With a Burning of Arms

Peace has returned to Sierra Leone. Nearly 3,000 small arms and light weapons, the final instalment collected during the country's disarmament process, were set alight in a symbolic bonfire by Sierra Leone's President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah and Ghanaian President John Kufuor in Lungi at the end of last week. The event marks the end of the formal disarmament process and the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sierra Leone, Oluyemi Adeniji, and several West African Heads of State and Government were on hand to witness it.

Mr. Adeniji lauded the work of all those who had contributed to the effort, which resulted in the disarming of some 46,500 combatants. "While this day symbolises an end it also symbolises a beginning," he said. "With the completion of disarmament the reintegration phase will now begin."

The Special Representative emphasised the importance of the reintegration programme for former soldiers and again appealed for international financial support for that task. "The gravity of a failed reintegration programme cannot be overemphasised," he warned.

There is evidence that the international community does take this problem seriously. The Japanese Government has just approved a $3 million grant to support reintegration opportunities for ex-combatants in northern and eastern districts of Sierra Leone. Close to 5,000 ex-combatants in self-employment and various vocational training and formal education programmes will be among the beneficiaries.

In New York, a spokesman for the UN Secretary-General said in a statement that Mr. Annan "welcomed the formal completion of the disarmament process in Sierra Leone."

Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that it would start repatriating Sierra Leonean refugees from camps in Liberia. The plan follows a spate of recent spontaneous returns and repeated requests from refugees for UNHCR help in going back home. It will be the first UNHCR-assisted return from Liberia since war erupted in Sierra Leone a decade ago. Many refugees are keen to repatriate so they can vote in the coming elections in May, the agency said.