United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone

Last updated
United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone
AbbreviationUNOMSIL
Formation13 July 1998
TypePeacekeeping Mission
Legal statusCompleted
Headquarters Freetown, Sierra Leone
Head
Chief of Mission

Francis G. Okelo

Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda

Chief Military Observer
Brig. Gen. Subhash C. Joshi

Contents

Flag of India.svg  India
Parent organization
 United Nations Security Council
Website

The United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Sierra Leone from 1998 to 1999 that was established with the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1181. Its mission was to monitor the military and security situation in Sierra Leone. [1] The mission was terminated in October 1999, when the Security Council authorized deployment of a new, and significantly larger peacekeeping operation, the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). [2]

Mandate

UNOMSIL's military element was to: [1]

UNOMSIL's civilian element was to: [1]

Background

The conflict in Sierra Leone started in March 1991 when fighters of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) launched a war from the east of the country with support from the National Patriotic Front of Liberia to overthrow the government. The causes of this uprising were: government corruption and mismanagement that led to decades of extreme poverty, inequalities surrounding the diamond industry in Sierra Leone which highly favored the ruling class and easy access to soldiers in the form of Liberian refugees from the First Liberian Civil War who were often coerced into joining the RUF. [3]

Sierra Leone's army, with the support of the Military Observer Group (ECOMOG) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), tried at first to defend the government but, in April 1992 a military coup d'état by the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) overthrew the government. Despite this successful coup, the RUF continued its attacks.

In November 1994, the Head of State of Sierra Leone addressed a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General, formally requesting his aid in facilitating negotiations between the Government and the RUF. In December 1994, the Secretary-General sent an exploratory mission to Sierra Leone to examine the situation. Based on the findings of the mission, the Secretary-General, appointed a Special Envoy to Sierra Leone in February 1995. [4] This Special Envoy worked with Organization of African Unity (OAU) and ECOWAS to try to negotiate a settlement to the conflict and return the country to civilian rule.

As a result of these negotiations, parliamentary and presidential elections were held in February 1996, with Ahmad Tejan Kabbah being elected president. The RUF, however, did not participate in the elections and would not recognize the results. The conflict continued. A peace agreement between the Government and RUF was finally reached in November 1996 with the Abidjan Peace Accord. However, the agreement was derailed by another military coup d'état in May 1997. The military, in concert with the RUF, formed a ruling junta.

In response to the second coup, the Secretary-General appointed a new Special Envoy and the Security Council passed Resolution 1132 in October 1997, imposing an oil and arms embargo, as well as authorizing ECOWAS to ensure its implementation. In October 1997, ECOWAS and a delegation representing the chairman of the junta held talks and signed a peace plan which, among other things, called for a ceasefire to be monitored by ECOMOG and United Nations military observers, pending approval from the Security Council. However, the junta subsequently criticized key provisions and raised a number of issues, which meant the agreement was never implemented.

In February 1998, ECOMOG launched a military attack that led to the collapse of the junta and its expulsion from Freetown. In March 1998, President Kabbah was returned to office. In July 1998 the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) was created by the Security Council to help facilitate peace. Despite the presence of UN Peacekeepers under the protection of ECOMOG troops, fighting continued with the rebel alliance gaining control of more than half the country.

In December 1998 the alliance began an offensive to retake Freetown, and in January 1999 overran most of the city. This led to the evacuation of UNOMSIL, with its size being downgraded. ECOMOG eventually troops retook Freetown and installed a civilian government. After these exchanges, the Special Envoy of UNOMSIL initiated a series of diplomatic efforts aimed at opening up dialogue with the rebels.

Finally, in July 1999, negotiations between the Government and the rebels in Lomé finished and all parties agreed to end hostilities and form a government of national unity. The agreement included commitments to end hostilities, reestablish the Commission for the Consolidation of Peace, provide for demobilization and disarmament, and aid in the reintegration of combatants into civil society. It also granted amnesty to all rebel combatants and allowed for the RUF to become a political party. To achieve these goals, it called for the UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and ECOMOG to form a neutral peacekeeping force. The creation of UNAMSIL meant that UNOMSIL would be terminated.

Contributions

The following countries provided uniformed personnel: [5]

Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh Flag of Bolivia.svg  Bolivia Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt
Flag of France.svg  France Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia Flag of India.svg  India Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Flag of Kyrgyzstan (2023).svg  Kyrgyzstan
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Flag of Norway.svg  Norway Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines
Flag of Russia.svg  Russian Federation Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Flag of Tanzania.svg  United Republic of Tanzania Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia

Financial Aspects

The total estimated cost for this mission was $53.6 million, before it was replaced UNAMSIL. [5]

13 July 1998 to 30 June 1999$12.9 million
1 July 1999 to 30 June 2000 (projection)$40.7 million

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmad Tejan Kabbah</span> 3rd President of Sierra Leone (1996–97, 1998–2007)

Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was a Sierra Leonean politician who served twice as the 3rd President of Sierra Leone, from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007. An economist and attorney by profession, Kabbah spent many years working for the United Nations Development Programme. He retired from the United Nations and returned to Sierra Leone in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Paul Koroma</span> Military dictator of Sierra Leone from May 1997 to February 1998

Major Johnny Paul Koroma was a Sierra Leonean military officer who was the head of state of Sierra Leone from May 1997 to February 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone</span> United Nations peacekeeping operation in Sierra Leone from 1999 to 2006

The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Sierra Leone from 1999 to 2006. It was created by the United Nations Security Council in October 1999 to help with the implementation of the Lomé Peace Accord, an agreement intended to end the Sierra Leonean civil war. UNAMSIL expanded in size several times in 2000 and 2001. It concluded its mandate at the end of 2005, the Security Council having declared that its mission was complete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group</span> West African multilateral armed force

The Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) was a West African multilateral armed force established by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOMOG was a formal arrangement for separate armies to work together. It was largely supported by personnel and resources of the Nigerian Armed Forces, with sub-battalion strength units contributed by other ECOWAS members — Ghana, Guinea, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and others.

The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) was a group of Sierra Leone soldiers that allied itself with the rebel Revolutionary United Front in the late 1990s. While the AFRC briefly controlled the country in 1998, it was driven from the capital by an international military intervention of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). It was no longer a coherent and effective organization by the elections of 2002.

The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002), or the Sierra Leonean Civil War, was a civil war in Sierra Leone that began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Liberian dictator Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government. The resulting civil war lasted almost 11 years, and had over 50,000, up to 70,000, casualties in total; an estimated 2.5 million people were displaced during the conflict.

The Lomé Peace Agreement was a peace agreement signed on 7 July 1999 between the warring parties in the civil war that gripped Sierra Leone for almost a decade. President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah signed with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leader, Foday Sankoh and granted Sankoh a position in the transitional government as well as amnesty for him and all combatants. The accord is named for Lomé, the capital of Togo, where the negotiations took place and the agreement was signed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Mission in Liberia</span> Peacekeeping operation in West Africa

The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the resignation of President Charles Taylor and the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War (1999–2003). At its peak it consisted of up to 15,000 UN military personnel and 1,115 police officers, along with civilian political advisors and aid workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1162</span> United Nations Security Council resolution

United Nations Security Council resolution 1162, adopted unanimously on 17 April 1998, after recalling resolutions 1132 (1997) and 1156 (1998) on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council authorised the deployment of 10 United Nations military liaison and security advisory personnel to ascertain the situation in the country.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1181, adopted unanimously on 13 July 1998, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, the council established the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) to monitor the military and security situation in the country for an initial period of six months until 13 January 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1231</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 1999

United Nations Security Council resolution 1231, adopted unanimously on 11 March 1999, after recalling resolutions 1181 (1998) and 1220 (1999) on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) until 13 June 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1260</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 1999

United Nations Security Council resolution 1260 was adopted unanimously on 20 August 1999; after recalling resolutions 1171 (1998), 1181 (1998) and 1231 (1999) on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council strengthened the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) by up to 210 additional military observers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1270</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 1999

United Nations Security Council resolution 1270, adopted unanimously on 22 October 1999, after recalling resolutions 1171 (1998), 1181 (1998), 1231 (1999) and 1260 (1999) on the situation in Sierra Leone and Resolution 1265 (1999) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, established the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) to assist in the implementation of the Lomé Peace Accord.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1289</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2000

United Nations Security Council resolution 1289, adopted unanimously on 7 February 2000, after recalling resolutions 1171 (1998), 1181 (1998), 1231 (1999), 1260 (1999), 1265 (1999) and 1270 (1999) on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) for a period of six months and expanded its military component.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1313</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2000

United Nations Security Council resolution 1313, adopted unanimously on 4 August 2000, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) until 8 September 2000 and expressed its intention to review the mission's mandate based on recommendations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1346</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2001

United Nations Security Council resolution 1346, adopted unanimously on 30 March 2001, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) for a further six months and increased the size of its military component.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1528</span> 2004 resolution on Côte dIvoire

United Nations Security Council resolution 1528, adopted unanimously on 27 February 2004, after recalling resolutions 1464 (2003), 1479 (2003), 1498 (2003), 1514 (2003) and 1527 (2004) on the situation in Côte d'Ivoire, the council established the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) for an initial period of twelve months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1537</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2004

United Nations Security Council resolution 1537, adopted unanimously on 30 March 2004, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, the council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) for six months until 30 September 2004 with a residual force remaining in the country until June 2005.

Sylvester E. Rowe is a former Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United Nations. He joined the Mission in 1997 as an adviser after a distinguished career in the United Nations Secretariat spanning three decades during which he served in several capacities including head of the UN Radio and Television Services; a speech writer and Spokesman for the President of the 39th session of the UN General Assembly (1984–85), and a member of the panel of counsel in the UN administration of justice system – the Joint Appeals Board and the Administrative Tribunal. In 1994 he served as a resource person in Ambassador Brahimi's special mission on behalf of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to Liberia and the ECOWAS Chair in Ghana, aimed at facilitating implementation of the Cotonou Peace Agreement for Liberia.

The United Kingdom began a military intervention in Sierra Leone on 7 May 2000 under the codename Operation Palliser. Although small numbers of British personnel had been deployed previously, Palliser was the first large-scale intervention by British forces in the Sierra Leone Civil War. In early May 2000, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)—one of the main parties to the civil war—advanced on the country's capital, Freetown, prompting the British government to dispatch an "Operational Reconnaissance and Liaison Team" (ORLT) to prepare to evacuate foreign citizens. On 6 May, the RUF blocked the road connecting Freetown to the country's main airport, Lungi. The next day, British soldiers began to secure the airport and other areas essential to an evacuation. The majority of those who wished to leave were evacuated within the first two days of the operation, but many chose to stay following the arrival of British forces.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "UNOMSIL Mandate". un.org. Retrieved 2018-04-12.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  2. ↑ "History of the UN in Sierra Leone". sl.one.un.org. Retrieved 2018-04-12.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  3. ↑ "The Causes of the Sierra Leone Civil War". e-ir.info. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  4. ↑ "UNOMSIL Background". peacekeeping.un.org. Retrieved 2018-04-12.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  5. 1 2 "UNOMSIL Facts". peacekeeping.un.org. Retrieved 2018-04-12.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.