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.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1132, adopted on 8 October 1997, after expressing concern at the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, imposed an oil and arms embargo on the country.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1171, adopted unanimously on 5 June 1998, after recalling resolutions 1132 (1997), 1156 (1998) and 1162 (1998) on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, terminated the arms embargo against the Government of Sierra Leone.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1180, adopted unanimously on 29 June 1998, after reaffirming Resolution 696 (1991) and all subsequent resolutions on Angola, particularly resolutions 1173 (1998) and 1176 (1998), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) until 15 August 1998.
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.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1220, adopted unanimously on 12 January 1999, after recalling Resolution 1181 (1998) on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) until 13 March 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.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1258, adopted unanimously on 6 August 1999, after reaffirming Resolution 1234 (1999) on situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council authorised the deployment of military liaison personnel to the capitals of the signatories of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement.
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.
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.
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.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1299 was adopted unanimously on 19 May 2000, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone. The Council expanded the military component of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) to include a maximum of 13,000 personnel.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1343, adopted unanimously on 7 March 2001, after recalling resolutions on Sierra Leone and the region, including resolutions 1132 (1997), 1171 (1998) and 1306 (2000), the Council demanded that Liberia end its support for rebels in Sierra Leone and threatened the imposition of wide-ranging sanctions unless the country complied with the Security Council.
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.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1497, adopted on 1 August 2003, after expressing concern at the situation in Liberia, the Council authorised a multinational force to intervene in the civil war to support the implementation of a ceasefire agreement using "all necessary measures".
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.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1562 was adopted unanimously on 17 September 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) residual presence for a period of nine months until 30 June 2005.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1626, adopted unanimously on 19 September 2005, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situations in Liberia and Sierra Leone, particularly resolutions 1509 (2003), 1610 (2005) and 1620 (2005), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) until 31 March 2006 and authorised the deployment of 250 troops to Sierra Leone to protect the Special Court.
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.
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. The mission was terminated in October 1999, when the Security Council authorized deployment of a new, and significantly larger peacekeeping operation, the Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).
