United Nations Security Council Resolution 1610

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UN Security Council
Resolution 1610

Flag of Sierra Leone.svg

Date 30 June 2005
Meeting no. 5,219
Code S/RES/1610 (Document)
SubjectThe situation in Sierra Leone
Voting summary
15 voted for
None voted against
None abstained
Result Adopted
Security Council composition
Permanent members
Non-permanent members

United Nations Security Council resolution1610, adopted unanimously on 30 June 2005, 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 a final six months until 31 December 2005. [1]

A United Nations Security Council resolution is a UN resolution adopted by the fifteen members of the Security Council; the UN body charged with "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security".

Sierra Leone republic in West Africa

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, informally Salone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savanna to rainforests. The country has a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) and a population of 7,075,641 as of the 2015 census. Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a directly elected president and a unicameral legislature. The country's capital and largest city is Freetown. Sierra Leone is made up of five administrative regions: the Northern Province, North West Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area. These regions are subdivided into sixteen districts.

United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone organization

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.

Contents

Resolution

Observations

In the preamble of the resolution, the Council emphasised the importance of long-term support for Sierra Leone by the United Nations and international community. The Secretary-General Kofi Annan had approved the drawdown schedule for UNAMSIL and the need for a strong United Nations presence in Sierra Leone once it had left. It welcomed the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

The international community is a phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world. It does not refer literally to all nations or states in the world. The term is typically used to imply the existence of a common point of view towards such matters as specific issues of human rights. Activists, politicians and commentators often use the term in calling for action to be taken; e.g., action against what is in their opinion political repression in a target country.

Secretary-General of the United Nations head of the United Nations Secretariat

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General serves as the chief administrative officer of the United Nations. The role of the United Nations Secretariat, and of the Secretary-General in particular, is laid out by Chapter XV of the United Nations Charter.

Kofi Annan 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations

Kofi Atta Annan was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organization founded by Nelson Mandela.

Acts

Acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council extended the mandate of UNAMSIL until the end of 2005. [2] The Secretary-General was required to finalise arrangements for a United Nations system presence in Sierra Leone, urging a smooth transition as Sierra Leonean security forces would assume responsibility after the withdrawal of UNAMSIL.

Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter sets out the UN Security Council's powers to maintain peace. It allows the Council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to take military and nonmilitary action to "restore international peace and security".

In international law, a mandate is a binding obligation issued from an inter-governmental organization to a country which is bound to follow the instructions of the organization.

Meanwhile, the government of Sierra Leone was called upon to develop an effective and sustainable police force, armed forces, judiciary and penal system. The Council also asked United Nations peacekeeping operations in the region to enhance co-operation. [3]

Government of Sierra Leone

The government of Sierra Leone is the governing authority of the Republic of Sierra Leone, as established by the Sierra Leone Constitution. The Sierra Leone government is divided into three branches: the executive, legislative and the judicial. The seat of government of Sierra Leone is in the capital Freetown.

The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) is the national police force of the Republic of Sierra Leone, that is primarily responsible for law enforcement and crime investigation throughout Sierra Leone. It is an unarmed police force although they have a unit trained in firearms and also public order tactics called the Operations Support Division, widely known as OSD. They are able to respond to protests should the need arise. The Sierra Leone Police is under the jurisdiction of the Sierra Leone Ministry of Internal Affairs, a cabinet ministry in the Government of Sierra Leone.

Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces Combined armed forces of Sierra Leone

The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) is the armed forces of Sierra Leone, responsible for the territorial security of Sierra Leone's border and defending the national interests of Sierra Leone, within the framework of its international obligations. The armed forces were formed after independence in 1961, on the basis of elements of the former British Royal West African Frontier Force, then present in the country. The Sierra Leone Armed Forces currently consist of around 13,000 personnel.

See also

First Ivorian Civil War civil war

The First Ivorian Civil War was a conflict in the Ivory Coast that began in 2002. Although most of the fighting ended by late 2004, the country remained split in two, with a rebel-held north and a government-held south. Hostility increased and raids on foreign troops and civilians rose. As of 2006, the region was tense, and many said the UN and the French military failed to calm the civil war.

Second Liberian Civil War 1999-2003 civil war in Liberia

The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighbouring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), emerged in northern Liberia. In early 2003, a second rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, emerged in the south, and by June–July 2003, Charles Taylor's government controlled only a third of the country.

Sierra Leone Civil War civil war between Commonwealth-backed government and rebel factions

The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002) began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of 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 11 years, enveloped the country, and left over 50,000 dead.

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References

  1. "Security Council extends Sierra Leone mission for final six months". United Nations. 30 June 2005.
  2. Yearbook of the United Nations 2005 (60 ed.). United Nations Publications. 2007. p. 276. ISBN   978-92-1-100967-5.
  3. "UN Peacekeeping Mission in Sierra Leone Extended". Scoop.co.nz. 1 July 2005.