Transition Initiatives: Sierra Leone Field Report
January 2001
Program Description
OTI's program in Sierra Leone consists of the following activities:
- Technical assistance to the Government of Sierra Leone for development of a new diamond policy and operations, to enable effective control and monitoring of "conflict" diamonds.
- The Reintegration Training and Education for
Peace Program, a two-year, nationwide, non-formal education initiative
for approximately 40,000 ex-combatant and non-combatant young adults,
combining reintegration orientation and counseling, life-skills
training, vocational counseling, agriculture skills development, civic
education, and functional literacy training. This program focuses
simultaneously on reintegration of war-torn communities and remedial
education for youth by-passed by schooling for nearly 10 years. The
program is being expanded to include a second track called Education for
Nation-Building, an adult non-formal education initiative for public and
private sector leaders, nationwide.
- Continuation of the 1999 small grants program,
especially related to setbacks in the peace process in May 2000,
reconciliation, reintegration of war-affected women and girls,
development of community leadership, and civic education in preparation
for upcoming elections in 2001.
- Support to a multi-donor media and
communications program of Search for Common Ground Productions. OTI's
portion focuses on communications support for demobilization,
reconciliation, and reintegration, and to media and distance learning
support for OTI's non-formal education program.
- Co-funding with UK/DFID and other USAID offices to provide elections assistance for national, parliamentary, local, and paramount chief elections scheduled to be held in 2001.
Country Situation
UNAMSIL reports that the security situation in Sierra
Leone remains generally calm.
Reports from the border areas indicate renewed fighting
between the Guinean forces and Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front
(RUF) along the eastern Guinea-Sierra Leone border. ECOWAS military chiefs
from Nigeria, Senegal, Mali and Niger have agreed to deploy West African
troops along Guineas border with Liberia and Sierra Leone. The force,
comprising 1,696 troops - 776 from Nigeria, 500 from Mali and about 200
each from Senegal and Niger - will operate under a strict mandate to
protect civilians, refugees and humanitarian agencies in the border areas.
Donor support is being sought for this operation.
Within Sierra Leone there are no reports of cease-fire
violations. According to UNAMSIL, the RUF is improving on its record of
compliance with the Abuja Cease-Fire Agreement by re-opening more roads
linking the rebel-occupied territories and the rest of the country. Among
the major roads opened is the road from the northern town of Kabala to
Makeni, which connects south to Lunsar and Port Loko, some 60 km north of
Freetown. Others are the Kambia-Mange-Port Loko axis, the north-south
Bumbuna to Magburaka link in the middle of the country, and the
Daru-Kenema highway in the eastern region. However, the rebels are
reluctant to disarm, return UNAMSIL's weapons, or allow UN or civilians
free access into the diamond mining regions of Kono and Tongo Field. While
these roads are open, the RUF will not allow humanitarian supplies to pass
unless assistance is also given to populations in rebel-held areas.
There are positive signs of better relations between the
RUF and the Civil Defense Forces (CDF) in both Pujehun and Kpanguma in the
Kenema District, with both parties quoted as willing to work for peace. As
part of the confidence-building measures, the RUF asked UNAMSIL to deploy
peacekeeping troops and provide humanitarian aid in Lunsar, a town under
RUF control. The UNAMSIL Force Commander, Lieutenant General Daniel
Opande, appealed to RUF fighters to join the DDR process and assured the
RUF that humanitarian help will soon reach the people of Lunsar.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has cautioned the
Security Council against setting up a War Crimes Tribunal for Sierra Leone
without proper funding. In a letter to the Security Council President,
Kishore Mabhubani of Singapore, Annan said the court might run into
cash-flow problems unless there are enough funds for the first year of its
functioning, as well as pledges sufficient to cover the next two years of
operation. Meanwhile, the UNICEF Representative in Sierra Leone, JoAnna
Van Gerpen, welcomed the UN Security Council determination that would make
it 'extremely unlikely' for child ex-combatants to be prosecuted by the
proposed Special Court for Sierra Leone.
The number of refugees fleeing to Sierra Leone from
various locations in Guinea continues to increase. From September to
January 25, UNHCR registered a total of 42,421 refugees coming in both by
boat and on foot. Some 250,000 refugees are still trapped by the fighting
in the border regions of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. As the crisis
deepens, the Government of Sierra Leone, in collaboration with the World
Food Program, UNHCR and UNICEF, are implementing a two-track approach to
deal with the problem. Returnees from areas declared safe by the
government are to be absorbed by host communities in the Lungi and Moyamba
areas while those from unsafe zones will be housed in temporary camps in
Bo and Kenema.
Two high-ranking British military officials, Chief of
General Staff, General Sir Michael Walker, and Head of the Land Command,
Sir Mike Jackson, visited Sierra Leone recently. Britain has confirmed
that its troops will stay in Sierra Leone "until the war is either won or
resolved on favorable terms". According to the British military
spokesperson, Britain will maintain its current level of troops in the
country until the end of the year when they expect to have completed the
training of the entire Sierra Leone Army, made up of over 9,000 soldiers.
At the moment they have trained over 6,000 soldiers.
UNAMSIL reports the arrival of an assessment mission from
Pakistan to observe the ground situation and decide whether to send troops
to Sierra Leone. The UN Force has been reduced to 10,000 after the
withdrawal of Indian and Jordanian troops. The UN Secretary General is
finding it difficult to obtain pledges to increase the force to the
authorized level of 20,000. This is slowing down the deployment of troops
throughout the country.
On the political front, the GOSL announced its intention
to invoke the Constitution and postpone the February Presidential and
Parliamentary elections due to prevailing insecurity. Against the backdrop
of calls to set up an interim government, the Government of President
Kabbah insists that creating an interim or transitional government is
unconstitutional, and is therefore requesting Parliament to extend its
mandate by another six months.
New NGO Legislation
The Ministry of Development authorized an extension for
NGO registration until February 28. The NGOs have begun the registration
process as required under the new NGO Policy. NGOs still believe the
process is difficult, but are willing to test the new system.
Education for Peace Program (OTI-MSI-World
Vision)
The Education for Peace Program continues with on-going
participant training in accessible areas of the country. So far,
approximately 17,600 war-affected youths and ex-combatants in 775 sites
have participated in peace building, community awareness, and basic
literacy education in their communities. The program is designed to engage
participants for five to six months using five modules. The Learning
Facilitators are drawn from the participating communities.
Monitoring of approximately 600 sites was completed on
January 25. Results of the survey are being collated to indicate number of
sites that are functional, as well as numbers of participants and their
educational background. The report will also indicate the proportion of
ex-combatants participating in the program. During monitoring, Master
Trainers provided coaching in selected sessions and revived sites found to
be non-functional.
Site selection and community sensitization campaigns for
the seventh round of Learning Facilitators training is almost complete.
Three hundred LFs from 15 communities will benefit from a four-week
Education for Peace training program that will cover all five modules of
the program. The communities to be covered include: Western Area: Kissy,
Wellington, York and Songo; Northern Region: Masiaka, Port Loko,
Melikuray, Mathoir, Rochen-Kamandao, Masimera, Yele and Petifu Junction
(Lokomassama); Southern Region: Monghere and Bumpeh; Eastern Region:
Dodo.
There were reports of serious implementation problems
that nearly led to the collapse of the Education for Peace Program in
Kenema. These concerns were highlighted in a letter of complaint addressed
to President Kabbah and signed by Leanring Facilitators and community
leaders. A routine OTI monitoring mission confirmed some of the grievances
of the participants, affecting 25 sites. A joint mission comprising OTI,
MSI and World Vision visited Kenema to investigate the matter and revive
the program in the Kenema sites. A comprehensive report will be prepared
for NCDDR Executive Secretary, Dr. Francis Kai-Kai, who views this program
as crucial for the success of the peace process in Sierra Leone. In August
2000, President Kabbah presided over the certification ceremony of 280 new
Learning Facilitators in Kenema.
Success Stories
A long standing chieftaincy dispute resulting from a feud
between opposing ruling families and prominent sons and daughters of Mandu and Monghere settlements in the Valunia
Chiefdom of Bo district is being reviewed by Learning Facilitators and
Community Management Committees (CMCs) in the two villages. In the past,
many development programs have ignored these communities because of the
animosity and rivalry. However, as a result of the Education for Peace
Program in both villages and the participants' exposure to conflict
resolution and peace building techniques, LFs and CMCs are working
together to find solutions to the problems. They have vowed to bring
together the chiefs and elders using skills acquired in the Education for
Peace Program.
In Mogbemo village, a young ex-combatant relates
the atrocities he committed while living in the bush and fighting with the
rebels. Kello says that since joining the Education for Peace Program he
has confessed his part in the war and asked his community for forgiveness.
Kello credits his courage to confess to the Education for Peace Program
and the lessons on "Healing the Mind and Spirit."
The Paramount Chief, Madam Ella Koblo-Gullama, and the
people of Moyamba have registered their appreciation for the
OTI-sponsored FAWE skills training program. In support of the program, the
Paramount Chief through the District Officer provided land to FAWE for
agriculture. Another piece of land was donated to FAWE to enable them to
erect a bigger training center that will accommodate more war-affected
girls and women in the future.
In many cases, the Education for Peace Program continues
to galvanize youth into community development initiatives. At Malokoh,
Makassa and Tolmossor in the Lungi peninsula, Learning
Facilitators, participants and their CMCs are engaged in farming, animal
husbandry and traditional cloth dying using their own resources, and
skills developed by the program. Now these groups can support themselves
and build a stronger community together.
Search for Common Ground/Talking Drum Studio (TDS)
In their quest to promote dialogue and air different
perspectives, TDS traveled on the newly reopened Kenema-Segbwema road and
talked to civilians and RUF fighters in the rebel-controlled town of
Segbwema. One significant discovery is that the RUF listens to TDS
programs. The RUF complained bitterly about the politicians in Kenema not
helping the peace process. They are also critical of the radio station in
Kenema, which they described as reactionary and highly provocative. RUF
soldiers asked TDS to continue broadcasting many different opinions and
ideas.
TDS offered to mediate in the controversial National
Union of Sierra Leone Students (NUSS) election. The outcome of the
election resulted in a court challenge. NUSS accepted the offer of TDS and
they are now working closely with TDS to reach a peaceful out-of-court
resolution of the conflict.
TDS also launched a campaign to address the perennial
problem of trawlers destroying fishermen's gear along the coastal waters
of Sierra Leone. Fishermen from Yeliboya to Sulima have voiced their
concerns over the destruction of their sole source of livelihood but felt
the government ignored their problems. Through radio programs, TDS
highlighted the plight of fishermen and encouraged the Ministry of Marine
Resources to protect the fishermen and replace their damaged gear.
Subsequently, the Minister addressed the fishermen in one of TDS' programs
and promised that the government will present outboard engines and fishing
nets to various fishing communities affected by this problem. TDS will
follow up to ensure the communities receive their support.
Nation-Building Workshops
The Nation Building Program was officially launched in
the eastern regional capital of Kenema on January 19. Preparations for the
launching included collaboration with National Commission on Disarmament,
Demobilization and Reintegration (NCDDR) and the Civil Societies' Movement
(CSM)/ Eastern Region. Two learning groups of 20 participants each began
training on January 20, and will hold sessions every Saturday, between 10
a.m. and 1 p.m. for the next four to six months. Participants were
selected from the leadership of the district administration, Paramount
Chiefs, town council, civil servants, teachers, journalists, farmers,
drivers and students. Other categories include the police, army, civil
defense forces, women, youth organizations and the inter-religious
council. The training takes place at the Government Secondary School in
Kenema.
Technical Assistance to the Government of Sierra Leone on
Conflict Diamonds
From January 22-26, OTI conducted one more in a series of technical
assistance missions to help the Government of Sierra Leone (GOSL) develop
new diamond policies and operations. The Certification of Origin regime
continues to function, and a number of start-up difficulties regarding
affidavits of foreign exchange have been resolved. The GOSL selected a
Belgian firm to provide the services of independent diamond valuation.
Support to the Electoral Process
In January, the International Foundation for Election
Systems (IFES), co-funded by USAID and the British Department for
International Development (DFID), sponsored a five-day strategic planning
retreat for the National Election Commission (NEC) members, technical
staff and members of the support and administrative departments of the
Commission. The participants developed an institutional vision for the
Commission, objectives and guiding principles, and an operations
budget. <>The NEC regularly convenes a Freetown-based
Consultative Committee (CC) attended by political parties and civil
society organizations representing diverse constituencies. The NEC
reported on their trip to Ghana last month. These reports served as a
framework for the steps forward in the election process. As security
permits the NEC plans to develop Consultative Committees in Bo, Kenema,
and Makeni.
GRANTS ACTIVITY SUMMARY
Forum for African Women Educationalists
(FAWE)
FAWE, an OTI/World Vision grantee, is continuing training in
functional literacy and peace building for 150 war-affected girls and
women in Moyamba. Their ages range between 15 and 35 years. Ninety-two of
the trainees are young mothers. Participants are trained in tailoring,
catering, agriculture and literacy. They also receive instruction on
conflict resolution and community development. There are nine
trainers.
Network Movement for Justice and
Development Network Movement for Justice and Development, with
a grant from OTI/World Vision, is providing capacity building for the
Community Management Committees (CMCs) of the Education for Peace Program.
In January, a training of trainers workshop was held for 40 participants
selected from 12 chiefdoms in the Kenema and Kailahun Districts. These
trainers will work with the CMCs to strengthen their administrative
capabilities, community involvement, and promote sustainability of the
Education for Peace program. Two hundred and fifty three CMC members will
be trained in Kenema, in February 2001.
Next Steps/Immediate Priorities
- The Nation Building program will be extended to
Daru, Bo and Mile 91 in March.
- A training for new learning facilitators will
begin in February.
- A workshop for civil society leaders from
diamond producing areas will be organized in February.
- A Request for Proposals (RFP) will be issued for skills training
to support reintegration activities.
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