The Sierra Leone delegation would like to join others in congratulating
you, Mr. President, on your election to preside over the
work of the General Assembly at this session. We also
take this opportunity to commend your predecessor for
her contribution to the work of the Assembly, in
particular for her initiatives in the ongoing process of
the United Nations reform.
Allow me to convey to you, the
Secretary-General and this Assembly greetings from
the newly elected President of Sierra Leone, His
Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma, who took the oath of
office just two weeks ago. President Koroma was not
able to come to this debate because of time constraints.
Sierra Leone would like to reaffirm its
commitment to the United Nations as the only
international body that has the capacity to combat the
multifarious problems of the world. The salvation of
the world from conflict, natural disasters, diseases,
hunger, poverty, oppression, abuse and violation of
rights and the menace of climate change, and the
achievement of our development goals will remain
distant dreams without multilateral action. The stronger
our United Nations, the greater our chances to realize
the objectives for which we set it up. That is why
Sierra Leone will never relent in its support for the
reform process of the United Nations to enable it to
respond appropriately to its numerous, diverse and
ever-increasing challenges.
The reform exercise has scored some major
successes, but the most critical and contentious reform
that of the Security Council remains elusive. As
long as the status quo is maintained, Africa will remain
disadvantaged, as the only continent without a voice of
permanent representation on the Council. We therefore
urge a speedy consideration of the expansion of, and
equitable representation on, the Council, to make it
more representative, democratic and accountable and
therefore more effective.
A new dawn has broken in the political landscape
of Sierra Leone. Once again, Sierra Leone has
demonstrated exemplary performance in the area of the
consolidation of democracy and governance. We would
like to acknowledge with humility the messages of
commendation we received from various parts of the
world for the conduct of the recent parliamentary and
presidential elections. As one influential Western
media organization put it, Sierra Leone is a pearl in the
political crown of African politics.
My delegation welcomes the statement issued by
the members of the Security Council in which they
congratulated the people and institutions of Sierra
Leone, in particular the National Electoral Commission
and the Sierra Leone Police, on their conduct in the
election period and the commitment they demonstrated
to the democratic process. President Koroma has asked
me to convey, on behalf of all Sierra Leoneans, sincere
thanks to members of the international community for
their invaluable contribution to the electoral process.
We are grateful in particular for the logistical support
that the various institutions concerned with the election
received to enable them to perform their respective
functions. As the new President said after taking the
oath of office, the people of Sierra Leone must
congratulate themselves for their historic resolve to
ensure the victory of democracy and the free exercise
of the will of the people.
No one can deny that, after a brutal civil war,
Sierra Leone has enjoyed five years of relative peace.
However, peace is not an event. It transcends the
signing of ceasefire and peace agreements. It also
transcends the successful disarmament and
demobilization of ex-combatants, and the official
declaration of the end of armed conflict.
Peace is a process, a process that must be
consolidated, maintained and sustained. Indeed, that is
why the United Nations was established after two
world wars: to promote social progress and better
standards of life for the peoples of the world and to
unite our strength in order to maintain international
peace and security. The establishment of the new
Peacebuilding Commission to facilitate post-conflict
recovery is consistent with the objectives of the
Organization. It adds to the true meaning and scope of
the concept of peace.
The Sierra Leone Government considers the
recent elections as part of the peace process. The
people have once again exercised their constitutional
right to choose the men and women they would like to
serve the nation. Now we must not forget that the
people also have a right to economic and social
development. The right to vote is inextricably linked to
the rights to food, clean and portable water, basic
social services and, of course, development. All the
praise, all the commendation that Sierra Leoneans have
received in connection with the exercise of their
political right, the right to vote, will be meaningless
unless we create and intensify our collective efforts to
ensure that they see and enjoy the dividends of that
process.
Periodic elections are important, but they are not
a panacea for all needs. Now that the elections are
over, the Government is determined to meet the
challenge of translating the exercise of a political right
into the realization of the economic and social rights of
all Sierra Leoneans. There is indeed a change of
Government, but that change needs urgent and
substantial support to produce its desired dividends for
the citizens. Accordingly, I would like to solicit the
support of the United Nations, the entire international
community and our bilateral partners to help us to
deliver on the expectations linked to that change.
Sierra Leone will continue to have high
expectations for the United Nations, including its
Peacebuilding Commission and Peacebuilding Fund.
Sierra Leone was selected as one of the first two
countries on the Commission’s agenda, and thus
became eligible for funding, which has already had a
positive impact on our ability to consolidate the peace.
We thank the Commission and the Fund for that timely
consideration. We note with appreciation, for instance,
the timely support that the Sierra Leone Police
received from the Peacebuilding Fund to enhance their
capacity to manage public order during the recent
elections.
The four priority areas that have been identified
by the Government in consultation with the
Commission, the United Nations system in Sierra
Leone and other stakeholders, including civil society,
are still valid. They are all equally important. However,
in view of the inherent urgency and the critical nature
of the youth problem, the Government will make sure,
as far as possible, that youth employment and
empowerment continue to be accorded first priority.
We hope that the details of the integrated
peacebuilding strategy or framework for cooperation
with Sierra Leone will soon be finalized. While
recognizing the importance of partnership and
accountability, we strongly believe that national
ownership must be the core principle of the framework.
While Sierra Leoneans are being showered with
commendations for the outcome of the elections, and
deservedly so, and while the nation is today being held
in high esteem in the area of political and
constitutional order, we must not forget that the
country still finds itself in the unenviable position of
being ranked one of the least developed countries in
the United Nations Development Programme’s human
development index. Unfortunately for Sierra Leone and
the rest of the developing world, the prospects for
achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
by the year 2015 remain cloudy and distant. My
delegation shares the view that practical steps must be
taken as a matter of urgency to accelerate the process
of meeting the goals. We therefore welcome the recent
launching of the MDG Africa Steering Group, chaired
by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to mobilize the
heads of the United Nations system and major
multilateral and intergovernmental organizations in
support of African States in their effort to meet the
MDGs.
In principle, we support all initiatives that could
at least get Africa on track. Those include Prime
Minister Gordon Brown’s MDG call to action of last
July, and the declaration signed by a number of Heads
of State and Government and private-sector leaders.
We, for our part, acknowledge our responsibility to
meet the Goals. However, we strongly believe that the
developed countries should fulfil their commitments as
partners in an interdependent world, with special
support preference for countries emerging from
conflict, in order to accelerate their progress towards
meeting the goals.
Sierra Leone will continue to foster and maintain
friendly relations with all Members States of the
United Nations, in particular those in our immediate
neighbourhood, members of the Mano River Union and
the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS). That is why, less than a week after
assuming office, President Koroma paid a visit to the
two other founding members of the Mano River Union,
Liberia and Guinea, and to Burkina Faso, the current
Chair of ECOWAS.
For far too long, the situation in some of our
countries has been a threat to regional and international
peace and security. Sierra Leone would like to assure
this Assembly that it stands ready to reverse that trend
in the subregion of West Africa, to help reduce tension,
prevent armed conflict and strengthen institutions and
machinery that have been created primarily to promote
the economic and social well-being of people.
We will continue to work assiduously with the
United Nations, the African Union, ECOWAS, the
European Union and individual sovereign States to
pursue the goals of peace and security enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations, for Africa and the rest
of the world.