§ Mr. LloydTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the state of the peace settlement in Sierra Leone; and if he will make a statement. [104141]
§ Mr. RammellThis year Sierra Leone celebrated its first year of peace in over a decade. Disarmament was completed and the war declared over in January 2002. Credible and peaceful elections were held in May. But, much remains to be done to consolidate peace. The UN peacekeeping mission, UNAMSIL, remains deployed throughout the country. It has begun to withdraw, in a phased process, which should last 18 to 20 months.
On 10 March the Special Court for Sierra Leone indicted seven people suspected of war crimes. Five are now in custody. This action represents an important step forward for the Court and signals Sierra Leone's determination to end impunity. At the same time, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is making good progress with statement-taking. Over 4,700 statements have been recorded to date. We welcome the TRC Chairman's recent announcement that donors have pledged an additional $3.7 million (US) in support of its work.
The UK continues to play a leading role in building a lasting peace. This month a deployment of Gurkhas undertook joint exercises with the Sierra Leone armed forces as a demonstration of the UK's support for the settlement process. Key post-conflict challenges include helping the Government of Sierra Leone to:
reform the security sector;train and strengthen the capacity of the armed forces and police; reintegrate former combatants, returning refugees and the internally displaced;tackle corruption;promote justice (including through the establishment of the Sierra Leone Special Court) and reconciliation (through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission);introduce policies for managing and securing the diamond fields;strengthen democratic institutions and civil society;put in place effective public administration and management of public finances, rebuild the country's basic infrastructure and services; anddevelop industry and the economy.The UK is committing over £120 million of development assistance, including substantial budgetary support, to Sierra Leone over the next three years. This is in addition to our ongoing commitment of over 100 UK military personnel to the UK-led International Military and Advisory Training Team (IMATT). We continue to provide substantial support to humanitarian agencies.
The ongoing conflict in Liberia and President Taylor's regime, which has not yet met the demands of the Security Council and continues to breach UN sanctions, remain a threat to the peace in Sierra Leone. Through the Liberia Contact Group and other mechanisms we are seeking a peaceful solution and real reform in Liberia.