Sierra Leone Peace Agreement

07 Oct Sierra Leone Peace Agreement

(1) In order to bring lasting peace to Sierra Leone, the Government of Sierra Leone shall take appropriate legal measures to grant an absolute and free pardon to Corporal Foday Sankoh. The conflict had taken time since an attempted RUF coup against Kabbah in 1997. Sierra Leonean politicians in Switzerland and abroad were ready to negotiate with the rebels, including Omrie Golley and Pallo Bangura (AFRC/RUF junta, “Foreign Minister”). At the same time, President Kabbah has been exhausted by the fighting, the attempted coup, the siege of Freetown (sierra Leone`s capital) and weak support for Nigerians for ECOMOG, a peacekeeping force in the country. Kabbah wanted peace and was willing to make sacrifices. Sankoh wanted power and was ready to fight for it. On May 18, Kabbah and Sankoh signed a first ceasefire in Lomé, in the presence of US Special Envoy Jesse Jackson and Togolese President Gnassingbé Eyadéma. As a result, Sankoh traveled to Lomé with a negotiating team of field commanders and allies to negotiate with Kabbah`s delegation led by Attorney General Solomon Bereva. After delays, negotiations began on 26 May in Lomé. It is not clear when ECOWAS terminated ECOMOG activities in Sierra Leone.

Nevertheless, ECOWAS appointed a delegation of 30 members to oversee the legislative and presidential elections of 14 May 2002 in Sierra Leone. After post-conflict elections, the regional peacekeeping force can be coded as terminated or withdrawn. The granting of a general amnesty has been the subject of widespread criticism. The United Nations, which served as the guarantor of the agreement, signed the agreement” on condition that the United Nations undertakes that the amnesty and pardon provided for in article IX of the agreement do not apply to international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law.” 2 Lomé Peace Agreement 7 July 1999 – Peace agreement between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Sierra Leone Revolutionary United Front to end the country`s eight-year civil war. Contains appendices. On 28 July 1999, the pro-Government Kamajor militia claimed that revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighters had attacked their positions. Attorney General Solomon Bereva rejected the allegations of violations and said: “There have been no cases of collision [over] the Lomé peace agreement of 7 July”2 The United Nations or international verification existed before the 1999 Lomé Convention. The United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNMIL) was established by Security Council resolution of 13 July 1998 (S/RES/1181). The 1999 Lomé Peace Agreement contained specific provisions for the participation of the United Nations, which led to the provisional extension of the mission. The mission was initially authorized with 70 military observers, a medical unit of 15 personnel and 5 civilian police advisers. There was also a provision for 50 international civilians and 48 locally recruited staff.