Jens Toyberg-Frandzen, UNIPSIL Boss
By Mathew Kanu
Civil Society and human rights organisations have expressed concern that the United Nations Peacebuilding office in Sierra Leone is leaving at a time when the country needs its support towards stability and democracy.
Executive director of Community Action for Human Security, Abass Kamara, said the civil society family in Makeni was aware of the fact that UNIPSIL would eventually fold up one day, but that they had benefited a lot from its operations through capacity-building.
Chairperson of the Bombali District Human Rights Committee, Emilia Kamara, said human rights committees in the north were particularly grateful to UNIPSIL for their contributions in the formation of the committees.
“Through UNIPSIL there have been some remarkable changes in the behaviour of people on human rights violations and abuses,” she said.
Executive Representative of the Secretary General, Jens Anders Toyberg–Frandzen, thanked all partners who had worked with them over the years to address some of the governance needs of the country.
He said Sierra Leone had come a long way and was better off now than it was in the 1990s, noting that that was a formidable achievement in every respect.
The UN envoy said Sierra Leone was no longer a post-conflict country, but a country that was moving towards development. She said that on 31March 2014, UNIPSIL would finally disappear with all its residue but that the United Nations would stay. He said they had already closed down in Kono and would do so in Bo this week.
Meanwhile, he assured that they would continue to support the Constitutional Review Committee with more than US$3.5 million as well as provide support to other democratic institutions.
Paramount Chief of Bombali Sheborah, Bai Sheborah Kasangha, praised the efforts of United Nations peacekeepers during the troubled times in Sierra Leone.
“When we are at war the United Nations peace keeping forces were in the country until we achieved peace. Sierra Leone is not mourning the departure at all, we are celebrating UNIPSIL because it signifies the presence of peace,” he said.
Sierra Leone's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vandi Chidi Minah, said it was about time the country emerged from those days when it had the largest contingent of 17,000 peacekeepers and moved towards development.
(C) Politico 19/12/13
