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Mission News & Press Releases
21 January 2010:
Sierra Leone delegation joins UN mourn 47 staffers killed in
Haiti
Senior diplomats at
the Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone to the United Nations in New
York on Tuesday joined the Secretary General, H.E .Ban Ki-Moon ,
and scores of other UN Ambassadors and other diplomatic staff in
honouring the dozens of UN staff killed in last week's deadly
earthquake in Haiti. About 47 staff of the UN are confirmed dead and
500 still missing in the earthquake that struck the Haitian
capital, Port-Au-Prince on Tuesday January 12.
On Tuesday, exactly
one week after the disaster , the UN held a moving ceremony at the
General Assembly Lobby where the dead were honored ,with Secretary
General, Ban Ki-Moon laying a wreath of white flowers in honor of the
47 members who perished in the calamity. The program was attended by
hundreds of UN staff and journalists. At exactly the time the quake
struck , a minute's silence was held throughout the UN Building. Even
the Security Council Reform Negotiations in the Informal plenary was
halted for an hour to enable delegates to attend the ceremony. The
laying-of-wreath ceremony was followed by a candle-lit vigil outside
the UN Plaza.
Sierra Leone was
represented at the ceremony by the Permanent Representative to the UN,
H.E. Shekou Touray, the Deputy Permanent Representative for Political
Affairs, Ambassador Rupert Davies, the Coordinator of C-10 , Minister
Plenipotentiary Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu and Counselor Sulay-Mannah
Kpukumu.
Also on Tuesday,
President Ernest Bai Koroma , on behalf of the people of Sierra Leone ,
contributed the sum of one hundred thousand United States dollars
($100,000) to the United Nations Haiti Disaster Fund. Expressing his
sincere condolences for the earthquake disaster that befell the nation
on January 13th 2010 to the UN Executive Representative of the
Secretary General (ERSG), Michael Schulenberg, on Monday 18th January
2010 at State House, President Koroma said Sierra Leone is deeply
saddened by the disaster, expressing heartfelt sympathies for the UN
and the people of Haiti.
MEANWHILE,
Ambassador Shekou Toure on Tuesday signed the Book of Condolence for
the victims of the Haiti earthquake on behalf of Sierra Leone. The
Ambassador extended his deepest condolence to the people of Haiti and
all nations and organizations affected by the heavy death toll on
behalf of President Ernest Koroma and the people of Sierra Leone.
21 January 2010:
Sierra Leone again speaks on behalf of African Group at UN
Security Council Reform negotiations - by COCORIOKO Reporters
Sierra Leone has
once again propounded the African Common Position at the United Nations
Security Council Reform. At the Second Exchange of the Fourth Round of
the Intergovernmental Negotiations held on Tuesday and Wednesday,
Sierra Leone again advocated Africa's position at the
informal plenary where negotiations are being conducted to reform the
decision-making body of the United Nations. The Security Council has
primary responsibility, under the Charter of the United Nations ,for
the maintenance of international peace and security.
The current process
for Security Council reform is outlined in General Assembly decision
62/557, which was unanimously adopted on 15 September 2008 and called
for negotiations to begin no later than March 2009. It must be recalled
that the decision of the Assembly of the 12th Ordinary Session of
African Union AU/Dec.230 (X11) adopted by the Heads of State and
Government, directed the Permanent Representatives of the
Committee of Ten, to “actively engage in the Intergovernmental
Negotiations on the Question of the Equitable Representation on and
Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Related
Matters" in keeping with the United Nations General Assembly
Decision 62/557 adopted on the 15th of September 2008.
This Second Round of the Fourth Round considered areas of convergence
in the 5 clusters of Security Council Reform, namely : Categories of
membership, the Veto, Size and Working Methods, Regional Representation
and the Relationship between the Security Council and the General
Assembly.
In a statement
delivered on behalf of the African Group, Ambassador Shekou Toure ,
Sierra Leone's Permanent Representative told the plenary that "First
and foremost, as top priority, there is undisputed broad support by the
membership for the need to address Africa’s non-representation
and under-representation in the Permanent and Non-permanent categories
respectively, in order to redress the historical injustice the
continent has suffered." He noted that "For Africa there can be
no credible or meaningful reform in the Security Council if the
overwhelming support this issue has enjoyed is suppressed,
neglected or remains unaddressed."
Africa is actively
negotiating for an increase in the Permanent and Non-Permanent
categories and for Africa to be given 2 seats in the Permanent category
and 5 seats in the Non-Permanent, in accordance with the Ezulwini
Consensus and the Sirte Declaration. Africa is also calling for the
abolition of the veto, but if it continues to exists , the
veto should be made available to new permanent members as a matter of
common justice and in the interest of democracy.
Sierra Leone's delegation at the
negotiations include H.E. Touray, the Deputy Permanent Representative
for Political Affairs Ambassador Rupert Davies; the Coordinator of C-10
, Minister Plenipotentiary Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu and Counselor
Sulay-Mannah Kpukumu. C-10 ,which is the Committee of 10 African
Heads of State , mandated by the African Union ( AU ) to advocate for
Security Council Reform on behalf of Africa, is headed by Sierra
Leone's President , Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma.
17 January 2010:
Sierra Leone leads Africa out to Intergovernmental negotiations
for Security Council Reform. Click
here for full story - by Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu
01 October 2009:
Pictorial Display: President Ernest Koroma informs Sierra
Leonean UN staff in New York about his government's achievements. Click
here for full story - by Leeroy Wilfred
Kabs-Kanu
24 September 2009: Pictorial
Display: President Ernest Koroma's Big Day at the 64th Session of
the General Assembly. Click
here for full story - by Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu
24 September 2009: President
Ernest Koroma's address to the General Assembly. Click
here for text of the address - from The Sierra Leone Agenda page
20 May 2009: Ambassador Touray Speaks At Memorial Fund Launching
The Permanent Representative of the Sierra
Leone Mission to the United Nations today (20th May 2009) joined other
Excellencies to formally launch the Permanent Memorial Fund in honour
of the memory of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave
Trade in the ECOSOC Chamber of the United Nations in New York.
Speaking at the occasion where the
“hip-hop pioneer” Russel Simmons was also appointed as
Goodwill Ambassador for the said Memorial for the Victims of Slavery
and Slave Trade, Ambassador Shekou Touray noted the enthusiasm persons
of African descent demonstrate in search of their true identity, which
was mixed up as a result of slavery. He observed that with the first
ever United States President of African descent, there is an eagerness
in persons of African descent to aspire to know by scientific means,
which part of the African continent they originate from.
“One thing President Barrack Obama will
not have to grapple with in the Oval Office is his ancestry. Unlike
many African-Americans, he actually knows exactly where in Africa his
bloodlines began –an experience that remains elusive to many
people of African descent in the United States and elsewhere.”
Ambassador Touray went on to highlight the
works of the American writer, Alex Haley, in his book Roots
and its subsequent Television series, as a pertinent example of a road
map to freedom. He described how the author “traced the painful
and nostalgic journey of African-Americans from their homeland to the
United States, leading to their search for freedom and dignity.”
The Permanent Representative who was (as
Chair of the month of March) in the thick of arrangements in the
week-long commemorations of the Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic
Slave Trade that climaxed on 25th March, gave a detailed recount of the
movement of slaves from one port to the other, and how they agitated
for their freedom until they landed on the Province of freedom, modern
day Sierra Leone, where they came as deportees or returnees.
Still on the subject, he remembered the struggles of the Amistad
captives and took his audience through another recount of the fight
Shengbe Pieh (Joseph Cinque) and other captives put up for their
freedom mentioning the assistance rendered by then US President John
Quincy Adams to give the Africans back their freedom.
The Mission Head did not fail to point out
the connection between the freed and settled slaves in the black poor
of England, Nova Scotia, Maroons from Jamaica, and Recaptives or
Liberated Africans captured aboard vessels when slavery was already
abolished. “The Province of Freedom, Sierra Leone, inevitably
became the melting pot of various cultures and civilizations and
maintains that unique characteristic up to present day,” he
said.
Concluding, he said the memorial will proudly stand within the
precincts of the UN, as a constant reminder of that cruel era, when
“man’s inhumanity to man became the great order of the
day”. He hoped that never again will that dastardly act be
repeated. He congratulated Mr. Simmons on his appointment and expressed
hoped that other African-Americans and every citizen of our planet will
take pride in and support the fund for a better tomorrow.
The Chairman of the Permanent Memorial
Committee, PR and Ambassador Jamaica, Mr. Raymond O. Wolfe, chaired the
programme.
Other speakers included the Under Secretary
General for Communication and Public Information, Mr. Kiyotaka Akasaka,
the Executive Director UN Office for Partnerships, Mr. Amir Dossal,
African Group Chair of the Month and PR of Sudan, Mr.A.A. Mohamad, the
Chair of CARICOM and PR Haiti Mr. Leo Merores, the PRs of Grenada and
Cape Verde, Ms. Dessima M. Williams and Mr. A.P.M. Lima and the
goodwill envoy.
09 May 2009: Defense
Minister Concludes Daffur Peacekeeping Negotiations In New York
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Defense
Major (rtd) Alfred Paolo Conteh left New York Friday 8th May, 2009 for
an African Union Conference of Defense Ministers in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia after satisfactorily concluding negotiations with the United
Nations Force Generation Service (UNFGS) on the deployment of
Peace-Keeping troops in Daffur.
The New York meeting was a follow-up to
an earlier reconnaissance visit to Daffur. The Department of
Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) advised that the next step in the force
generation of the Sector Reconnaissance Company for UNAMID was the
requirement to agree the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will
determine the force package and associated financial
reimbursement.
In New York, they discussed the
“recce” report and in particular the requirement, as stated
by UNAMID, for Sierra Leone to deploy for a three-month period, 40
engineers to assist with, and accelerate, the preparation of the camp
for their Peace-keeping personnel. The delegation negotiated for 30
engineers (to be deployed with the SL Advance Party), who would
facilitate the construction of the Sierra Leonean part of the Super
Camp at Nyala. Modalities will be further worked out to assign tasks to
each of the party of engineers –UNAMID and RSLAF.
Major Conteh and his team updated the UNFGS
on the country’s preparations for deployment in order to confirm
and or adjust timelines. They insisted that the Recce Coy equipment
initially billed for 01 July, would only be ready by end August 2009.
The UNFGS reluctantly accepted but warning against any further delay.
It was proposed that timelines be effected such that by end of July the
Pre Deployment Visit by FGS be concluded, equipment shipped by end of
August, and by mid October, an advance Party of 50 Personel (including
the 30 engineers) be deployed to allow the main body to be fully
deployed in November/December.
It was agreed that in May/June, a Movement
Officer from DPKO visit Sierra Leone for two days to provide movement
briefs for the personnel. Three RSLAF personnel, (driver and mechanics
who will have the expertise to drive the specialist vehicles) will
accompany the ship that will be transporting the vehicles and spares
for their use in Daffur. The Sierra Leone government will provide the
personnel with visas for Sudan.
Taking into consideration that transit
times are three months apart, it was agreed that whatever means the
government decided, an extra three months of spares and food
ration must depart at the same time as the main body to prevent any
future shortages. The UN will pay for 90 days of spares to be shipped
(less medical drugs and other perishables, which should be flown).
“Deployment is a major evolution: unless RSLAF dedicates staff
and manpower solely to this task it will be a nightmare and deadlines
will be missed,” the Military Adviser to the Sierra Leone Mission
to the UN, Col. Alhaji FandY Turay noted.
The RSLAF will need to increase equipment
provision to cover 160 personnel although that number will be scaled
down later to 130. Canada has made generous contributions towards
vehicles and spares and is expected to redirect funding to other vital
areas.
On the Minister’s delegation was the
Military Adviser Lt. Col. I.M. Koroma, the IMATT Adviser to the Joint
Force Commander Lt. Col. Julian Bower and Col. Alhaji Fanday Turay.
07 May 2009: New Guinean Minister Visits Sierra Leone Mission
The newly appointed Foreign Minister (Deputy)
in the Guinean Government of Captain Musa D. Kamara, on Thursday paid a
visit to the Sierra Leone mission in New York to say farewell to the
officers, with whom she had formed a cordial alliance.
Marie Agnes Toure, whose mother is of Sierra
Leonean descent, took up office in the Permanent Mission of Guinea to
the United Nations in New York on 6th December, 2008, replacing Mr.
Zoumani Gui. Barely five months at her New York posting, she was
appointed deputy Minister of Guinea’s Foreign Affairs, with
immediate effect.
Toure had made a lot of friends and earned
respect among the African Missions to the UN due to her hard work and
pleasant personality. She has worked in the Civil Service of
neighbouring Guinea for over 25 years, and has been in the diplomatic
service for 11 years.
Earlier in March 2009, when the UN was
commemorating the Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade, the
tri-lingual (French, English and German) Toure had made her
acquaintances with the Permanent Representative to the Sierra Leone
Mission, Ambassador Shekou M. Toure. She expressed her gratitude for
the good relationship between her person and by extension her mission
and the Sierra Leonean Mission and prayed for peace to reign in the two
countries.
Responding, deputy Permanent Representative,
Ambassador Osman Keh Kamara wished her success in her new
responsibility and hoped that she will keep her lines open to Sierra
Leone.
The visiting Sierra Leone Minister of
Defense, Major (Rtd) Alfred Paolo Conteh, Lt. Col. I. M. Koroma, Legal
Adviser Ministry of Defense and the newly appointed Minister
Plenipotentiary and, Coordinator C10, Mr. Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu of
Cocorioko fame were also present at the farewell courtesy.
Defense Team Visits The United
Kingdom’s Permanent Mission
The visiting Ministry of Defense delegation
from Sierra Leone
02 May 2009: Sierra
Leone’s Diaspora Affairs Director Makes Presentation At Peace
Building Conference In New York
The Director of Sierra Leone’s
phenomenal Office of Diaspora Affairs, on Tuesday 28th April 2009,
delivered a sound paper on the peace-building initiatives on the
country’s agenda at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
During his 30-minute power point presentation
Dr. Michel Sho-Sawyer who had jetted in late on Monday (Sierra
Leone’s 48th Independence Anniversary Day), catalogued a series
of achievements scored by the country starting with the peaceful and
democratic council and national elections conducted between 2002 and
2008.
He mentioned the TRC reparation recommendations, the restructuring of
the national army, secret and regular police, and other democratic
institutions as some of the landmarks for a peaceful environment.
Dr. Sho-Sawyer highlighted the primary
challenges in the implementation of many of the existing strategies
formulated by government among which he said political will and limited
financial and human capacity were key. In addition he said poor state
of infrastructural services like electricity, water and roads
compounded the challenges in enhancing Diaspora confidence in
consolidating the peace.
After giving an overview of the goals of the
office of Diaspora Affairs –an institution that was set up in the
new political dispensation to help realize the goals of President
Ernest Bai Koroma in re-branding the battered image of Sierra Leone and
to boost the economy –he dilated on the role of Diaspora in
Sierra Leone’s peace building process. The director underscored
the importance of expatriate skilled manpower as a means of risk
reduction and peace consolidation.
He also said Diaspora help to maintain
families, strengthen social and economic ties and use Information and
communication Technology as a positive sensitization tool. To this end
he went on, his office is engaged in assessing the demands and
resources of Diaspora organizations and individuals, and the
contributions they can make towards peace building. He said his office
was helping to facilitate the flow of information and is also
collaborating with other state partners in strategizing for Diaspora
Experts to be incorporated in capacity building processes.
There was a cross-section of participants
drawn from post-conflict countries around the world to share their
experiences and map a way forward for Diaspora contribution for global
peace. Liberians expressed satisfaction over the Sierra Leone
expose¢ and looked forward to drawing an informed inspiration.
Dr. Sho-Sawyer Talks About The Conference on
Peacebuilding and Diaspora
The Director of the office of Diaspora
Affairs in Freetown, Dr. Michel Sho-Sawyer was on Tuesday attending a
conference on Peace building and the Role of Diaspora at the United
Nations in New York. After the conference, the participant came to the
offices of the Sierra Leone Mission to the United Nations in New York
and responded to the following questions:
Q.1. The office
of the Diaspora is a new phenomenon in Sierra Leone and like a newborn
baby, needs maximum attention. What significance does this conference
have that you should leave your work back there to attend just a
two-day interaction?
A. Well the conference was
on Peace building and the role of Diaspora and as you may know Sierra
Leone was one of the countries chosen by the United Nations as a peace
building country model. To this end, my participation was vital. The
seminar focus was on how the input of the Diaspora helps in
peace-building. With the creation of the Diaspora Unit in the office of
the President and its success thus far I was invited to give a
presentation on what we are doing, our strategies and mechanism on how
Sierra Leoneans abroad can help in the peace-building effort.
Q.2. Did you gain new
perspectives in Peace Building initiatives? What were you able to add
to your already rich knowledge on the Institutional Support for
Diaspora Engagement in Reconstruction and Capacity Building?
A. Well we do have a very
strong program in Sierra Leone but I realized that there are many other
areas, which are more complicated like the issue of remittances; how do
we formalise the money remitted home? How do we build the private
sector with the remitted funds and how can we channel it for
developmental purposes? I believe I will go back home with more
questions than answers but we have been provided with the basis to do
further research on this vast subject.
Q.3. How is your
participation in this conference going to benefit Sierra Leone as a
nation?
A. Well whenever we are out
of the country we appear as change agents, meaning we follow the suit
of His Excellency the President; we make sure we sell Sierra Leone and
focus on re-branding the image. Secondly with as powerful presentation
as was given from Sierra Leone which I will credit to the staff at the
Office in Sierra Leone for working hard in putting it together, we were
able to succeed in showing other countries that Sierra Leone is far
ahead in our developmental processes which will go a long way in
rebranding the image.
Q.4. Can you share with
your compatriots and friends of Sierra Leone what positive changes you
see taking place in the next three years through the agenda of the
Diaspora Office?
A. Well as it is now, the
office is working very hard to fill critical capacity need in the
country. Sierra Leone lost 30-35 % of most of its highly
educated/skilled professionals and the office is working hard on
attracting them back. The office is also working on building the
Confidence of Diasporas to return home to open businesses, invest in
Sierra Leone and invest in the development process. In the near future
or within the next three years, we plan to open Sierra Leone Community
banks, Credit Unions, Mortgage Facilities, Cashless transfer and so
forth from the Diaspora office.
Q.5. Is there any
special message you will like to share with Sierra Leoneans in the
Diaspora?
A. My message will be for
us as Sierra Leoneans to focus on building our nation; for us to set
aside all our many differences and focus on the President’s
Agenda for Change. Sierra Leone needs all her citizen to come onboard
to help in her development process. We need to stop the politics and
focus on consolidating peace and enhancing our infrastructure.
20 April 2009: Col. Turay Gets
Decorated On UN Trip To Freetown
A week-long visit to the United Nations
Missions in the three post-conflict West African countries last week
ended up throwing to the limelight, Sierra Leone’s Military
Attaché to the United Nations in New York, as he was decorated
to the rank of Colonel by the Minister of Defense in Freetown.
Colonel Fanday Turay was on a seventeen-man
strong UN delegation of Military and Police Advisers’ Community
(MPAC) who had been granted permission by the DPKO to make the trip to
the three post-conflict countries in the Mano River Union, (Cote
d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone) to see for themselves the
“political and operational situations” obtaining in the
said countries. A representative from the Office of Military Affairs
accompanied the MPAC delegation to the three missions where briefs on
the missions’ activities were provided and tours facilitated for
the MPAC delegation.
UNOCI in Cote d’Ivoire was the first
port of call. The delegation spent two days assessing things under the
capable hands of the Liaison Officer Lt. Col. Marcio de Jesus Cabral
before moving on the third day by a UN aircraft to Liberia. UNMIL in
Liberia played host for two days to the delegation under the leadership
of Liaison Officer Lt. Col AO Uthman before they were flown to the
UNIPSIL in Freetown where UNIPSIL Officer, Lt Col Miguel Santiago took
charge of the visitors.
It was on that one-day visit; in the
Conference Room of the Ministry of Defense in Freetown that a stunned
Turay was decorated Colonel by the Defense Minister Major (retired)
Paolo Conteh with some officers of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces and
the visiting delegation in attendance.
Coming back to base on Monday 5th April, 2009, the newly promoted
Colonel telling how proud he was of his country, had this to say:
“Besides my promotion, the fact
that military Advisers from sixteen different countries, including
United Kingdom, USA and China went to Sierra Leone and to the Ministry
of Defense and said they were very impressed by the level of
professionalism attained by the Sierra Leone Armed Forces was reason
for celebration”.
He said it was good for Sierra Leone
especially as it was emerging from a conflict situation to which the
International Community gave an unwavering support to show appreciation.
“Now, like the Minister pointed out during the visit, it is our
turn to pay back to the International Committee by sending a contingent
to the UN Peacekeeping Forces in Sudan this year,” the Colonel
said.
20 April 2009: Counsellor Sulimani Gets
New Appointment
At the meeting of the African Group of
Experts of the Third Committee on the United Nations General Assembly
in the AU Bureau in New York, Sierra Leone was appointed to the
position of Vice Coordinator for the year 2009.
At the meeting held on Tuesday 7th April
2009, Ms Victoria Sulimani was appointed by acclamation to serve as the
new Vice Coordinator for the West African sub region with the
understanding that she serves as Coordinator the following year when
the post of Coordinator of that Committee comes to the West African sub
region.
Last month when the Chair of the Month of
March fell to the Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone, Sulimani
also served as Chair of the Third Committee of Experts of the
UN’s General Assembly.
This month, the Chair goes to South Africa
while Tanzania in the Eastern sub region succeeds Egypt for the post of
Coordinator 2009, posts of Vice Coordinator go to Sierra Leone in the
West African sub region, Cameroon in Central and Tunisia in North.
18 April 2009:
The Sierra Leone Mission Celebrates
With Staten Island’s USSLA.
The Deputy Permanent
Representative (Political Affairs) of Sierra Leone Mission to the
United Nations in New York said on Saturday 18th April 2009, that with
hard work and concerted effort, Sierra Leone would bail out of poverty
and deprivation.
Ambassador Davies was speaking at a
pre-Independence celebration organized by Sierra Leoneans in Staten
Island New York, where he deputized the Permanent Representative
Ambassador Shekou Touray as Guest Speaker. He said 48 years was a
pretty short life span for a nation’s development saying great
democracies that are being emulated as role models today, have also
been down that road and emerged triumphant.
“With determination and the will to put all hands on deck, we too
have the resources –not only the natural but also most
importantly, the human capital to bail our people out of poverty and
deprivation.”
He described Sierra Leoneans in the Diaspora
as a significant constituent of that category of the human resource
base that can stimulate the development agenda of Sierra Leone
mentioning Ireland, India, Mexico and Ghana as countries in which
Diaspora communities have played a catalytic role in the socio-economic
evolution of those societies.
“It is with this in mind that the President H.E. Dr. Ernest Bai
Koroma declared the Diaspora as the fifth region of Sierra Leone and
has further crystallized that by establishing an office of Diaspora
Affairs within his office,” he said.
Mr. Davies explained how during the
President’s visit in September 2008, someone in Washington had
asked when his government will build the bridge to Lungi. To this the
Ambassador went on, the President had replied that his priorities were
addressing humanitarian issues like reducing the Infant Mortality Rate,
making education a right among other things. But, Mr. Davies said, the
President had also thrown a challenge to Sierra Leoneans to make
contributions towards National development.
Having said that Ambassador Davies called on
Sierra Leoneans in USSLA (United States Sierra Leone Association) to
take on the challenge to “factor our privileged circumstances,
experiences and wherewithal in actualizing the development aspirations
of our beloved country”. He pointed out that the “useful
skills, network of useful associations of diverse nature, uses of which
can be translated’ for the betterment of the future generation.
He disclosed that the Ambassador to the US,
Mr.Bockarie Stevens was actively working on the bridge to Lungi project
and raised the hopes of his compatriots that and one day that dream
shall be actualized. He also disclosed the plans government has
embarked upon to bring in more foreign doctors to alleviate the health
situation, which he said currently had a ratio of roughly one doctor to
three hundred thousand patients.
Along the same line, the keynote speaker,
Dr.Wilma Jones (incomplete) emphasized the need for education saying it
is the key to individual as well as national development. She gave as
eloquent examples Martin Luther King and President Barrack Obama who
she said have stood out because of the premium their parents put on
their education. She encouraged Sierra Leoneans to pass on whatever
qualities or skills that will build the capacity of others. She
said the sky must be the limit in our quest for development.
15 April 2009: The
Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone to the United Nations held talks with
Concerned Sierra Leoneans in North America Inc. Click to download pdf to
read the full press release.
3 April 2008: Sierra
Leone Roads Authority General Procurement Notice: Road
Rehabilitation/Construction. Click
to download pdf for more information.
12 September 2007:
Sierra Leone was a co-sponsor of a resolution concerning "Cooperation
between the United Nations and the African Union." The resolution
outlines extensive areas for cooperation and identifies strategies
whereby the UN can support the capacity of the African Union to address
regional issues.
September 2007:
Mr. Sulay-Mana Kpukumu (Sierra Leone Mission to the UN) has been
elected Rapporteur of the Open-Ended Working Group to consider the
objectives and agenda, including the possible establishment of the
preparatory committee for the proposed Fourth Special Session of the
General Assembly devoted to Disarmament (SSOD IV).
September 2007:
The Mission of Sierra Leone has co-sponsored a draft resolution on
"Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic". The
resolution takes note of the adoption of the Luanda Final Declaration
as well as the Luanda Plan of Action. These documents were
produced at the sixth Ministerial Meeting of the zone of peace and
cooperation of the South Atlantic held in Luanda Angola.
24 August 2007:
Sierra Leone's police force received $1 million worth of new security
equipment as a result of the UN Peacebuilding Fund. This
allocation represents one of several projects financed through the $35
million budget allocation by the UN Peacekeeping Fund. The
equipment is also intended to complete on-going training which SLP
members are undergoing under the auspices of the UN Integrated Office
in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) Police Advisers.
9
July 2007: The Mission of Sierra Leone submitted a
response that appears on page 70 of the Secretary-General's report
"Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo
imposed by the United States of America against Cuba." (A/62/92
– 3 August 2007) The Sierra Leone response is as
follows:
1.
Consistent with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations
and international law, Sierra Leone has neither promulgated nor applied
any laws ormeasures of the kind referred to in the preamble of
resolution 61/11.
2. Sierra Leone supported
the resolution and is convinced that the lifting ofdiscriminatory trade
practices and extraterritorial application of domestic laws would not
only help to alleviate the socio-economic condition of the Cuban
people,but also promote dialogue, good-neighbourliness and cooperation
among States.
28 June 2007: A statement
was read by the current Security Council president reiterated support
for the Special Court for Sierra Leone and calls for the international
community to maintain financial support for the tribunal.
27 June 2007: The United
Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has announced
a new $10.9 million programme to bring small
loans and jobs to the young people of rural Sierra Leone.
13 June 2007: The United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has stated its praise for Sierra
Leone's Parliament which recently approved the National Child Rights
Bill. Click
here for full story from UN News Service.
8
June 2007: UN and Special Court for Sierra Leone
officials appeal to the Security Council for additional funding for the
court. Click
here for full story from UN News Service.
7 June 2007: The Travel
Documents page has been updated to reflect changes that have been
in effect for some time.
June 2007: Following the
decision of the 6th Ministerial meeting held in Luanda Angola regarding
the Zone of Peace and Cooperation in the South Atlantic, Mrs. Victoria
Sulimani has been designated member of the Committee of Experts in New
York.
10 May 2007: UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon notes that progress toward Sierra Leone
national election is encouraging, but calls for continued
assistance. Click
here for full story from UN News Service.
12 February 2007: Sierra
Leone has been elected to the membership for several functional
commissions of the Economic and Social Council (E/2007/9 – 12
February 2007): Commission on Population and Development (2010),
Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (2009), and the
Commission on Science and Technology for Development (2008).
3 January 2007: During
the 61st session of the General Assembly, a resolution calling for the
declaration of a fourth disarmament decade was introduced by Sierra
Leone to the First Committee and subsequently approved by the General
Assembly (A/RES/61/67 – 3 January 2007). The statement by H.E. Dr. Sylvester Ekundayo
Rowe introducing the draft resolution to the First Committee on 18
October 2006 can be found in UN Document (A/C.1/61/PV.16 – 18
October 2006) starting on page 12.
21
November 2005: Sierra Leone Chairs UNDC July 18 –
August 5, 2005: Ambassador Sylvester Ekundayo Rowe was
elected as Chairman of the United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC)
for 2005.
A specialized body of
the United Nations, UNDC is composed of all 191 U.N. Member States. The
Commission’s mandate is to hold “in-depth deliberations on
specific disarmament issues” and submit recommendations on the
discussed topics.
The Commission held
organizational meetings from July 18 – 26 but did not hold any
Substantive Session for 2005. This was a result of the
Commission’s inability to reach a definitive agreement on two
agenda items, one on nuclear disarmament and the other on conventional
disarmament, as well as on an issue entitled “Review of the
working methods of the Commission.” See
Press Release 26 July 2005.
Ambassador
Rowe had served as a Vice President of the Commission in
1999.
31 October 2005: GA
First Committee on Disarmament & International Security adopts
Sierra Leone’s draft resolution on the report of the United
Nations Disarmament Commission.
In his capacity as Chairman
of the United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC) and following
intensive consultations in the search for consensus; Ambassador Rowe
presented a draft resolution on
the “Report of the UNDC” to the First Committee.
The draft resolution among
other things, would have the General Assembly “welcome the
efforts the Commission had made during its organizational meeting in
July 2005 towards achieving its objectives, and recommends that the
Commission to intensify consultations on those efforts with a view to
adopting definitive agreements before the start of its substantive
session in 2006”
Ambassador Rowe told the
Committee that one of the objectives of the draft resolution was to
reaffirm the mandate and underscore the viability and efficacy of the
Commission. He said that Member States should try to work harder in the
coming months and come up with specific, concrete and meaningful
recommendations on disarmament and non-proliferation. (See text of statement)
The Committee decided to
adopt the draft resolution without a vote. The United States delegation
announced that it was not participating in the action being taken on
the draft.
27 May 2005:
Four Sierra Leoneans, who had lost their lives in 2004 while serving
with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), were
honoured at a posthumous medal ceremony in New York on 27 May 2005, as
part of the observance of International Day of United Nations
Peacekeepers. Download
full press release - Microsoft Word format
27 May 2005:
2005 Review Conference of States Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - Sierra Leone participated in the
month-long review conference which ended on 27 May without agreement on
a final document. The Head of the Sierra Leone delegation, H.E. Dr.
Sylvester Ekundayo Rowe, served as Vice Chairman of Main Committee III
of the Conference which dealt with peaceful uses of nuclear energy, as
well as the controversial issue of withdrawal from the Treaty (Article
X of the Treaty). He facilitated two paragraphs of the proposed draft
report of the Committee. There was no consensus. Statement by Ambassador ROWE at
the conference.
24 March 2005:
Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone, in collaboration with the
International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Scientists,
Saving Lives through Alternate Options and the Inter-religious
Federation for World Peace International, on Thursday, 24th of March
2005, organized a panel discussion on the Challenges of HIV/AIDS in
Conflict and Post-Conflict Societies at the United Nations
Headquarters. Download
full press release - Microsoft Word format
11 March 2005:
Sierra Leone was, on Friday 11th of March 2005, presented a Shield of
Membership to the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce. Download full press release -
Microsoft Word format
24 January - 25 February
2005:
- Sierra
Leone has expressed preference for a legally-binding rather than a
political non-binding instrument on marking and tracing of small arms
and light weapons. Addressing the second session of the Open-Ended
Working Group mandated to negotiate an international instrument to
enable States to identify and trace, in a timely and reliable manner,
illicit small arms and light weapons, H.E. Dr. Sylvester Ekundayo Rowe
(who is also Vice Chair of the Group), said that like so-called weapons
of mass destruction (WMDs), illicit small arms and light weapons are a
serious threat to international peace and security. He described the
proposed instrument as a humanitarian instrument, similar to the Ottawa
Land Mine Ban Convention. He asked: “We have international and
legally-binding instruments on torture, children, women, drugs etc. Why
not a legally-binding instrument on the scourge of illicit small arms
and light weapons?” The third session of the Working Group is
scheduled for June 2005.
- Ambassador
Rowe is leading the Facilitator’s group on draft Article 5
(Promotion of positive attitudes towards persons with disabilities,
creation of and raising awareness) in the Ad Hoc Committee on a
Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection
and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities.
The Committee held its fifth session from 24 January to 4 February
2005. Last year Ambassador Rowe had led the Facilitator’s group
on draft Article 9 (Equal recognition as a person before the
law). Sierra Leone was one of the 27 members of the Working Group
that prepared the draft text of the proposed Convention which is the
basis of current negotiations by States.
- In
the Security Council debate on Sub-regional and cross-border problems
in West Africa, on 25 February 2005, Sierra Leone emphasized the urgent
need to address the situation of youth and youth unemployment in the
sub-region. The representative of Sierra Leone said that herein lay
perhaps the most viable, effective and long-term means of dealing with
conflict prevention, peace-building and development in the sub-region.
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