Security Council Delegation to Visit West AfricaEleven members of the UN Security Council will travel to West Africa on October 7-15 to review the UN peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone and to explore ways to promote stability in the region.The delegation, led by Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock of the United Kingdom, is scheduled to arrive in Conakry, capital of Guinea, Sunday, spend three days in Sierra Leone beginning Monday, and proceed to Bamako, capital of Mali, and Abuja, capital of Nigeria, and then to Monrovia, capital of Liberia, before returning to New York on October 15. The Security Council is considering the next stage of peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone and is contemplating a possible increase in the size of the nearly 13,000-strong UN mission in Sierra Leone, known as UNAMSIL. In addition, there is rising concern over a series of cross border incursions involving Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian and refugee situation in the region. "The mission reflects the determination of the Security Council, and the whole international community, to respond to the desperate need of the people of Sierra Leone for peace and a normal life," Greenstock told a press conference here Friday. "By making a first-hand assessment, we want to find the best way of bolstering UNAMSIL and reducing the incentives to the rebels to continue the conflict," he said. "Only a resolute approach by the council, within a regional political strategy shared with West African leaders, is likely to bring progress," he said. The council delegation will begin its mission Monday in Conakry, where representatives of the UN high commissioner for refugees will discuss the recent armed clashes along Guinea's borders with its neighbors and their impact on refugee populations and the ability for humanitarian workers to assist those in need. Three days in Sierra Leone designed to assess how UNAMSIL is operating will include field visits to the U.N. mission's contingents, sites where former soldiers are being disarmed and demobilized, and displaced persons camps in Port Loko, Mile 91 near Freetown and in Kenema and Daru to the east. On the council delegation will be Wang Yingfan, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, who will travel to West Africa along with representatives from Bangladesh, Canada, France, Jamaica, Mali, the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine and the United States. |
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