President Koroma’s statement to the Peacebuilding Commission

Statement of His Excellency, President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma to the Peacebuilding Commission in New York on the occasion of the informal meeting of the Sierra Leone configuration delivered on his behalf by Hon. Minister of Affairs, Mr Joseph B Dauda, 25th March 2011.

Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Chair of the Sierra Leone configuration, Ambassador John McNee and his colleagues for the wonderful job they have been doing for our country over the last few years. I also wish to convey our appreciation of the role the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in mobilising and coordinating international support for the peace consolidation efforts of the country. We also applaud the UN family for aligning the UN Joint Vision with my government’s primary development plan – The Agenda for Change.

This meeting is particularly important as it comes as one of several meetings in the run on to the 2012 elections. It also comes at a time when the United Nations is taking stock of UN’s efforts in building peace in countries emerging from conflict, following the adoption of General Assembly resolution 60/180 of December 2005 establishing the Peacebuilding Commission. We, in Sierra Leone, see ourselves as an integral part of the review process – being one of the first two countries to be placed on the agenda of the PBC.

Background and context

Excellencies, my country has made significant democratic, peace and development gains since the successful elections of 2007. Our achievements in the fight for Integrity in Public Office; Peace Consolidation; Democratic Governance, Agricultural Development and Ease of Doing Business have been lauded by organizations as varied as Transparency International; the Mo Ibrahim Index, African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) and the World Bank. We have also put in place robust policies and legislations to tackle corruption and to promote women empowerment and gender equality. Whilst we are very determined to sustain the pace of our achievements, a number of challenges are threatening to slow us down. We are determined to overcome these challenges, but we believe that greater partnerships with the international community provide the strongest possibility for more success.

Mr. Chairman,

These are difficult times for the global economy; these are trying times for the sustainability of democratic achievements in many places of the world. But we strongly believe that the global community has the fortitude to ensure that these challenges do not trump our people’s aspirations for democratic governance, peace and development. Sierra Leoneans have clearly chosen peace over discord; democracy over autocracy, and development over relapse into conflict. Today, we are reiterating our call for continued support for our democracy, our development and peace consolidation. Democracy and peace consolidation become stronger after weathering difficult times. Today we are calling upon the Peace Building Commission and our development partners to make our democracy and peace consolidation stronger by continuing to support us to overcome the difficulties we are facing.

Areas of Support

The Peacebuilding Commission has much to offer. Sierra Leone needs continuing support for its rebranding efforts. Thus, our economic transformation certainly requires assistance in substantially attracting credible investments in the country, locally and externally. Additionally, sustained international investment requires a highly functioning public administration system. Sierra Leone needs to secure tangible short-term support to this system while undergoing comprehensive public sector reform.

Sierra Leone is a country of youth; we seek partnerships for the democratic and developmental engagement of the youths of our country. We have set up a National Youth Commission; partnerships to ensure the effective functioning of the commission will constitute one of the greatest contributions the Peacebuilding Commission can make to the achievement of our aspirations.

The Peacebuilding Commission can also support the development process beyond the allocation of the initial funds made available by friendly donors. The Peacebuilding Commission has the ability to improve the efficacy of internationally funded projects. Sponsoring special donor round tables for specific programmes and themes, for example, would likely improve outcomes through the resulting coordination and focus on specific areas.

Mr. Chairman,

The Peacebuilding Commission can play a vital supporting role as Sierra Leone deals with the discovery of oil and other minerals. The Peacebuilding Commission can give momentum to Sierra Leone’s attempts to attract non-traditional donors. Efforts are being made within the government, but donor need assurances that funding beyond the normal UN basket is necessary. Without coordination, these donors without previous experience of directly supporting Sierra Leone will face challenges in understanding and responding to the country’s needs.

Excellencies, we are currently faced with a huge funding gap of nearly some USD 174million of the Muti-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF). I would like to urge all member states of the Peacebuilding Commission to do more in the resource mobilisation drive to meet the agreed target. We acknowledge the various policy programmes such as the South-South Cooperation and the Paris Declaration and key strategies developed by contributing countries, but without adequate funds it is impossible to implement these programmes.

Finally, I would like to reiterate my Government’s commitment to the realisation of the UN Joint Vision in line with the Agenda for Change, and to further re-echo the Government’s appreciation for the good work the UN family has done and that it is continuing to do in our country. International peace is impossible without development, peace and security within countries. Today Sierra Leone is contributing to peace keeping missions because it has been able to sustain its own peace. We seek your continued partnership in sustaining peace, democracy and development within Sierra Leone, the Mano River Sub-region, Africa and the world.

I thank you for your kind attention.

Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu, Minister Plenipotentiary, Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone to the UN. New York, NY 10017

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