III

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. RES. 298

Condemning the terror, vengeance, and human rights abuses against the

civilian population of Sierra Leone.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 9 (legislative day, OCTOBER 2), 1998

Mr. ABRAHAM submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on Foreign Relations

RESOLUTION

Condemning the terror, vengeance, and human rights abuses

against the civilian population of Sierra Leone.

Whereas the ousted Armed Forces Revolutionary Council

(AFRC) military junta and the rebel fighters of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) have mounted a campaign of terror, vengeance, and human rights abuses on

the civilian population of Sierra Leone;

Whereas the AFRC and RUF violence against civilians continues with at least 1,200 persons having hands or feet

amputated by rebels;

Whereas the International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that only 1 in 4 victims of mutilation actually

makes it to medical help;
2

•SRES 298 IS

Whereas the AFRC and RUF continue to abduct children

and forcibly train them as combatants;

Whereas UNICEF estimates the number of children forcibly

abducted since March 1998 exceeds 3,000;

Whereas the consequences of this campaign have been the

flight of more than 250,000 refugees to Guinea and Liberia in the last 6 months and the increase of over 250,000

displaced Sierra Leoneans in camps and towns in the

north and east;

Whereas the Governments of Guinea and Liberia are having

great difficulty caring for the huge number of refugees,

now totaling 600,000 in Guinea and Liberia, and emergency appeals have been issued by the United Nations

High Commission for Refugees for $7,300,000 for emergency food, shelter, and sanitation, and medical, educational, psychological, and social services;

Whereas starvation and hunger-related deaths have begun in

the north where more than 500 people have died since

August 1, 1998, a situation that will only get worse in

the next months;

Whereas the humanitarian community is unable, because of

continuing security concerns, to deliver food and medicine

to the vulnerable groups within the north and east of Sierra Leone;

Whereas the Economic Community of West African States

and its peacekeeping arm, the Economic Community of

West African States Military Observer Group

(ECOMOG), are doing their best, but are still lacking in

the logistic support needed to either bring this AFRC

and RUF rebel war to a conclusion or force a negotiated

settlement;
3

•SRES 298 IS

Whereas arms and weapons continue to be supplied to the

AFRC and RUF in direct violation of a United Nations

arms embargo;

Whereas the United Nations Under Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Refugees

International, following visits to Sierra Leone in May and

June 1998, condemned, in the strongest terms, the terrible human rights violations done to civilians by the

AFRC and RUF rebels; and

Whereas the Special Representative of the United Nations

Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, following a May 1998 visit to Sierra Leone, called upon the

United Nations to make Sierra Leone one of the pilot

projects for the rehabilitation of child combatants: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the Senate—

2 (1) urges the President and the Secretary of

3 State to give high priority to solving the conflict in

4 Sierra Leone and to bring stability to West Africa

5 in general;

6 (2) urges the Department of State to give the

7 needed logistical support to ECOMOG and the Gov8 ernment of Sierra Leone to bring this conflict to a

9 rapid conclusion;

10 (3) condemns the use of children as combatants

11 in the conflict in Sierra Leone;
4

•SRES 298 IS

1 (4) urges the establishment of a secure humani2 tarian corridor to strategic areas in the north and

3 east of Sierra Leone for the safe delivery of food and

4 medicines by the Government of Sierra Leone and

5 humanitarian agencies already in the country man6 dated to deliver this aid;

7 (5) urges the President and the Secretary of

8 State to strictly enforce the United Nations arms

9 embargo on the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council

10 and Revolutionary United Front;

11 (6) urges the President and the Secretary of

12 State to work with the Economic Community of

13 West African States to ensure there are sufficient

14 African forces and arms provided to its peacekeeping

15 arm, ECOMOG;

16 (7) urges the President and the Secretary of

17 State to support the United Nations High Commis18 sion for Refugees appeal for aid to the Sierra

19 Leonean refugees in Guinea, Liberia, and other

20 countries;

21 (8) urges the President and the Secretary of

22 State to support the United Nations agencies and

23 nongovernmental organizations working in Sierra

24 Leone to bring humanitarian relief and peace to the

25 country;
5

•SRES 298 IS

1 (9) urges the President and the Secretary of

2 State to support the Government of Sierra Leone in

3 its demobilization, disarmament, and reconstruction

4 plan for the country as peace becomes a reality; and

5 (10) encourages and supports the United Na6 tions Special Representative of the Secretary Gen7 eral for Children and Armed Conflict, to continue in

8 the efforts to work in Sierra Leone to establish pro9 grams designed to rehabilitate child combatants.

Æ