WRITTEN QUESTION P-4129/97 by Maartje van Putten (PSE) to the Commission (5 January 1998)

Subject: Humanitarian plight of Sierra Leone

On 7 November the World Food Programme reported that 200 000 people in Sierra Leone face starvation. It is estimated that many times this number have lost their homes and are fleeing violence in the country.

1. (a) What are the findings of the European Commission Humanitarian Office's mission in September to Guinea and the frontier with Sierra Leone?

(b) What is the Commission's assessment of political and humanitarian developments in Sierra Leone since September?

2. (a) Does the Commission feel that there is sufficient emergency aid available for the people of Sierra Leone?

(b) What is the part played by the EU in providing aid, and what problems have occurred?

(c) What aid does the EU offer to countries in the region which have taken in refugees from Sierra Leone?

3. (a) Does the Commission see any prospect of the EU acting as a mediator in implementing the Conakry peace accord, in particular with regard to the agreements on laying down arms?

(b) If not, how does the Commission envisage the accord being implemented?

Answer given by Ms Bonino on behalf of the Commission (29 January 1998)

Since the signature of the Conakry peace agreement on 22 October 1997, the ceasefire between the junta in power - the AFRC (Armed Forces Revolutionary Council) and the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) - and the ECOMOG forces (Monitoring Group of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)) has been observed. Nevertheless, the situation remains unclear and extremely unstable. Negotiations between the AFRC, Liberians and Nigerians are intensifying. The Swedish ambassador to the United Nations and chair of the sanction committee has met with each party to push the agreements forward and determine the type of assistance that could be provided by the United Nations. The disarmament and demobilisation operations scheduled to begin on 1 December 1997 are at a standstill, as there is no way of implementing them as long as there is no effective peace agreement on the ground. The lack of a strong commitment to progress presages some delay in meeting the original deadlines.

Since the coup d'état, the situation of the people in Sierra Leone has deteriorated under the combined effect of increasing levels of danger and the direct and indirect effects of the embargo. The impact of humanitarian aid also depends on the conditions of access to the worst affected areas and sections of the population, but also on the means available on the spot. It is therefore vital that food and medical supplies be provided as quickly as possible. Cross-border operations are still blocked as a result of the arrangements for implementing the embargo.

At present there are no major population movements, but in anticipation of security problems some sections of families are leaving Freetown, and in rural areas there is a clear move towards the bush. Villages are being deserted while the level of risk on highways is increasing. There does not appear to be any movement of refugees towards neighbouring countries.

The Commission has been actively involved throughout the crisis by providing humanitarian aid, allocating ECU 3.7 million in 1997 (mainly in the health sector) through the International Committee of the Red Cross and other non-governmental organisations. The current problem is not the quantity but the quality of the aid provided to the people. It is important that the level of aid remain relatively low to prevent it being misappropriated and used to support the war. However, with carefully targeted programmes, the operations have a significant and positive impact on the most vulnerable population groups. Food supplies are available in Guinea but are blocked at the border. There is excellent coordination in humanitarian circles via a food aid committee set up in early 1997 at the Commission's initiative.