The difficulties in the country were compounded in march 1991 when conflict in neighbouring liberia spilled over the border into sierra leone. The conflict in sierra leone and the engagement of the united nations the conflict in sierra leone dates from march 1991 when fighters of the revolutionary united front ruf launched a war from the east of the country near the border with liberia to overthrow the government. Diamond miners in sierra leone sifting through the sand in search of diamonds. Questions in the answers to primary school educational. This lesson will briefly summarize the sierra leone civil war, how and why it started, and the key events of sierra leone s civil war from its beginning in 1991 to its end in 2002. The trade in blood diamonds was the focal point of the trial, which demonstrated how natural resource exploitation can serve to fund armed conflict and lead to the abuse of human rights. Sierra leone ratified the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in 1988 without reservation, but since it was emerging from an. The civil war was partly caused by the nonaccountability of the government, endemic corruption, misrule and the mismanagement of the countrys resources. The case of sierra leone context the civil war, ddr, transitional justice and the postconflict situation the civil war in sierra leone started in march 1991 when ruf forces, headed by foday saybana sankoh,1 attacked the countrys eastern border town of bomaru, in the kailahun district, from.
Since the end of the civil war in the early 2000s, sierra leone has made investments and commitments to health. Sierra leone united nations development programme undp. Initially, many commentators on the sierra leone conflict were convinced that the. The court was trying those accused of bearing greatest responsibility for serious violations of humanitarian law and sierra leonean law during the latter half of the countrys tenyear war. Oct 25, 2012 the sierra leone civil war was the result of varied interactions between structural problems in sierra leone society which increased grievances among people and, accordingly, led to the emergence of the ruf. The war was fueled by wealth from diamonds located in the east of the country, where the rebel united front ruf was strongest. Sierra leone has faced many trials, big and smallsince declaring our independence 56 years ago. Causes of sierra leone s civil war prior to the civil war in 1990, sierra leone s life expectancy was even lower than it is today. Apr 25, 2017 the civil war in sierra leone has been one of the most grotesque ones in history, and the nations rich diamond reserves have driven much of the violence. Between 1991 and 2002, sierra leone was heavily damaged by a tremendously violent civil war. Our analysis does not imply that resources or poor governance played no role in the war.
Female soldiers in sierra leone harvard university. They have revived a culture of justice that disappeared in the years of the civil war. This fleeting interest, however, obscured much of the longer history of the region, and made sierra leone a laboratory for postcold war interventions. Starting in 1991 sierra leone was ravaged by a decade of civil war which cost the lives of thou. Sierra leonestudies in reconstruction and capacity building in. Pdf the sierra leonean civil conflict from a historical and international relations perspective. May 17, 2007 sierra leone ratified the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in 1988 without reservation, but since it was emerging from an 11year civil war that had. Twentyfive years ago, sierra leone plunged into a decadelong brutal civil war, made famous by the chilling practice of mass amputations of hands, arms and. The changes in criminal justice in sierra leone are impressive on their own terms.
It was in the year 1991, when the civil war in sierra leone was started by the revolutionary united front led by foday sankoh. The sierra leone civil war sierra leone was ravaged by a civil war that started in 1991 and lasted until 2002. The sierra leone civil war in march 1991 the revolutionary united front ruf, at that time a very small group of about 500 soldiers, crossed from liberia into the eastern district of pujehun in sierra leone, with the support of a faction of the national patriotic front of liberia npfl, led by charles taylor. Students will complete their piece of work by exporting it in a suitable file format e. Why are the march 7 elections in sierra leone important. Though the civil war caused further economic hardship and distress, the main reason that sierra leone emerged from war as the worlds poorest country, is that it entered the war with that status in 1991. The conditions that led to the war included a repressive predatory. Sierra leone is situated on the west coast of africa. Explain the reasons why sierra leone descended into civil war in 1991 2. Between 1991 and 2002 a brutal civil war infamous for its blood diamonds left thousands dead. The war was declared to have finished on 18 january 2002 officially. Momoh responded by deploying troops to the border region to repel the incursion of liberian rebels known as the national patriotic front of liberia npfl, led by charles taylor.
Lets begin with a background history of the political situations that mainly caused the civil war in sierra leone. Its land yields diamonds, gold, bauxite, and rutile titanium dioxide. Pdf this study is a historical analysis of sierra leones state structure in the 20th and 21st centuries. Conflict profile sierra leone 1991 2001 the decadelong war in sierra leone began in 1991 as a revolt against a longstanding dictatorship. Sierra leone civil war, including original interviews with excombatants and newly available survey data, which show that female combatants perpetrated rape alongside their male counterparts. Sierra leone caitriona dowd and clionadh raleigh this article describes patterns of conflict and violence in liberia and sierra leone from 1997 to 2011, a period that coincides with the onset of the second liberian civil war 19992003 and the second phase of the sierra leonean civil war 19992002. Report and proposals for the implementation of reparations.
The sentence on charles taylor is to be pronounced on may 30, 2012, and sierra leoneans will finally receive some justice for the atrocities they have endured. It is bordered by beautiful beaches and the atlantic ocean to the west, liberia to the south, and. The sierra leone civil war was the result of varied interactions between structural problems in sierra leone society which increased grievances among people and, accordingly, led to the emergence of the ruf. They have restored the constitutional rule that authorizes only the attorneygeneral and the dpp to charge cases to court.
Hayward, a higher education specialist has described sierra leone as a pioneer of west african history. The elevenyear civil war in sierra leone from 1991 to 2002 was incomprehensibly brutalit is estimated that half of all female refugees were raped and many thousands were killed. The resulting civil war lasted 11 years, enveloped the country. Shocking war crimes in sierra leone human rights watch. Civil war in sierra leone and the role of blood diamonds. The, most significant of these was sierra leones civil war, which lasted more than a decade until its end in 2002 and exacted a terrible toll on our young nation. Its been 25 years since sierra leones brutal civil war. Although most of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, sierra leone is also a mining centre. Questions in the answers to primary school educational reconstruction in sierra leone 81 segment of students who want to attain tertiary education status. The sierra leone civil war 19912002 was a civil war in sierra leone that began on 23 march 1991 when the revolutionary united front ruf, with support from the special forces of charles taylors national patriotic front of liberia npfl, intervened in sierra leone in an attempt to overthrow the joseph momoh government. Sierra leones truth and reconciliation commission trc recognized this fact when it provided.
The atu absorbed taylor s most experienced civil war fighters, including undisciplined and untrained loyalists. Sierra leone was engulfed in a destructive civil war between 1991 and 2002. Sierra leone was systematically plundered and looted by all factions in the conflict. Sierra leone came to world attention in the 1990s when a catastrophic civil war linked to the diamond trade was reported globally. Governance and political economy constraints to world bank. Sierra leone ratified the slavery convention on march, 1962. An examination of the sierra leone war academic journals. The ympnv engages in campaigns and coordinates a number of human rights, development and education. National and international perspectives of the civil war. The epidemic would go on to become the largest ebola epidemic ever recorded. Two million were relocated and tens of thousands died in this 11 year war. United front sierra leone rufsl banner, and engaged the state in a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002. Pdf the sierra leonean civil conflict 19912002 from conflict.
This civil war erupted because of the mounting dissatisfaction of the people, especially the youth that were engrossed by the rebellious revolutionary united front ruf, towards the politics of the country that was set apart by its corruption, negligence and electoral violence. Indeed, populationbased survey data show that groups that included women perpetrated nearly one in four incidents of the reported gang rape in. Rapidly implement the practice of community ownership and management. The civil war in sierra leone raged from 1991 to 2002. Encourage students to consider the size and style of fonts, the size. Freedom of information laws and information access. The war was characterized by widespread atrocities, including the abduction of children and systematic rape. Sierra leones truth and reconciliation commission trc recognized this fact when it provided extensive recommendations for reparations in its final report. For the first time since the aftermath of world war ii, a former head of state was indicted and found guilty of war crimes. Us state department, country reports on human rights practices 2002, march 31, 2003.
The war began on march 23, 1991, when the revolutionary united front ruf under foday sankoh, with support of liberian rebel leader charles taylor and his group, the national patriotic front of liberia nfpl, attempted to overthrow the government of sierra leonean president joseph. Local government discretion and accountability in sierra leone benjamin edwards, serdar yilmaz and jamie boex 1. Likewise, the united nations and the government of sierra leone recognized reparations as. Sierra leone is a small country, the size of belgium, on the west african shore, encircled by guinea in the west and liberia in the east, with an estimated 4. In the years after the death of sierra leones first prime minister sir milton margai in 1964, the politics of the country was progressively distinguished by several negative factors, such as corruption and mismanagement, hat. May, 2016 twentyfive years ago, sierra leone plunged into a decadelong brutal civil war, made famous by the chilling practice of mass amputations of hands, arms and legs and the film blood diamond. Report and proposals for the implementation of reparations in. Turning finance into services for 2015 and beyond rural water supply increase subsector funding, through public including donor and user contributions whilst rapidly improving the current absorptive capacities. Introduction sierra leone is a small west african country with approximately 6 million people. Civil war in sierra leone essay sample new york essays. Freetown marked the most intensive and concentrated period of human rights violations in sierra leones eightyear civil war, said peter takirambudde. Sierra leone has been ravaged by a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002, and resulted in some 70,000 casualties and 2. We seek to explain local variation in conflict intensity against the backdrop of an intense and prolonged war.
Sierra leone lion mountain was embroiled in a civil war that resulted in the death of over 50,000 civilians. The united nations integrated office for sierra leone uniosil was authorized by resolution 1620 31 august 2005 and began work in january 2006. The new response to sexual violence in sierra leone. United nations mission in sierra leone unamsil brief. Country advice sierra leone sierra leone sle36007 youth movement for peace and nonviolence. Child soldiers in the civil war in sierra leone request pdf.
Faso and the gambia, as well as former revolutionary united front ruf fighters from sierra leone. It was later followed in october 2008 by the united nations integrated peacebuilding office in sierra leone unipsil, authorized by resolution 1829 4 august 2008 and lasting until march 2014. Following a decadeyear long civil war, which ended in 2002, the government and people of sierra leone faced a terrifying disasterwhen the ebola epidemic arrived in in 2014. Council for the development of social science research in africa. Amputation became a signature atrocity of the revolutionary united front ruf rebels and the former armed forces ruling council. It will be unfair to treat the sierra leone civil war as a mindless act of rebel. Although diamonds seemingly played a significant role in financing the war once it started, diamonds more likely contributed to corrupting. Using a timeline, students will learn the details of the civil war as well as learning about the victims of the war, what conflict diamonds are and how sierra leone dealt with its troubled past. It began in march 1991, as the revolutionary united front ruf attempted to. Pdf an examination of the sierra leone war researchgate. It is clear that sierra leone is a poor country because it has had terrible governance. State decay and the civil war the notion of state decay is critical for understanding the nature of power and the war in. The sierra leone civil war was an armed conflict in the west african country of sierra leone from 1991 t0 2002.
Though the civil war caused further economic hardship and distress, the main reason that sierra leone emerged from war as the worlds poorest. Resources and governance in sierra leones civil war. By using the works of the above mentioned theorists to discuss the war, the article expands their discourses of power and brings african political realities into the discourse of sociological theory. The march 2018 general elections represent the fifth straight general elections since return to multi party elections in 1996, and the third since the 2002 conclusion of the countrys civil war. Conflict, recovery, and social forgetting in sierra leone sierra leones trc followed an elevenyear civil war 19912002 that became internationally notorious for particular forms of violence. The devastating eleven year civil war in sierra leone, which lasted from 1991 until 2002, was characterized by unspeakable brutality and serious crimes. Although the civil war of sierra leone did not officially begin until 1991, several events occurred in the. Our results are complementary to the other recent studies mentioned above, none of which examines institutional impacts. Jel d74, f35, o17, o19, q11, q18 we are unable to determine whether our aid helps or hinders one or more parties to the conflictit is clear that the lossesparticularly looted assetsconstitutes a serious barrier to the efficient and effective provision of assistance, and can contribute to the war economy. Local government discretion and accountability in sierra leone. Although the conflict has been over for more than a decade, this western african country is still struggling to recover from the bloodshed and violence that left more than 50,000 people dead. Sierra leone civil war during which the revolutionary united.
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