NEWS RELEASES
CANADA ANNOUNCES OVER $2 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR SIERRA LEONE
May 1, 2000 (5:40 p.m. EDT) No. 90
CANADA ANNOUNCES OVER $2 MILLION IN
ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR SIERRA LEONE
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Minister for International Co-operation
Maria Minna announced over $2 million in additional assistance for Sierra Leone to help
establish a National Youth Commission to assist war-affected children and provide
urgently needed healthcare and support for refugees and displaced people. This brings
Canada's total humanitarian and peacebuilding contribution to Sierra Leone to over
$8 million since the peace accord was signed in July 1999.
Minister Axworthy visited Sierra Leone on April 29 and 30, accompanied by the UN
Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara
Otunnu and by David Pratt, M.P., Special Envoy to Sierra Leone, to evaluate the
country’s political situation and to renew Canada’s commitment to provide support to
war-affected children, peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities.
"Many people -- particularly children and women -- have suffered tremendously during
this conflict," said Minister Minna. "Canada has already demonstrated our support for
humanitarian and peacebuilding assistance. Today's contribution further strengthens
our commitment."
"The issue of war-affected children is one of the priorities on Canada's human security
agenda," said Mr. Axworthy. "Fear, mutilation, captivity or death -- such is the plight
of the child soldiers still involved in armed conflicts in many regions of the world.
Canada fully endorses the Declaration and the Plan of Action on War-Affected
Children adopted in Accra; and in Freetown, we have taken action to demand that
children still held captive by rebel forces in the country be freed."
On April 29, in Freetown, Minister Axworthy and his Sierra Leonean counterpart,
Minister Sama Banya, signed a letter of understanding for the creation of a
National Commission for War-Affected Children. Canada agreed to commit $250
000 for the creation of the Commission, which will ensure that the concerns of
children become a priority in policymaking and resource allocation at the national
level in Sierra Leone.
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will support humanitarian
assistance to refugees, maternity care and resettlement activities by:
- helping the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to continue
providing humanitarian assistance to Sierra Leonean refugees living in
refugee camps in asylum countries;
- assisting the Canadian Red Cross and the Christian Maternity Hospital in
Freetown to provide free medical and surgical maternity care for the destitute
and those with life-threatening conditions;
- supporting the International Committee of the Red Cross in providing material
assistance to returnees, former detainees, ex-combatants, and other vulnerable
people.
Minister Axworthy made this announcement after attending a two-day meeting in
Accra, Ghana, on the adoption of the Declaration and the Plan of Action on
War-Affected Children. Over the two days, West African youth, civil society, media
and governments examined in great depth the brutality experienced by children
trapped in the midst of conflicts. A major outcome of the Conference was a call to
free all children being held by armed groups in West Africa. Canada is committed
to act with West African governments and the Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS) for immediate and longer-term follow-up of this Plan of
Action.
Mr. Axworthy will be in London on May 2 and 3 to attend a meeting of the
Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), where he will report to his
colleagues on his activities in Freetown.
Funding for these initiatives was provided for in the February 2000 budget and is
therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.
- 30 -
Backgrounder attached.
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Debora Brown
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
Robin Walsh
Office of the Minister for International Co-operation
(819) 953-3160
Media Relations Office
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
(819) 953-6534
E-mail: info@acdi-cida.gc.ca
Internet: http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca (electronic version of the document)
This document is also available on the Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade's Internet site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
Backgrounder
PROJECTS UNDERWAY IN SIERRA LEONE
BY THE PEACEBUILDING AND HUMAN SECURITY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Support for the Establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission
($65 000)
This initiative involves support for technical advisory services provided by the Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights to assist Sierra Leone in preparing for the
creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Media and Peacebuilding in Sierra Leone ($100 000)
Responding to the need to communicate the provisions of the peace agreement more
widely, the Program supported the launching of an NGO training and capacity-building
project to involve Sierra Leoneans in the development and dissemination of radio
programming aimed at reducing conflict and promoting reconciliation in Sierra Leone.
Support for the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) Human Rights
Initiatives ($180 000)
This support is being directed towards human rights training for the Sierra Leone police
force, training for human rights field monitors, and the gathering of information on
conflict-related rape and sexual violence for submission to the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission. This information will contribute to ensuring that the appropriate medical,
psychological, social and legal services are provided for victims of these abuses.
Support for Partnership Africa-Canada Study on Sierra Leone Diamond Trade ($31
740)
In its report entitled, The Heart of the Matter, Partnership Africa-Canada examined the
impact of the diamond trade on the conflict in Sierra Leone, and explored ways in which
Sierra Leone's diamonds might become an asset for peace and development.
"Train the Trainers" Initiative for West African Military Staff ($52 000)
Through Save the Children Sweden, this initiative is providing training for West-African
military officers in child rights and child protection issues and approaches.
Youth Millenium Project ($50 000)
In Sierra Leone, a group of youth have joined together to educate others on the
provisions of the peace agreement as part of a global initiative co-ordinated by the
University of British Colombia to encourage youth to develop an awareness of global
issues, empower them to effect change, foster communication and build a sense of
community within and across national borders.
| 
