NEWS RELEASES

April 28, 2000 (2:30 p.m. EDT) No. 87

AXWORTHY TO VISIT SIERRA LEONE AND ATTEND

COMMONWEALTH MEETING IN LONDON

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today announced that he will travel to Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom from April 29 to May 3.

Minister Axworthy will use the first-ever visit by a Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister to Sierra Leone to assess the challenges facing the country in the aftermath of an eight-year civil war. He will be accompanied by fellow parliamentarian and special envoy to the country, David Pratt (Member of Parliament for Nepean-Carleton), as well as the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu.

Of particular interest to the Minister are the views of younger victims of the conflict. In Murray Town he will visit an amputees' camp and meet with war-affected children, including former child soldiers, amputees and abducted girls.

"We must harvest the knowledge and ideas of war-affected children in order to combat the practices that led to their victimization," said Mr. Axworthy. "This was abundantly clear at the Conference on War-Affected Children in West Africa I attended in Accra, which Canada and Ghana had the privilege of co-sponsoring."

Minister Axworthy will also meet with the President of Sierra Leone, Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah; the Chairman of the Commission for the Management of Strategic Resources, National Reconstruction and Development, Foday Sankoh; the Chairman of the Commission for the Consolidation of Peace, Johnny Paul Koroma; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sama Banya. In addition, he will participate in a round table on peacebuilding with representatives of Sierra Leone's civil society.

In Sierra Leone, the Minister will also speak with several UN officials, including the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in Sierra Leone, Oluyemi Adeniji, and the force commander of the UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), Major-General Vijay Kumar Jetley. There are currently five Canadian peacekeepers participating in the mission. Last November, UN Security Council members supported Canada's initiative, resolution 1270, to give UNAMSIL the right, under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, to use force in the protection of civilians and of UN and associated personnel.

At the 56th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, a Canadian-led resolution on Sierra Leone was adopted by consensus on April 18. The resolution strongly condemned ongoing violations and abuses of human rights in the country while urging all parties to respect the terms of the Lomé Peace Agreement and to take further steps to respect human rights and international humanitarian law. Sierra Leone was among the 25 co-sponsors of the resolution.

Canada has committed approximately $12 million to peacebuilding efforts in Sierra Leone since 1998. Initiatives supported by these funds include the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission; the development and dissemination of radio programming aimed at reducing conflict and promoting reconciliation in Sierra Leone; human rights training for the country's police force; training for human rights field monitors; medical, psychological, social and legal services for victims of conflict-related rape and sexual violence; support for a Partnership Africa-Canada study on the impact of the Sierra Leone diamond trade on the conflict; and training for West African military officers on children's rights and child protection issues and approaches.

When he leaves Sierra Leone, Mr. Axworthy will travel to London, United Kingdom, where he will attend a meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on May 2 and 3. He will meet with his counterparts from Barbados, Botswana, the United Kingdom, Australia, Bangladesh and Nigeria, and a special representative from Malaysia, to discuss the latest developments in Pakistan and The Gambia. Minister Axworthy will also share his assessment of the situation in Sierra Leone with his Commonwealth colleagues. Finally, the meeting will also provide Minister Axworthy with an opportunity to raise the issue of troubling developments unfolding in Zimbabwe.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group was created in 1995 to deal with serious or persistent violations of Commonwealth principles relating to democracy and human rights. The composition, terms of reference and operation of the Group are reviewed by the heads of government at each Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The last such gathering took place in Durban, South Africa, in November 1999.

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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