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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Statement by Commonwealth Secretary-General on the Signing of the Lomé Agreement between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front

7 July 1999

Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, welcomed the signing in Lomé today of a peace agreement between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone (RUF). Chief Anyaoku said:

I welcome this agreement as the foundation on which a lasting and durable resolution to the conflict in Sierra Leone can be built. I urge all the parties to commit themselves to implement the agreement in good faith and in a timely manner.

The Commonwealth, as one of the moral guarantors of the agreement and in solidarity with a member country, will do its part to assist in the process. A Commonwealth Action Plan for Sierra Leone is being considered by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration (CMAG), and we will continue to work in close co-operation with the United Nations, ECOWAS, and other members of the wider international community to fulfil our pledge and our responsibility to the Government and all the people of Sierra Leone. In all this, we should remember and commend the burdens shouldered by Sierra Leone's ECOWAS neighbours in pursuit of peace in that country.

Sierra Leone, no less than Kosovo, demands the attention of the world community, and the wholehearted commitment to peace and reconstruction of all those in leadership within Sierra Leone. The people of Sierra Leone, who have borne the brunt of the horrors of this war, will not forgive us if we fail.

Note to Editors
The Commonwealth Secretary General has been represented at the Lomé talks by his Special Envoy, Dr Moses Anafu, of the Political Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The Commonwealth, along with the United Nations, the Organisation of African Unity, and the Government of Côte d'Ivoire was one of the moral guarantors of the 1996 Abidjan Accord between the Government of Sierra Leone and the RUF.



Issued by the Information and Public Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat,
Marlborough House,
Pall Mall,
London SW1Y 5HX,
United Kingdom.
Tel: 0207-839 3411;
Fax: 0207-839 9081;
Telex: 27678


99/44 7 July, 1999

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ISSUED BY THE COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIVISION
Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7747 6385/6 Fax: +44 (0)20 7839 9081
Email: info@commonwealth.int