International Crisis Group
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Sierra Leone| West Africa
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Recent reports and briefings

Following its emergence in 2002 from eleven years of civil war, Sierra Leone remains a fragile state. The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005, leaving responsibility for security with domestic forces, supported by the UK, and a new civilian UN office remains to support the government. Despite the country's impressive mineral and agricultural wealth, the government is almost entirely dependent on donors to provide basic services to its population. Fundamental issues such as corruption, youth unemployment and basic sustainable development still need to be tackled although some progress has been made in the areas of institution building, respect for human rights and reform of the security sector. In March 2007, Sierra Leone received $35 million from the UN Peacebuilding Fund, as granted by the Peacebuilding Commission, to help kickstart peacebuilding efforts.

The elections of the opposition leader Ernest Bai Koroma as president in 2007 signaled renewed hope for the country’s political stability and the implementation of widely needed reforms. However, the slow pace of reforms and its negative impacts on good governance and the service delivery capacity of the state remains a profound challenge for the new president. Given the outburst of violence between rival political parties supporters in early 2009 and widespread dissatisfaction over widening socio-economic problems, the new APC government will have to try hard to maintain its image as a post-conflict success story.

Our reports on Sierra Leone are listed below, starting with the most recent. You can also search for relevant reports using the search box in the top right hand side of this page.

Articles, op-eds, speeches and media releases can be found under the media section.

 


Recent reports & briefings