THE ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS IN THE

CONSOLIDATION OF PEACE IN SIERRA LEONE,

1991-2010

BY

ABU BAKAR KAMARA

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the

degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science

Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and

Human Sciences

International Islamic University Malaysia

OCTOBER 2016

ii

ABSTRACT

The global community has been confronted with many challenges in the past,

especially those which deal with the achievement of international peace and security

and the restoration of democracy. The same struggle has once been experienced by

Sierra Leone as the nation and its people have been burdened by the civil war which

lasted from 1991-2002 with interventions from an international organization whose

mission lasted up to September 2010. With the domestic causes which fueled the

conflict, many aspects of life and society in the country have been devastated.

Domestic efforts from the government as well as regional intervention efforts from

other neighbouring countries have been evident measures to be able to prevent the

further escalation of the conflict. When domestic and regional efforts proved to be

inadequate for the resolution and management of the conflict in the country, UN

intervention comes into the picture. This intervention activity includes different

aspects; the foremost is peace building, in which, one of its major components is

peace consolidation in Sierra Leone. This major peace activity leads into

democratization, which is also one of the key functions of UN in the case of Sierra

Leone. This development has been significant in the transformation of the country to

democracy. In this study, the author wishes to discuss the UN intervention

efforts through peace consolidation, an element of peace building, which is one

of the five core activities assumed by UN in the conflict resolution and restoration

of peace in the country, as well as the presence of domestic and regional interventions.

An examination of the successes and shortcomings of such intervention efforts will

also be undertaken to shed more light and insight into the topic.

iii

البحث ةصلاخ

هناك تحديات متعددة واجهت المجتمع الدولي في الماضي، خاصة مع أولئك المتعاملين في قد عايشته سيراليونه كانت نفسهذا الصراع . تحقيق السلم والأمن العالمي وإرساء الديمقراطية

رب الأهلية التي استمرت من كان قد عانى من ويلات الح بوصفها دولة كان شعبها وكان نتيجة ذلك سبابها المحلية التي كانت تذكي نار الصراعبأ. م٢٠٠٢وحتى م١٩٩١عامالن بعض التدابير قد أ .ن العديد من أوجه الحياة والمجتمع بهذا البلد قد صارت إلى خرابأ

بفضل الجهود المحلية بواسطة الحكومة والأقليمية بتدخل نجحت في منع تزايد وتيرة الصراع الصراع بالبلدا ثبت أن الجهود المحلية والإقليمية لا تكفي لحل وعندم. بعض الدول المجاورة

: هذا التدخل اشتمل على عدة عوامل. ، عندها لاحت ملامح تدخل الأمم المتحدةوادارتهأيضا . تضامن السلام في سيراليون ،أهمها بناء السلام والذي جاء في أحد مكوناته الرئيسية

كان من المهام والذي ،لتحول الديمقراطيأدى إلى عملية ا وقدنشاط السلام الرئيسي هذا التطور كان له أهمية كبيرة في مسيرة التحول . أيضا المفتاحية للأمم المتحدة لحالة سيراليون

في أن يناقش جهود تدخل الأمم باحثفي هذه الدراسة يأمل ال. الديمقراطي لهذا البلدوالذي كان واحدا ،بناء السلاممن عناصر اعنصر بوصفه المتحدة عن طريق التضامن السلمي

من خمسة أنشطة رئيسية اضطلعت بها الأمم المتحدة لحل وإدارة الصراع وإرساء السلام في وهناك إلقاء مزيد من الأضواء والرؤى حول . القطر بجانب وجود التدخلات المحلية والإقليمية

.يم نجاحات وقصور في جهود تلك التدخلاتو الموضوع بمراجعة وتق

iv

APPROVAL PAGE

The thesis of Abu Bakar Kamara has been approved by the following:

____________________________

Elfatih Abdullahi Absel salam

Supervisor

_____________________________

Ishtiaq Hossain

Internal Examiner

_____________________________

K.S. Nathan

External Examiner

____________________________

Habu Mohammed

External Examiner

_____________________________

Saim Kayadibi

Chairman

v

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except

where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently

submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.

Abu Bakar Kamara

Signature........................................................... Date...........................................

vi

COPYRIGHT

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION

OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH

THE ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS IN THE

CONSOLIDATION OF PEACE IN SIERRA LEONE, 1991-2010

I declare that the copyright holder of this dissertation is International Islamic

University Malaysia.

Copyright © 2016 by International Islamic University Malaysia. All rights reserved

No part of this unpublished research may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except

as provided below

1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may

only be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.

2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or

electronic) for institutional and academic purpose.

3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieval system

and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other

universities and research libraries.

By signing this form, I acknowledged that I have read and understand the IIUM

Intellectual Property Right and Commercialization policy

Affirmed by Abu Bakar Kamara.

……………………………. ….…………………..

Signature Date

vii

DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to my parents, son Muhammad Naufal and daughter A’isha

Humaira.

viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to my

supervisor Professor Dr. Elfatih A. Abdel Salam for being supportive throughout this

period of writing my thesis. He has granted me health, courage and patience. Without

his advice and courage this effort and study could not possibly exist and be fruitful.

May the almighty Allah continue to protect him.

This journey has taken a lot of my time, attention, patience and perseverance.

However, the main anchor of my achievement is my supervisor, Prof. Dr Elfatih A.

Abdel Salam, as I have just mentioned, for his tireless support. Without his guidance

and help, I would have been lost and this journey would have never reached its

destination. My sincere thanks to my supervisory committee members: Professor Dr.

Abdul Rashid Moten and Assoc. Prof. Dr Ishtiaq for their tedious reading of my work

and resourceful comments and guidance, not forgetting to mention here Head of

Political Science Department, Assoc Prof. Dr Tunku Mohar for his patience and

courage.

I am very grateful to have supportive family members. My gratitude and

appreciation to my dear parents, My mother Fatmata Conteh, my brothers Abdulai C.

Kamara and Zacharia Kamara; my wife, Anis Azura Binti Abdul Rasid and my son

Muhammad Naufal and daughter, A’isha Humaira. Thank you for your

understandings and patience throughout this period. It gave me the strength I needed.

My sincere appreciation goes to all the lecturers who have taught and guided

me; especially Dr. Garoot Suleiman, for providing me the knowledge to accomplish

this task.

ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract .......................................................................................................................... ii Abstract in Arabic ......................................................................................................... iii Approval page ............................................................................................................... iv Declaration ..................................................................................................................... v

Copyright ...................................................................................................................... vi Dedication .................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... viii List of Tables .............................................................................................................. xiii

List of Figures ............................................................................................................. xiv List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................... xv

CHAPTER ONE: SIERRA LEONE CIVIL WAR: INTRODUCTION ............... 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................ 4 1.3 Justification of the Study ............................................................................. 5

1.4 Research Questions ..................................................................................... 5 1.5 Objectives of the Research .......................................................................... 5 1.6 Significance of the Study ............................................................................ 6

1.7 Methods of Data Collection ........................................................................ 6 1.8 Study Outline ............................................................................................ 10

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................ 12 2.1 UN and International Peacekeeping Efforts .............................................. 12 2.2 Sierra Leone Civil War (1990-2002) and Peacekeeping........................... 16

2.3 Post-War Sierra Leone: From Peacekeeping To Peacebuilding ............... 20 2.4 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................. 26 2.5 Political Consolidation .............................................................................. 29

2.5.1 Social Consolidation ........................................................................ 30

2.5.2 Democratisation ............................................................................... 31 2.5.3 Peace Consolidation: The Case of Sierra Leone ............................. 34 2.5.4 Democracy and Democratic Consolidation ..................................... 35 2.5.5 Democratic Consolidation ............................................................... 36 2.5.6 The Beginning of Peace Consolidation In Sierra Leone ................. 37

CHAPTER THREE: BACKGROUND TO THE CONLFICT IN SIERRA

LEONE ........................................................................................................................ 40 3.1 Historical Background .............................................................................. 40 3.2 Geographical Location .............................................................................. 41

3.2.1 The Temne ....................................................................................... 45 3.2.2 The Mende ....................................................................................... 46

3.2.3 The Limba ........................................................................................ 46 3.2.4 The Bullom/Sherbro, The Vai and The Kono ................................. 47

x

3.2.5 The Loko, The Koranko and The Soso ............................................ 48

3.2.6 The Krim and The Kissi .................................................................. 48 3.2.7 The Mandingo and Fula ................................................................... 49

3.2.8 The Krio ........................................................................................... 49 3.2.9 The Kru ............................................................................................ 53

3.3 The Coming of the Europeans .................................................................. 53 3.3.1 Effects of European Contact with the Coastal People of Sierra Leone

(1800) ................................................................................................. 54

3.3.2 Political, Social and Economic Organization of the Early People of

Sierra Leone ....................................................................................... 57 3.3.3 Political Organization ...................................................................... 58 3.3.4 The Temne Political Organization ................................................... 59 3.3.5 Mende Political Organization .......................................................... 63

3.3.6 Sherbro/Bullom Political Organization ........................................... 65

3.3.7 Limba Political Organization ........................................................... 66

3.3.8 Social Organization ......................................................................... 68 3.3.9 Secret Societies ................................................................................ 69 3.3.10 Religion ......................................................................................... 70 3.3.11 Land ............................................................................................... 71

3.3.12 Social Classes ................................................................................ 72 3.4 The Temne Social Organization in Pre-Colonial Era ............................... 73

3.5 The Mende Social Organization in Pre-Colonial Era ............................... 75 3.6 The Social Organization of The Limba in Pre-Colonial Era .................... 76 3.7 The Bullom/Sherbro Social Organization in the Pre-Colonial Era ........... 77

3.8 Economic System and Indigenous Industries ........................................... 78 3.8.1 Agriculture ....................................................................................... 79

3.8.2 Importance of Agriculture ............................................................... 81 3.8.3 Fishing and Salt Industry ................................................................. 81

3.8.4 Economic Importance ...................................................................... 81 3.8.5 Social Importance ............................................................................ 82 3.8.6 Economic Importance ...................................................................... 83

3.8.7 Economic Importance ...................................................................... 87

3.8.8 Economic Importance: The Leather Industry .................................. 88 3.8.9 Economic Importance ...................................................................... 89

CHAPTER FOUR: GENESIS OF THE CONFLICT IN SIERRA LEONE AND

EARLY ATTEMPTS AT ITS SOLUTION ............................................................ 91 4.1 Events Before the Civil War ..................................................................... 91 4.2 The Revolutionary United Front And Other Forces ................................. 94 4.3 The Role of Internal Factors ..................................................................... 99 4.4 The Role of External Factors .................................................................. 102

4.5 Evolution of War ..................................................................................... 104 4.5.1 Economic Evolution ...................................................................... 104 4.5.2 The Period from 1991 to 1997 ....................................................... 105

4.5.3 The Period from 1997-1999 .......................................................... 107 4.5.4 The Period from 1999-2001 .......................................................... 109

4.6 Regional Peacekeeping Mission in Sierra Leone .................................... 110 4.7 The Role of Regional Peacekeeping Organisations ................................ 112

4.7.1 Advantages .................................................................................... 114

xi

4.7.2 Disadvantages ................................................................................ 115

4.8 Organization of African Unity ................................................................ 116 4.9 African Union (AU) ................................................................................ 119

4.10 The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ........... 121 4.10.1 Overview ..................................................................................... 121 4.10.2 Mali’s Political Unrest ................................................................ 125 4.10.3 Moving Forward .......................................................................... 127

4.11 ECOWAS and ECOMOG ....................................................................... 131

4.11.1 ECOMOG .................................................................................... 133 4.11.2 Success of Operations ................................................................. 138 4.11.3 Obstacles of ECOWAS ............................................................... 139 4.11.4 The Role of ECOWAS in Maintaining Peace in Sierra Leone:

Analysis and Evaluation .................................................................. 142

CHAPTER FIVE: PEACE CONSOLIDATION: THEORETICAL

ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................... 150 5.1 Overview ................................................................................................. 150 5.2 Peace Consolidation ................................................................................ 150 5.3 Peace Consolidation Process ................................................................... 154

5.4 Nation And State Building ...................................................................... 156 5.5 Peace Settlements .................................................................................... 158

5.6 Implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission ...................... 161 5.7 Ethnic Measures and Stipulations For Political Leadership ................... 163

5.7.1 Strengthening the Civil Society ..................................................... 166

CHAPTER SIX: U.N. INTERVENTION: THE CASE OF SIERRA LEONE . 170 6.1 The Significance of UN Intervention ...................................................... 172 6.2 Responsibility to Protect ......................................................................... 173

6.2.1 The Security Council ..................................................................... 174 6.3 United Nations’ Observer Mission in Sierra Leone ................................ 178 6.4 United Nations’ Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone ............................. 178

6.5 Preventive Diplomacy ............................................................................. 181

6.6 Peacemaking ........................................................................................... 182 6.7 Peacekeeping ........................................................................................... 184 6.8 Peace Enforcement .................................................................................. 187 6.9 Peace Building ........................................................................................ 188 6.10 Assessing the UN Peace Consolidation Efforts In Sierra Leone ............ 189

6.10.1 Peace Consolidation Efforts in Sierra Leone .............................. 190 6.11 What Has the UN Done in Sierra Leone Conflict? ................................. 193

6.11.1 The UN Peacekeeping Mission in Africa .................................... 194 6.11.2 Peace Plan for Angola ................................................................. 197

6.11.3 eace Plan for Rwanda .................................................................. 199 6.11.4 Peace Plan for Namibia ............................................................... 201 6.11.5 The Peace Plan for Sierra Leone ................................................. 203

6.12 Indicators of UN Success Mission in Sierra Leone ................................ 205 6.12.1 Political Environment .................................................................. 206 6.12.2 Socio Environment ...................................................................... 208 6.12.3 Economic Environment ............................................................... 209

xii

CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............. 212 7.1 Conclusion .............................................................................................. 212 7.2 Recommendations ................................................................................... 217

7.2.1 Reduce or Eradicate Poverty ......................................................... 217 7.2.2 Promote Gender Equality .............................................................. 218 7.2.3 Sustain Economic Growth ............................................................. 218 7.2.4 Respond to Institutional Failures and Local Needs of The People 219

REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 220

APPENDIX I: QUESTIONNAIRE: PEACE CONSOLIDATION IN

SIERRA LEONE ........................................................................ 228

APPENDIX II: THE GOVERNMENT OF SIERRA LEONE: THE

RULING PARTY (APC) ........................................................... 230

APPENDIX III: CHRONOLOGY: POLITICAL HISTORY OF SIERRA

LEONE ........................................................................................ 231

xiii

LIST OF TABLES

Table No.

Page No.

2.1 Contributions of Education to Peacebuilding

24

3.1 The Ethnic Groups and their distribution within Sierra Leone 43

xiv

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No.

Page No.

2.1 The United Nations Core Activities of Peace Consolidation in

Sierra Leone

27

3.1 Sierra Leone Map showing Relief, Town and Villages and

Rivers

43

3.2 The distribution of major Ethnic Groups within Sierra

Leone

44

5.1 Peace Building Progress

154

5.2 Ending Wars and Building Peace, 2007

156

5.3 Peacekeeping Missions in Africa

156

6.1 Chronology of Peacekeeping Missions in Africa

195

6.2 Sierra Leone’s Statistics

207

6.3 Literacy Statistics in Sierra Leone, UN Environment

Programme (2010)

208

6.4 Employment Statistics in the Natural Resources Sector, UN

Environment Programme 2010)

209

6.5 GDP Growth and Inflation Rate of Sierra Leone

210

xv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EU European Union

AU African Union

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

UN United Nations

RUF Revolutionary United Front

AFRC Armed Forces Revolutionary Council

EU European Union

SLA Sierra Leone Army

ECOMOG Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group

ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States

OSAA Office of the Special Adviser on Africa

UNAMSIL United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone

NaCSA National Commission for Social Action

NCDDR National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and

Reintegration

MRU Mano River Union

NGOs Non-Governmental Organisations

NPRC National Provisional Ruling Council

UNPBC United Nations Peacebuilding Commission

APC All People’s Congress

OAU Organisation of African Union

UDP United Democratic Party

SLPP Sierra Leone People’s Party

PMAD Protocol on Mutual Defence Assistance

PNA Protocol on Non-Aggression

NaCSA National Commission for Social Action

NCDDR National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and

Reintegration

NGOs Non-Governmental Organisations

NPRC National Provisional Ruling Council

UNPBC United Nations Peacebuilding Commission

APC All People’s Congress

OAU Organisation of African Union

UDP United Democratic Party

SLPP Sierra Leone People’s Party

1

CHAPTER ONE

1 SIERRA LEONE CIVIL WAR: INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Sierra Leone is the second country in the West African region that had a political

rebellion that ended in a civil war. The country played a significant part in modern

African political liberty and nationalism, and became an independent nation in 1961.

However, during the 1980s, survival became very difficult for the people of Sierra

Leone and after losing hope of making any change and improvement through

democratic means, a group of young people formed a movement called “the

Revolutionary United Front” (RUF), this movement launched a violent rebel war in

the country1.

Sierra Leone is a country located in the West African region. It is a

Constitutional Republic with a directly elected president and unicameral legislature.

The country is divided into four administrative regions namely: the Northern

Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and Western Area; which are all

subdivided into 14 districts. The districts have their own directly elected local

government known as district council, headed by a council chairman. Freetown is the

capital and largest city as well as its economic, commercial and political centre. Sierra

Leone relies on mining, especially diamonds, for its economic base2. The country of

Sierra Leone is among the largest producers of titanium and bauxite, and a major

producer of gold. The country has one of the world's largest deposits of rutile. Sierra

1 Esther Chollom Jack (2014), The African Union’s Involvement in Conflict Resolution in Some

ECOWAS Countries, Master’s Thesis presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and

Sciences Brandeis University Graduate Program in Global Studies 2 Tunde Zack-Williams, Sierra Leone beyond Lomé: Challenges and Failures.

2

Leone is also home to the third largest natural harbor in the world, where ships from

all over the globe berth at Freetown's famous Queen Elizabeth II Quay. Despite this

natural wealth, seventy percent (70%) of its people live in extreme poverty and

conflict. This situation has been continuing until the early 1990s when the civil war

broke out in the east of the country. The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002) began

on 23 March 1991 when armed group called the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)

took up arms rebellion against the government of Sierra Leone, with support from the

special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL).

This rebel group backed by Charles Taylor’s forces intervened violently in

Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow President Joseph Momoh’s government3. The

resulting civil war lasted 11 years, enveloped the country, and left over 50,000

dead. Prior to 2002, the country was characterized by the presence of various conflicts

resulting in thousands of deaths and a multitude of negative implications into its

peaceful situation. Through the efforts of different civil organizations, regional

groups, and the international community, including the United Nations (UN), Sierra

Leone has slowly emerged from the remnants of war and has gradually restored its

economy, although at present, the country still suffers from poverty. Despite the

country’s independence from Britain in 1961, Sierra Leone has been far from the radar

of the international community, including the UN, until the civil war in which many

have assumed the responsibility and willingness to take part in conflict resolution and

management in the impending conflict. This makes it impossible to disregard the roles

assumed by the international community, in putting an end to the war and in the

conduct of restoring and consolidating peace in the country.

3 Tunde Zack-Williams, Sierra Leone beyond Lomé: Challenges and Failures

3

This study attempts to discuss the civil war that lasted from 1991-2002 in

Sierra Leone and the role played by the United Nations in putting an end to the

conflict. This decade long conflict did not only destroy the nation but it also created

great suffering for the people of Sierra Leone. This study puts an emphasis on the role

of UN in its efforts to resolve the conflict and intensify peace consolidation efforts. In

the examination of the role assumed by the said organization in the civil war, parts of

the discussion in this study will also be focused on the role assumed by domestic and

regional organizations which could not just sit still and watch the destruction of Sierra

Leone. A background to the conflict which started in 1991 is also provided to have a

better understanding of the topic. The success stories, as well as the shortcomings, of

these interventions in conflict management and resolution will also be discussed to

evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of such efforts.

From a conflict management perspective, the Civil War in Sierra Leone which

started in 1991 and ended in 2002 indicates the need for effective peace consolidation

efforts. However, the concept peace consolidation is complex and challenging as

manifested in the different factors influencing the outbreaks and even the means of

addressing conflicts. Thus, a comprehensive approach is needed to fully understand

the peace consolidation efforts as well as the need for effective implementation. In

fact, related studies have served as a good basis for underscoring the problems and

issues to be addressed in the proposed research.4

4 Cole, M.J. (2012). Investigating the Inclusion of Ethno-Depoliticization within Peace-Building

Policies in Post Conflict Sierra Leone. School of International Development and Global Studies,

Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Canada, p 56.

4

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The purpose of this research is to critically examine the role the United Nations (UN)

played in its efforts towards conflict resolution and peace consolidation in Sierra

Leone. The main objective of this study is to gain significant insights through

discussions on the roles and functions assumed by the UN in its participation in

conflict management and resolution in the civil war in Sierra Leone. The examination

of the role of the said international organization will be grounded on the framework of

operations in aiding the restoration of peace in Sierra Leone. This study also explores

the efforts meant for strengthening civil society. It also analyses intensive national

campaign for the promotion of national identity and strengthening of the democratic

institutions that include “ethnically-inclusive and ethnically impartial practices5” in

public institutions, which will be regarded as part of assessing senior public

servants”.6

Indeed, these details further emphasize the need to identify the efforts made by

the United Nations and assess their effectiveness and shortcomings based on Sierra

Leone’s specific political, social and democratization concerns. The study in sum

attempts to critically examine whether the United Nations’ intervention succeeded in

solving the initial problem of Sierra Leone’s political, social and economic insecurity.

These are also a few of the important elements covered under peace consolidation,

which make the proposed research about the latter, timely and appropriate.

5 Cole, M.J. (2012). Investigating the Inclusion of Ethno-Depoliticization within Peace-Building

Policies in Post Conflict Sierra Leone. School of International Development and Global Studies,

Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Canada, p 56 6 Ibid, p.109.

5

1.3 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

The intervention efforts at the regional level played by the Economic Community of

West African States (ECOWAS) did not achieve their objectives in the civil war of

Sierra Leone, because the mechanisms employed to contain the conflict were

insufficient. Consequently, the study aims to investigate the UN’s peace plan in Sierra

Leone and to assess whether these UN initiatives succeeded in resolving Sierra

Leone’s problem.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What are the roles played by the United Nations in promoting conflict

resolution and peace consolidation in Sierra Leone?

2. What are the challenges faced by the United Nations in consolidating

peace in Sierra Leone?

3. How did the UN overcome those challenges?

4. What has the UN done in terms of political, social and democratization

efforts to consolidate peace in Sierra Leone?

5. What are the successes and shortcomings which became evident in the

intervention efforts which were initiated and pursued by the UN?

1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

The purpose of this study is to analyse and to provide an important discussion on the

role assumed by the UN in its attempt and demonstration of willingness to be highly

participatory in bringing resolution to the conflict and peace consolidation efforts in

Sierra Leone. The objectives of this research are to:

6

1. Analyse on the roles played by the United Nations in promoting

conflict resolution and peace consolidation in Sierra Leone.

2. Examine the challenges faced by the United Nations in consolidating

peace in Sierra Leone.

3. Examine UN’s strategies in overcoming those challenges.

4. Analyse United Nations’ role in terms of political, social and

democratization in Sierra Leone.

5. Critically analyse the successes and shortcomings which became

evident in the intervention efforts initiated and pursued by the UN.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The United Nations’ intervention is seen in many quarters as a boost to the growth of

peace and democracy in Africa, in particular the West African sub-region, and the

triumph of the will of the people over dictatorship. The intervention further justified

the need for international community to help resolve crisis in the sub-region and to

restore peace and democracy. However, it is also argued, that the United Nations’

intervention had its own implications and shortcomings.

1.7 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

The research seeks to provide an exploratory discussion of the UN’s intervention

efforts towards peace consolidation in the civil war in Sierra Leone, along with the

domestic and regional factors which had been influential in the aspect of conflict

resolution and its management in the country.

This study is qualitative in nature, with a strong reliance on content analysis.

The study uses the following methods of research: The main sources of data collection

7

that this study utilises are both primary and secondary data. Secondary data will be

derived from published and un-published materials such as, books, journals, and

newspapers. The data is collected from existing documentation on the subject matter

from libraries, lecture notes, Internet researches, and discussions and informal

interviews with some respondents on the subject matter. The data gathered will be

analysed using the qualitative method through progressive thinking and consistent

presentation of prevailing views of various contributors on the subject with the aim of

assuming a realistic position. In this research, the author consulted and analyzed

literature from published books in the library and various documentations from the

official websites of the government of Sierra Leone, African Union ECOWAS and the

United Nations will be consulted and analysed. A number of the sources consulted

explained the origin and factors responsible for the conflicts in Sierra Leone. Some of

these conflicts were said to have stemmed from both internal and external factors. The

internal factors responsible for the conflicts included poor governance,

mismanagement, corruption, dictatorship, high level of illiteracy and lack of

democratisation institutions. The external factors, however, comprised of the

numerous cases of outside countries’ involvement in the conflict, which can be traced

back to the rebel movement which entered from Liberia, a country that shares its

border with Sierra Leone in the east. A situation was first felt by the government of

Sierra Leone as a spillover crisis from the Liberian conflict and was dealt with by the

border security forces. When the rebels crossed into Sierra Leone from Liberia, they

were first thought to be a faction from the armed rebellion in the Liberian conflict and

the government was unable to resolve the threat. Regional organisations had taken up

the responsibility of dealing with security issues such as conflict resolutions and peace

building in the various subregions. This thesis focuses on the ECOWAS region where

8

some of the deadliest conflicts on the continent took place. The role of the ECOWAS

peacekeeping forces known as the ECOMOG as well as diplomatic efforts in conflict

resolution are the principal areas of analysis.

The researcher aims to conduct a study that is qualitative in nature. The

method of data collection involves both primary and secondary sources. The research

will be engaged in a review of relevant literature which can help provide more and

clearer insights about the topic of study. Primary sources including government

documents, NGO reports, TV interviews and website materials and credible websites

from different organizations, such as that of the UN were the sources of information

which will be used as inputs of this research. Secondary sources such as books,

journals and newspapers were also used. The researcher anticipates that the multitude

of primary sources of information providing a discussion of the topic would be a big

help in providing significant findings on this study. This method is also chosen to

allow a more in-depth analytical study of this subject matter. The researcher also

designs an appropriate questionnaire that was administered in Sierra Leone.

Burns (2000) stresses that a questionnaire is an important tool for collecting

data and information, simply because it is cheap and the responses are easy to be

collected. Similarly, the questionnaire was a convenient data collection method with

regard to the respondents of this study. The respondents were those in Sierra Leone

who have better understanding of the problem. The questionnaire is also regarded as

the best method because it gives respondents enough time to answer in privacy.

Apart from the questionnaire, the researcher will also be engaged in

conducting an extensive interview as another method of data collection. Interviewees

will be UN staff who are engaged in peace consolidation process; NGO leaders; civil

society groups; civil servants and bureaucrats. Interviewees will be selected using

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sample technique: convenience and accidental sample techniques will be used because

they are time-saving and more convenient to conduct.

The researcher will visit Sierra Leone to administer the questionnaire and to

meet the research respondents with the help of research assistant from each population

under study. This will enable the researcher to retrieve information directly from the

respondents and to have the opportunity to observe the situation under study.

The researcher also used the snowball sampling method in data collection. It is

a type of convenience sample and can be used to ease data collection. This method

simply helped me to recruit respondents who were very difficult to identify. The

researcher managed to find a senior UN officer, an NGO leader and a civil servant

leader who were qualified to participate in this study. The researcher asked them to

recommend other individuals who have knowledge about the issue under

investigation. The participant list grew from there. Snowballing can also be used to

approximate a random sample.

With regard to data analysis, the researcher used similar data analysis methods

used in qualitative and quantitative researches such as multivariate analysis technique

and factor analysis technique. These techniques are used to achieve valid findings in

qualitative researches as indicated by Pallant (2005). The main objective of these data

collection methods is to collect valuable data that would bring to light peace

consolidation efforts employed by the international community to resolve the civil war

in Sierra Leone. The researcher administered the questionnaire to the respondents at

each of the government ministries, NGOs and other agencies under study. The data

collected also assisted in identifying the potential solutions that could be developed to

address the case study. The findings from the analysis of the data are used to answer

the research questions.