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Paramilitary Groups: Lomé Peace Agreement

Implementations

Paramilitary Groups – 1999

The Civil Defence Forces (CDF) continued to play a key role in managing the security situation, as suggested by the president.¹ Nevertheless, CDF members also participated in the DDR process.

Brian Thomson, “Sierra Leone: Reform or Relapse?” Chatham House Report, 2007, http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/files/9207_reportsierraleone0607.pdf, accessed October 26, 2010, p. 6.

Paramilitary Groups – 2000

The provisions on paramilitaries outlined in the ceasefire agreement were not implemented due to the breakdown of the ceasefire. Nevertheless, security sector reform programs were functional to some extent.

Paramilitary Groups – 2001

Through the Military Reintegration Programme (MRP), the UK-led International Military Advisory and Training Team (IMATT) undertook a series of training programs and assisted the Sierra Leone Armed ForcesÕ instructors at the Armed Force Training Center. MRP was “designed to integrate former RUF and CDF combatants who have been through the disarmament and demobilisation process, into the new RSLAF.”² The numbers of RUF and CDF combatants to be integrated was said to be fairly modest, though exact numbers are not available.

Mark Malan, “Security and Military Reform,” In eds. Mark Malan, Sarah Meek, Thokozani Thusi, Jeremy Ginifer, Patrick Coker. “Sierra Leone: Building the Road to Recovery,” Institute for Security Studies, Monograph 80, http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/monographs/No80/content.html, p. 97.

Paramilitary Groups – 2002

According to the Secretary General’s Report on UNAMSIL, 1,723 ex-combatants (1,028 from RUF, 632 from CDF and 63 AFRC/ex-SLA) were selected for reintegration into the Sierra Leone Army.³

A joint committee on DDR, comprised of the Government of Sierra Leone, the RUF and UNAMSIL, met on January 17, 2002 and declared the completion of the demobilization and disarmament process. A total of 47,076 combatants (19,183 RUF, 27,695 CDF and 198 AFRC/ex-SLA) were demobilized and disarmed. The actual number could be slightly higher. The higher estimate is 47,781, with the RUF accounting for 19,267, the CDF for 28,051, and others for 463.⁴ As reported in Thusi and Meek (2003), 7,785 hand weapons, 17,180 assault weapons, 1,036 group weapons, and 935,495 ammunitions were collected. UNAMSIL had destroyed a total of 24,944 weapons as of the March 14, 2002 report of Secretary General on UNAMSIL.⁵

Citing the NCDDA’s August report (August 2002), Thusi and Meek (2003) report that Sierra Leone disarmed and demobilized 72,490 combatants (24,352 RUF, 2,574 AFRC, 5,953 ex-SLA, 37,377 CDF, and 2,234 others, including paramilitaries). By phase, the disarmed and demobilized include 3,183 in the first phase, 18,898 in the second phase, 628 in the interim phase, and 47,781 in the third phase. Among the demobilized, 6,845 were children. In the process, 42,300 weapons and 1.2 million pieces of ammunition were collected and destroyed.⁶

The Civil Defense Force, a paramilitary organization, was demobilized and disarmed. Members of the organization participated in the reintegration program.

“Secretary General’s Report on UNAMSIL,” S/2002/267, March 14, 2002.
Thokozani Thusi and Sarah Meek, “Disarmament and Demobilization,” 2003, In eds. Mark Malan, Sarah Meek, Thokozani Thusi, Jeremy Ginifer, Patrick Coker, “Sierra Leone: Building the Road to Recovery,” Institute for Security Studies, Monograph 80, http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/monographs/No80/content.html, p. 28.
S/2002/267, March 14, 2002.
Thusi and Meek, “Disarmament and Demobilization,” pp. 33-34.