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DATE=3/8/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-N SIERRA LEONE (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-259990
BYLINE=BRECK ARDERY
DATELINE=UNITED NATIONS
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A senior United Nations official said today 
(Wednesday) that serious human rights abuses continue 
in Sierra Leone, despite the presence of U-N 
peacekeeping troops in that West African nation. V-O-A 
Correspondent Breck Ardery reports from the United 
Nations. 
TEXT: U-N Assistant Secretary-General for 
Peacekeeping, Hedi Annabi, told the Security Council 
that, despite some improvements brought about by U-N 
forces, the human rights situation in Sierra Leone 
remains a serious concern. Mr. Annabi specifically 
cited the Port Loko area, where he said that some 
former members of the Sierra Leone army are engaging 
in arson, kidnapping, looting, and rape. He also said 
human rights abuses continue in some areas controlled 
by the Revolutionary United Front.
Mr. Annabi told the Council that that the expansion of 
the U-N peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone and its 
deployment throughout the country would have a 
positive effect on ending the human rights abuses.
Last month, The Security Council authorized the Sierra 
Leone force - known as UNAMSIL - to be increased from 
six-thousand to 11-thousand-100.
Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, this month's 
president of the Council, told reporters there is an 
immediate need to get the force up to full strength.
            /// CHOWDHURY ACT ///
      We have asked the member states to provide 
      troops because the UNAMSIL had been authorized 
      at 11-thousand troops but we have so far 75-
      hundred. So we need additional troops and the 
      member states have been asked to provide those 
      troops as soon as possible and equip them 
      appropriately so they can perform their duties.
            /// END ACT ///
Mr. Chowdhury also said there is no amnesty in the 
Sierra Leone peace agreement for human rights abuses. 
He said the Security Council is urging both U-N 
authorities and the government of Sierra Leone to 
investigate human rights violations.  
NEB/UN/BA/LSF/ENE/gm
08-Mar-2000 16:11 PM EDT (08-Mar-2000 2111 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.