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Troop contributors meet on UN mission in Sierra Leone
23 August -- At the invitation of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the troop-contributing countries for Sierra Leone met today in New York to discuss ways to improve the operations of the United Nations mission in that country.

Opening the meeting at UN Headquarters, Mr. Annan said that the traditional model of peacekeeping -- lightly armed soldiers operating with the consent and cooperation of responsible parties -- had been making way in recent years to a more robust type of peacekeeping. The UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), he said, has faced open hostilities since last May, and, although the situation has since stabilized, the UN must "remain vigilant and be prepared for worst-case scenarios."

According to Mr. Annan, the events that began in May exposed serious issues within UNAMSIL that need to be addressed. The first problem was the question of command and control, which, the Secretary-General emphasized, must be united in order to decrease the risk of casualties. "I am sure you would agree that UNAMSIL needs to function as a single integrated unit that reflects the will and solidarity of the international community."

Secondly, many of UNAMSIL's difficulties could be attributed to a lack of essential equipment, such as vehicles, tents and communications equipment, Mr. Annan said, stressing to all contributors that the UN was ready to work with them to overcome logistical obstacles.

The third problem involved the mission's mandate and rules of engagement, which have been "in a state of flux" since its establishment, leading to questions about its ability to use force, the Secretary-General said. "As I have often stressed, at times the United Nations needs to show force to avoid having to use it. And if the use of force is unavoidable, the United Nations should be capable of delivering in a credible fashion."

Mr. Annan also made clear that UNAMSIL had always been intended as a robust peacekeeping force - impartial in terms of its political position vis-à-vis the parties, but strong in its ability to deter attacks and to defend itself.

Mr. Annan stressed to the Chiefs of Defence Staff from Bangladesh, Ghana, Guinea, India, Jordan, Kenya, Nigeria, the Russian Federation and Zambia that "we must succeed in this endeavour, for the sake of the soldiers under our command, for the people of Sierra Leone, and for other countries where the peacekeeping abilities of the United Nations will be needed in times to come."

Today's meeting marked the first time in the history of UN peacekeeping that a Secretary-General has addressed the chiefs of staff of States participating in a peacekeeping operation.