UNAMSIL

In his final briefing to the Security Council on Sierra Leone today, the top United Nations envoy there said that the country’s rebirth from the horrors of civil war is continuing, long with a growing sense of stability and an improvement of basic services, though international security assistance is still needed.

As Sierra Leone inaugurated its new President and Parliament today, the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, encouraged the elected leaders to work in a democratic manner on behalf of the country’s people.

Security Council members today underlined the need for further reform of the security sector in Sierra Leone, especially by developing its police force.

Despite the “encouraging” progress made in Sierra Leone so far, the continued engagement of the United Nations Mission (UNAMSIL) after the country’s May elections will be indispensable in helping to maintain the stability needed to consolidate the ongoing peace efforts, according to a UN report released today in New York.

Calling it a "tragic accident," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today offered sympathy to those affected by the fatal crash in Sierra Leone of a UN helicopter which went down with seven people aboard shortly after takeoff on Wednesday evening.

Countries will be urged to ratify a nuclear test ban treaty at a United Nations conference early next week convened to examine ways to promote the accord's entry into force, the UN's top disarmament official said today.

The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) reported today that UN peacekeepers would be deploying for the first time in the rebel-controlled town of Kailahun, near the country's eastern border with Guinea.