The Government remains deeply concerned about the conflict in Sierra Leone and the enormous humanitarian impact it is having on the people of the region. Although a ceasefire signed in November appears to be holding in Sierra Leone itself, recent attacks by the rebel Revolutionary United Front – RUF – on refugee camps in southern Guinea are a source of particular concern as they threaten to engulf the entire sub-region in the conflict.
The Government is also concerned that revenues from the illicit trade in diamonds and arms are helping to prolong and exacerbate the conflict in Sierra Leone. The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution last July expressing concern at the role played by the illicit trade in diamonds and arms in fuelling the conflict in Sierra Leone, and at reports that diamonds and arms transit neighbouring countries in contravention of existing Security Council resolutions. It requested the Secretary General to establish a panel of experts to investigate the link between trade in diamonds and trade in arms and related material. The panel of experts presented its report in December and it provides conclusive evidence that most illicit diamonds leave Sierra Leone through Liberia. The report contends that such trade cannot be conducted without involvement by Liberian Government officials at the highest level. The report also provides evidence that Liberia has been actively supporting the Revolutionary United Front at all levels. On the basis of the report's findings, the Security Council is debating the possible imposition of sanctions on the Government of Liberia.
The report also contends that a number of other states in the region have been involved in the illicit trade in Sierra Leone diamonds and in supplying weapons to the Revolutionary United Front. However, the report makes no allegations against any EU member state.