Keeping up with international aid.

• Author: Mildon, Marsha
• Position: News & notes

The Boxing Day tsunami that devastated South East Asia has focused the world on the need to provide aid to the affected areas and developed countries have promised significant financial help for immediate disaster relief as well as rebuilding.

It is important, however, for the media and citizens of donor countries to keep track of issues that have fallen out of the news. Take the situation in Sierra Leone, for example. This country has been involved in a devastating civil war for over 20 years (see Law Now 27:2 Oct/Nov 2002).

The situation in Sierra Leone has improved significantly thanks to the work of the UN and African country peacekeepers. On November 23, 2004, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, JeanMarie Guehenno, was in Freetown [capital of Sierra Leone] during his tour of UN peacekeeping missions in West Africa. Accompanied by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sierra Leone, Ambassador Dandi Mwakawago, Mr. Guehenno expressed satisfaction at the improved situation in the country compared to when he was last there in 2000 (www.un.org).

Mr Guehenno emphasized to Nigerian peacekeeping troops...