VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHFN #0336/01 2391739
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271739Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY FREETOWN
TO RHMFIUU/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2843

UNCLAS FREETOWN 000336 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MASS MCAP PGOV PREL OVIP SL
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR GENERAL WARD'S VISIT 
 
¶1. (U)  Post warmly welcomes you to Sierra Leone. Your visit 
comes at a prescient time, and will hopefully support 
increasingly robust engagement on a variety of issues, 
including the pending Status of Forces Agreement. Sierra 
Leone is known worldwide as a country beset with challenges, 
many of which are the result of the brutal decade-long civil 
war that destroyed infrastructure and truncated political, 
social, and economic development. The country currently sits 
last on the UN's Human Development Index due to high 
unemployment, the worst mother-child mortality rates in the 
world, and widespread illiteracy. Despite this background, 
however, Sierra Leone is of significant strategic interest to 
the USG: 
 
- It is among the most stable in the region, and instrumental 
in helping to maintain sub-regional peace and security; 
 
- The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces is providing a 
reconnaissance company to the United Nations Mission to 
Darfur (UNAMID) in November 2009. They would like to provide 
a battalion to the same mission in 2010; 
 
- Sierra Leone is a model for post-conflict reconstruction, 
one of two countries chosen for the UN's pilot Peace Building 
program; 
 
- The 2007 Presidential Elections and 2008 Local Council 
Elections, judged free and fair by international observers, 
occurred with limited violence and peaceful transitions. 
These elections are considered a model for the continent; 
 
- Sierra Leone is an ally with the USG on critical issues. 
For example, the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) 
immediately and publicly recognized Kosovo's independence 
following its secession; 
 
- The GoSL is becoming a leader in international forums, such 
as the AU and the UN, and is promoting human rights issues 
through multilateral engagement. Sierra Leone co-sponsored 
the U.S. Zimbabwe Resolution, and was one of few African 
countries to make public statements against the violence 
there; 
 
- There is strong political will to combat narcotics 
trafficking in Sierra Leone and throughout the sub-region; 
 
- Despite the pervasive culture of corruption, the GoSL has 
taken significant steps to combat it, including passing one 
of the toughest anti-corruption laws in Africa; 
 
- The GoSL is actively engaged in assisting with 
counter-terrorism efforts. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Though the GoSL is making strong attempts to escape 
the "Blood Diamond" branding and soar as a regional leader in 
democracy, human rights, and governance, the country is 
highly vulnerable to failure. Economic, social, internal, and 
regional insecurity, coupled with insufficient capacity, have 
a negative impact on progress. It would not be in the USG 
interest to have GoSL efforts falter, impacting our bilateral 
and multilateral relations and priorities. Picking up the 
pieces after another bloody conflict would be more costly 
than to fully provide assistance so desperately needed now. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The following issues are of critical concern to USG 
interests: 
 
a) Economic Insecurity - The civil war destroyed the 
country's infrastructure, including physical and human 
capital, and the process of rebuilding is a long and arduous 
one. A country known for its natural resources has neither 
the capability to effectively harness them nor the capacity 
to regulate others intent on exploiting them. Unemployment is 
estimated at 70%, with no industrial or manufacturing 
employment prospects for unskilled and skilled workers. The 
borders of the formal economy are constantly receding to make 
way for the informal, where regulation, taxation, and 
legitimacy are non-existent. In this environment, poverty is 
an endemic killer. A nation rendered fragile by the impacts 
of war feels external market shocks more keenly. The currency 
has recently been devaluing at a rapid pace due to limited 
foreign exchange, making it even harder to meet the demands 
of the import-reliant market. A further downward slide could 
destabilize the country, and the current level of desperation 
creates opportunities for heightened criminal activity, and 
bilateral assistance requests to countries' whose true 
motives are unknown. 
 
b) Regional Insecurity - Though Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia are 
persevering in their struggles to rebuild after their 
respective conflicts, the situation in Guinea appears to be 
ever-worsening. Given the porous nature of Sierra Leone's 
borders with its neighboring states, as well as the close 
historic, familial, and economic ties between them, 
insecurity in one country quickly spills over into another. 
For Sierra Leone, the Mano River Union's (MRU) current 
bastion of peace, heightened tensions in Guinea drive people 
over the border, though Sierra Leone has no capacity to 
support refugees. An increase in organized crime in one 
country can also lead to an upswing in similar activity in 
another, and smuggling contraband such as narcotics and arms 
is known to occur throughout the MRU. External forces such as 
these threaten Sierra Leone's fragile internal security. 
Through the Department of Defense, the USG works strenuously 
with the military and larger security sector to build 
capacity to protect Sierra Leone's land and coastal borders. 
 
c) Internal Insecurity - Economic hardships are a significant 
destabilizing force. The massive unemployment, particularly 
among the nation's youth population whose education was 
interrupted by war, leaves many angry and idle individuals 
more than willing to make mischief or worse. Easily 
manipulated, the "unemployed youth" cohort is responsible for 
political violence and petty and violent crime. The Sierra 
Leone Police, riddled with systemic corruption, hampered by 
virtually no resources, and lacking the most basic training 
and equipment, is poorly matched against a hungry population 
already sensitized to brutality. Though a peaceful country at 
the moment, battle fatigue could dissipate as economic 
deprivation worsens. If the delicate balance supporting 
stability wavers, the GoSL has few resources with which to 
quell violence and insurgency. The USG supports training 
initiatives for the police, and the Embassy hopes to provide 
additional technical assistance in FY09. 
 
d) Narcotics - An element of both regional and internal 
insecurity concerns, narcotics trafficking through Sierra 
Leone to Europe is on the rise. The largest cocaine bust in 
the country's history took place in July, 2008, netting over 
700kg. of premium cocaine and 21 suspects of Sierra Leonean, 
South American, and American citizenship. The size and 
sophistication of this trafficking attempt indicates a 
well-organized syndicate which has likely used Sierra Leone 
as a staging ground for its criminal activity in the past. 
The court case against the 15 individuals charged with drugs 
crimes ended in April, 2009, with guilty pleas across the 
board. The GoSL expelled three individuals into USG custody 
to face pending indictments in the Southern District of New 
York. Despite these positive steps, the fragility of the 
governance and judicial structures, coupled with economic 
insecurity, makes Sierra Leone highly vulnerable for further 
narcotics trafficking, especially as USG and others focus on 
neighboring countries. Without constant vigilance, Sierra 
Leone is at-risk for increased organized crime. AFRICOM CNT 
funding is currently being used to provide equipment to the 
country's Joint Drug Interdiction Task Force, and further 
funding from several USG agencies over the next two fiscal 
years. AFRICOM CNT is also providing assistance to the 
Maritime Wing: training to improve law enforcement 
capabilities and spare parts for the three Dauntless Class 
Coast Guard Cutters will enhance patrolling efforts in Sierra 
Leone's protected waters that are rife with drug-runners and 
illegal fishing vessels. 
 
e) Anti-Corruption - The President made a "zero tolerance for 
corruption" campaign pledge in 2007, and made good on that 
promise during his first year in office. Placing great 
confidence in Abdul Tejan-Cole, new Commissioner of the 
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the President has supported 
a revamping of the ACC organization, the passage of a revised 
Anti-Corruption Act (signed into law September 1, 2008), 
became the first Sierra Leonean Head of State to declare his 
assets, and forced every ministry to include anti-corruption 
activities in their missions and strategic plans. The ACC is 
actively investigating and prosecuting prominent current and 
former government officials. The Embassy liaises regularly 
with the ACC, and plans to support training and technical 
assistance in the areas of forensic accounting and 
extraditions. 
 
f) Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) - Having languished on 
various GoSL desks for several years, signing the SOFA 
agreement is a current Embassy concern. The issue has been 
raised at the highest levels, and some progress has been 
made. Finalizing this agreement is a critical priority for 
the USG, and a team of lawyers from AFRICOM are expected in 
September to assist with revising the agreement, which will 
then be negotiated and finalized. 
 
g) Peace Corps - The Peace Corps is expected to return in 
June, 2010, following its departure during the conflict 
years. The GoSL is an enthusiastic bilateral partner in this 
endeavor, and the volunteers' efforts will likely be focused 
in the areas of education, agriculture and health. 
 
 
h) USG Assistance - Assistance efforts focus on building 
institutional capacities through: strengthening good 
governance and consolidating peace and security through 
democratic political processes; supporting economic growth 
and private sector investment, particularly in the productive 
agriculture and natural resources sectors; and, reducing food 
insecurity and increasing the standard of living through 
developmental food aid. USAID is just starting to implement 
the Promoting Agriculture, Governance and Environment Program 
(PAGE) as a means to assist Sierra Leone in promoting good 
governance and transparency while also impacting agricultural 
and environmental productivity and increased access to 
markets. This is a 4-year $13 million project. Although not a 
PEPFAR country, Sierra Leone was the recipient of $500,000 in 
FY08 for HIV/AIDS education for awareness building around 
prevention and treatment and to strengthen the health system 
for improved and reliable HIV/STD surveillance assessment. 
The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces also benefited in 
FY08 with a $400,000 Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Program 
(DHAPP). The Program focused on HIV/AIDS prevention 
activities for African militaries. Other USG assistance 
efforts include funding for trafficking in persons, child 
labor, refugee assistance, special self-help grants to 
communities, and IMET. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Assessment of Military Priorities: The DAO has 
identified the following Republic of Sierra Leone Armed 
Forces priorities: building peacekeeping capacity for United 
Nations and African Union Missions in Africa; building 
seamanship, and law enforcement and interdiction skills for 
enhancing maritime security and domain awareness in protected 
waters; strengthening HIV/AIDS prevention strategies and 
promoting a fit and healthy military; building the 
leadership, management, and technical skills of a 
professional military that is respectful of civil authority 
and good governance; and strengthening concepts, strategies, 
and military education to build a strong NCO corps. 
PERRY