After nine years of savage fighting, there is peace in Sierra Leone. In Togo last week, African nations mediated an agreement between the government and Revolutionary United Front guerrillas that offers the small West African nation of 4.5 million people a future. There are no guarantees, however. A previous ceasefire, negotiated in 1996, broke down within weeks. A similar fate could befall the most recent deal. It will take concerted and sustained intervention by the rest of the world to see that peace endures in Sierra Leone.
During the bloody civil war, tens of thousands of people were murdered, tortured and raped; half of the country's population has been displaced. In December and January alone, more than 5,000 people were killed in fighting in the capital city of Freetown. Few of the victims have been soldiers. The United Nations has accused militias of conducting systematic terror campaigns against civilians. Yet as part of the peace settlement, an amnesty has been granted to the 20,000 rebel troops. The U.N. has protested that war crimes should not be excused under the deal, but it is unlikely to pursue offenders. The price of peace in Sierra Leone may well be justice.
Reconciliation will require far more than turning the other cheek. In a visit to Freetown last month, Ms. Mary Robinson, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the country has been "wrecked." She also pointedly noted that "the human rights situation and needs of Sierra Leone . . . exceeds those of Kosovo, and yet the international community pays more attention to Kosovo than Sierra Leone." Sadly, that is not hyperbole. The U.N. spends about 11 cents a day on African refugees, while it spends $1.50 each day on each Kosovo refugee.