African Union Bureau On Refugees Delegation Meets President Kabbah
By Marian Samu
22nd September, 2004 The President, Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, had audience with a delegation from the African Bureau on Refugees.

The three-man delegation, led by Mr. Hassan Mohamed Ould Lebatt, Mauritania's Ambassador to the African Union in Ethiopia, was in Sierra Leone on an assessment mission on the state of Refugees in the country.

Briefing the President on their assignment and findings of their mission, Ambassador El Hassan Mohamed Ould Lebatt said they were pleased with the good work President Kabbah had done in the rebuilding of Sierra Leone. He said the African Union is concerned about the refugee situation in the region and that's why they have sent assessment teams to different countries hosting refugees and displaced persons in the region.

Ambassador Lebatt commended the Commissioner and officials of NaCSA, UNHCR and other authorities for the warm reception accorded them since their arrival in the country, and the good working relations between NaCSA and UNHCR. He praised NaCSA for the good work they have done for the refugees and displaced persons. He said with the assistance of NaCSA, they were able to visit refugee camps around the country.

The Ambassador said they were very impressed with the way government has been dealing with the refugee situation in the country and the good relationship between the refugees and the host communities, pointing out that host communities even provided land for the refugees. He said the situation in some other countries is quite different as refugees face a lot of problems from their host communities.

In spite of the good relations between the refugees and their host communities, Ambassador Lebatt stressed the need for the refugees to return home. He said that a refugee situation is not good for both the host country and the country of origin. Because of this Ambassador Lebatt urged the African Union, the International community, host countries and countries of origin to all become more actively involved in pushing for the repatriation of refugees to their homelands. He expressed sincere thanks to President Kabbah, NaCSA and UNHCR for the good work they are doing for the refugees in Sierra Leone.

President Kabbah thanked the mission for their observations and the African Union Bureau for the concern they have shown for the refugee situation. He stated that the instability in Liberia had affected the repatriation of Liberian refugees. He explained that at some point he thought the refugees should be repatriated but the war broke out again and because of the porous borders the refugees kept coming in again.. As a signatory to international agreements and for humanitarian reasons, Sierra Leone had to accommodate the refugees. The President recalled that at one time some of the refugees who were former fighters in the Charles Taylor faction said they wouldl be killed if they went back home and for good neighborliness and humanitarian concerns, they were allowed to stay until the disarmament process in Liberia commenced. President Kabbah said that government decided to keep those former fighters in a village called Morpeh and aasured the mission of government's preparedness to cooperate with UNHCR any time they are ready to repatriate the remaining refugees.

President Kabbah, however, impressed upon the mission that what really needs to be done is to try to see how the underlying reasons for fighting could be tackled in the first place. There is need for the African Union to design a system where people can resolve problems peacefully and not respond by "fire for fire", he emphasized. He requested the team to take his message back to the AU and the rest of the international community.