IFES is seeking a resident Project Manager to implement an elections assistance project in Sierra Leone. This project is an extension of current IFES and IFES Ltd work in Sierra Leone which focuses on building the institutional and technical capacity of the National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone and in preparing for future elections.

Nearly 30,000 Liberian refugees living in five camps near Bo in southeastern Sierra Leone are receiving health care from Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the medical charity reported last Wednesday.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has protested against a nine-month prison sentence imposed on Tuesday on a Sierra Leonean editor, Paul Kamara. His daily newspaper, "For Di People" was closed for six months. Kamara was found guilty of 18 counts of libel and defamation by the High Court in the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown.

Sierra Leone's war was neither 'rebellion', in the sense of it being an internal uprising, nor 'civil', in the sense of it being about clearly understandable and achievable political goals. Rather, it was part of a continuous narrative of escalating regional violence and terror driven largely by criminal economic interests. Now its recovery from decades of economic meltdown and political and social turmoil will depend, to a very large extent, on how it manages its vitally important extractive sector, especially the diamond industry. This is part of a new report released by Partnership Africa Canada. Related Links:
* http://www.actionaid.org/resources/pdfs/endconflict.doc
* http://www.actionaid.org/resources/pdfs/gatefold.pdf

Some 26 Sierra Leoneans who had been living in a transit centre in Côte d’Ivoire’s commercial capital, Abidjan, were helped to return home on Friday by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). They were among some 50 Sierra Leoneans made homeless by the razing of shanty dwellings in Abidjan following a 19 September mutiny, IOM said in a news release.

Three years after the signing of the Lome Peace Accord, young people in Sierra Leone say they remain traumatized by their country's decade-long war and express frustration at the slow pace of recovery, according to a new study commissioned by the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children. Six hundred Sierra Leonean adolescents and youth in the western and northern regions of the country who were interviewed say their experiences of adult manipulation and betrayal had made them distrustful.

Under the supervision Registrar of the Special Court, the expert consultant will undertake a 1 month in-depth assessment, producing a report recommending specific measures and training needs for the court.

This job offers an exiting opportunity for an experienced PHC Nurse/Dr with a post-graduate qualification in tropical health, to develop their skills in clinical PHC teaching, health education, community development and project management.

Until a couple of weeks ago the Welcome to Sierra Leone sign at the airport said: "If you cannot help us please do not corrupt us." Now it has been removed, perhaps because it was deemed inappropriate to suggest that all visitors were either useless or evil. If they were, they would find plenty of soulmates in Freetown, where corruption is rife. Visiting businessmen say they are constantly asked for "dash" - the local word for bribes - when dealing with officials. "If you complain about a junior official, his boss reprimands him then asks for twice as much for himself. The higher up the system you go, the more they ask for," said one company executive.

Fresh fighting in the Liberian town of Kolahun has driven some 3,000 people into Sierra Leone, exacerbating the refugee situation at the latter's border and prompting a multi-agency relief effort to ease the pressure there.

A new United Nations Development Programme governance practice team is helping to lay the groundwork for new local government institutions and promoting government accountability in Sierra Leone, according to a statement from the UNDP last Friday.

The UN military mission in Sierra Leone will continue for at least another eight months. The Security Council has agreed unanimously to extend the mandate for the forces by six months and has said that measures to reduce the size of the 17,300 member force will begin after eight months.

In the aftermath of the mass atrocities in Sierra Leone, the United Nations has passed a resolution to set up a Special Court for the prosecution of human rights violations, as well as a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Write to the UN Secretary General, the President and Attorney General of Sierra Leone, and the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights urging them to ensure that the staff of both bodies are gender-balanced and experienced in dealing with cases of sexual violence.

Ensure that the program has a well functioning financial/administrative capacity; act in the Country Director's absence as needed and as directed. 3 - 5 years overseas experience in high-level management for at least one NGO, including on the ground experience with programs.

The first batch of 69 people, who sought refuge in Nigeria as a result of the war in Sierra Leone, have been voluntarily repatriated.

With the growth of our programme in Sierra Leone it has become necessary to recruit a Deputy to the Country Programme Manager. We are therefore looking for an experienced manager to ensure that the programme is to a high standard, as well as playing an important deputising role.

They come from neighbouring countries, but crossed paths in the tangled web of war in West Africa. Manu Famuley, a Liberian matriarch, recently fled to Sierra Leone to escape the fighting in her country. Massa Bossa, a Sierra Leonean woman, recently returned from exile in Liberia to embrace the fragile peace in her homeland. Both women passed through the same refugee camp without ever meeting, but they share similar stories that reflect the suffering and strength of the region's refugee women.

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported on Tuesday that it had resumed overland repatriations from Guinea, suspended at the end of June because of logistical constraints.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has released a report on the challenges facing journalists in Sierre Leone. Journalists, says the report, have begun to address problems of corruption in the media and other unethical practices that undermined press credibility.

The Center for Victims of Torture is seeking a Deputy Director for hire to coordinate the implementation of a psycho-social mental health project in Sierra Leone for repatriated refugees or internally displaced persons from Sierra Leone who have suffered torture and war trauma.