Lome Peace Agreement (Ratification) Act, 1999
An Act ratifying the Lomé Peace Agreement of 1999 between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front.
Summary
The Lomé Peace Agreement (Ratification) Act, 1999 ratified and gave domestic legal effect to the Lomé Peace Agreement signed in July 1999 between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The Agreement was intended to bring an end to the civil war.
The Agreement provided for a ceasefire, disarmament, the transformation of the RUF into a political party, power-sharing arrangements, an amnesty, and measures for the management of resources and for reconciliation. By ratifying it, Parliament gave the Agreement the force of law in Sierra Leone. The Act is of major historical significance in the peace process, though the Agreement's amnesty was later qualified in respect of the most serious international crimes.
Main provisions
- Ratifies and gives legal effect to the 1999 Lomé Peace Agreement.
- Gives effect to ceasefire, disarmament and power-sharing arrangements.
- Provides for the transformation of the RUF into a political party.
- Reflects the amnesty and reconciliation measures of the Agreement.
- A central instrument of the Sierra Leone peace process.