On July 7, 1999 the government of SierraLeone and rebels signed a peace agreement brokered by the United Nations, Organization of African Unity (OAU), and ECOWAS, committed the RUF to lay down its arms in exchange for representation in a new government.
International war crimes of the worst type were routinely and systematically committed against Sierra Leoneans of all ages.
SierraLeone's human rights emergency provoked wide condemnation from the international community and served to galvanize diplomatic efforts to bring about a negotiated solution to the eight-year civilwar.
SierraLeone is a republic with an executive president and a multi-party system of government with a 124-seat parliament (112 elected members and 12 paramount chiefs).
SierraLeone continues to rely on significant amounts of foreign assistance, principally from multilateral donors.
SierraLeone is a member of the UN and its specialized agencies, the Commonwealth, the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Development Bank (AFDB), the Mano River Union (MRU), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
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