Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, weak governance over several decades culminated in the collapse of state institutions, and served as the major cause of the 11-year civil conflict. It is now the task of development partners to assist in preventing the recurrence of civil conflict in Sierra Leone by addressing its root causes.

UNDP’s Democratic Governance Programme began as an interim programme from 2002-2003, with a focus on dealing with the immediate consequences of the war. Since 2004, Under the United Nations Development Assistance Framework 2004-2007, UNDP has been supporting ‘transformative’ initiatives that address the roots causes of the conflict to foster democratic governance within the overarching goals of achieving the Millennium Development Goals. This includes support to the Government’s reform agenda and strengthening civil society towards fostering responsive and inclusive governance at all levels.

The UNDP Democratic Governance Programme includes four key project areas in fostering democratic governance: