African Unification Front
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MANO RIVER UNION
The Mano River Union (MRU) came into being on 3 October 1973 when President Siaka Stevens of Sierra Leone and President William Tolbert of Liberia signed an economic co-operation pact at Malema, a small town on the Mano River in Sierra Leone. The MRU Declaration made provision for other West African countries to join the Union and, subsequently, Guinea became a member on 25 October 1980.
Major communities of the Mano River Basin include: Fula, Mano, Mende, Temne, Limba, Grebo, Krahn, Mandingo, Sousou, Kpelle, Loma, Dialonka, Kissi, Bassa, Gio, Koranko, Loko, Kono, Koniagi, Kru, Gola, Gbandi, Vai, and Bella.
MANO RIVER UNION SUMMIT
FINAL COMMUNIQUE
Date: 12 November 1998
1. At the invitation of His Excellency General Lansana Conte, President of the Republic of Guinea, and after consultation with their Excellencies El Hadj Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, President of the Republic of Sierra-Leone and Dahkpanah Dr. Charles Gankhay Taylor, President of the Republic of Liberia, with the participation of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Special Envoy of the President of the United States of America, an extraordinary summit meeting of the Mano River Union was held in Conakry on the 12th November, 1998.
2. The Summit Meeting recorded with particular attention the welcome statement of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Guinea and adopted it as a working document.
3. The Heads of State thus decided to rejuvenate the Union in order to enable it to attain its objectives of socio-economic integration and security by establishing a political consultation mechanism for security and reconciliation matters.
4. The Heads of State further decided to convene the XVIth Ministerial Council Meeting in order to consider measures for the speedy revival of the operations of the Union's Executive Secretariat not later than February 1999.
5. The summit further commended efforts made by the American Government for peacebuilding, stability and reconciliation in the member States of the Union.
6. The summit expressed the desire to see the involvement of the Mano River union in the reconstruction of Liberia and Sierra-Leone.
7. The Heads of State decided to join efforts together with concerned international institutions, especially the UNHCR, the friendly countries and the international community for organizing the repatriation of the refugees to their countries.
8. The summit further pledged to ensure the strict observance of the Non-Aggression and Security Cooperation Agreement between Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea that has been signed and ratified by the three member States.
9. The Heads of State therefore agreed to work collectively to assist in the on-going efforts to restore peace in Sierra Leone and maintain stability in the sub-region.
10. The summit also reiterated its appeal to the international community for its increased involvement in peacebuilding and reconstruction efforts for Liberia and Sierra Leone.
11. The summit reiterated its appeal to bilateral and multilateral partners as well as the international community for substantial assistance to the Union member States for their socio-economic development efforts.
12. Their Excellencies the Presidents of the Republics of Sierra- Leone and Liberia as well as Reverend Jesse Jackson, Special Representative of the President of the United States of America, expressed their profound gratitude to His Excellency General Lansana Conte, President of the Republic of Guinea, to the Government and people of Guinea for the warm African hospitality accorded to them as well as the excellent facilities put at their disposal.
Done in Conakry this 12th Day of November, 1998
For the Republic of Sierra-Leone El Hadj Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
For the Republic of Liberia Dahkpanah Dr. Charles Gankhay Taylor
For the Republic of Guinea General Lansana Conte
Reverend Jesse Jackson Special Envoy of the President of the United States
END
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