United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone

United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)

Abbreviation	UNAMSIL
Formation	22 October 1999
Type	Peacekeeping Mission
Legal status	Completed
Headquarters	Freetown, Sierra Leone
Head	Chief of Mission Berhanemeskel Nega  Ethiopia Chief Military Observer Maj. Gen. Sajjad Akram  Pakistan
Parent organization	United Nations Security Council
Website	[1]

The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Sierra Leone from 1999 to 2006. It was created by the United Nations Security Council in October 1999 to help with the implementation of the Lomé Peace Accord, an agreement intended to end the Sierra Leonean civil war. UNAMSIL expanded in size several times in 2000 and 2001. It concluded its mandate at the end of 2005,^[1] the Security Council having declared that its mission was complete.^[2]

The mandate was notable for authorizing UNAMSIL to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence (albeit "within its capabilities and areas of deployment") – a return to a more proactive style of UN peacekeeping.^{[3][4][citation not found]}

UNAMSIL replaced a previous mission, the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL). After 2005 the United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) began operations as a follow-up to UNAMSIL. UNIOSIL's mandate was extended twice and ended in September 2008.