Sierra Leone, after its emancipation from the British empire in 1961, was in both political and economic turmoil until the UN stepped in 1999. It can be seen as a success story for the UN because, in this case, an international panel of countries called the Security Council helped cease the fighting and stabilize the country. Now, the country's main goal is economic growth.
Sierra Leone was first established as an English abolitionist colony in 1787, and became a crown colony for the empire in 1808, after it was discovered that diamonds lay in soil underneath it. After years of oppressive British reign, the country was assisted into sovereignty by Sir Milton Margai, a politician who wrote the country's constitution and went on to become the nation's first prime minister. After Margai's death, the nation faced several coups until politician Siaka Stevens declared the nation to be a "republic", but it was rather a one-party totalitarian regime. Stevens' oppressive rule lead to a horrible economic deficit, and ultimately the nation's bloodiest conflict in recent history, the Sierra Leone Civil War.
In an interest to properly manage the natural resources and legalize harmful drug trade, angry citizens formed Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front, or RUF, an armed rebellion. The RUF was infamous for amputating the hands and feet off their victims' limbs. The RUF lead a successful campaign and overthrew the president, capturing several diamond mines along the way. The UN sanctioned any trading with the rebels, but private groups from Britain and America helped arm the rebels in the interest of diamond trade. The UN then resorted to severe measures, and deployed troops to disarm the rebels in the rebels' own territory. The British government also became compelled, and trained a small army of Sierra Leone locals to crush the rebel forces. Later, the rebels were tried in a UN-backed war court, including the President of Liberia Charles Taylor who contributed to the rebellion in a huge way. UN peacekeeping troops stayed in Sierra Leone until December 2006, when it was decided that the government had stabilized.
The goal of Sierra Leone today is economic development. Although it is still in an economic rut due to the large amount of diamond smuggling, it is now a relatively peaceful country. The only way to help the country achieve its complete economic potential is for other countries to give it meaningful aid. This does not mean aiding the head of the federal government directly. If other countries help stabilize the ports in a non-aggressive way and aid the country's federal troops keep smugglers out, the outside countries can establish a fair-trade scenario where they may even potentially benefit by receiving diamonds from a healthily competing natural resources economy, not a dangerous one plagued by crime.
