In November 1994, the Head of State of Sierra Leone addressed a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General, formally requesting his aid in facilitating negotiations between the Government and the RUF.

[4] This Special Envoy worked with Organization of African Unity (OAU) and ECOWAS to try to negotiate a settlement to the conflict and return the country to civilian rule.

In response to the second coup, the Secretary-General appointed a new Special Envoy and the Security Council passed Resolution 1132 in October 1997, imposing an oil and arms embargo, as well as authorizing ECOWAS to ensure its implementation.

In October 1997, ECOWAS and a delegation representing the chairman of the junta held talks and signed a peace plan which, among other things, called for a ceasefire to be monitored by ECOMOG and United Nations military observers, pending approval from the Security Council.

Despite the presence of UN Peacekeepers under the protection of ECOMOG troops, fighting continued with the rebel alliance gaining control of more than half the country.

The agreement included commitments to end hostilities, reestablish the Commission for the Consolidation of Peace, provide for demobilization and disarmament, and aid in the reintegration of combatants into civil society.

To achieve these goals, it called for the UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and ECOMOG to form a neutral peacekeeping force.