No amnesty for perpetrators of crimes against humanity, says UN

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Francis Okelo, signed the agreement with a notation saying that the United Nations would not recognise the amnesty in the agreement as applying to gross human rights violations, a UN spokesperson said. "Our view is that the amnesty and pardons shall not apply to international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious violations of humanitarian law," the spokesperson said. Under the Lome pact, the constitution is also to be reviewed and an independent national electoral commission created. All combatants are to be disarmed and demobilised in an operation supervised by the ECOWAS Peace monitoring group (ECOMOG) and the UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL). The creation of a new armed force and the reintegration of ex-combatants into society are also included in the agreement, while a truth and reconciliation commission is to be set up to address impunity and break cycle of violence. The General Secretary of the Inter-Religious Council and the Council for Churches, Alimamy Koroma, said he was optimistic for the future. The power-sharing government, he said, was a result of "serious thinking and analysis and we have to embrace it as the only feasible option at the moment". The people just want peace, Koroma said, and they see the peace deal as a first step towards that goal. Similarly, the programmes coordinator for the Network Movement of Justice and Development, Sahr Gborie, welcomed the accord, saying Sierra Leoneans had been severely traumatised and needed peace so as to have the time and space to grieve and reflect.