UN moves forward with Special Court

The UN has decided to authorise the establishment of a special court to try persons accused of war crimes in Sierra Leone, despite a shortfall in funding for the tribunal's operations.

In a letter to the President of the Security Council, released on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was convinced of the political will and commitment of states to the success of the court and that he had authorised a UN planning team to travel to the country next week.

The 7-18 January mission will discuss with the government of Sierra Leone practical arrangements for establishing and operating the court, including premises, the provision of local personnel and services, and the launching of the investigative and prosecutorial process. It will be led by the Office of Legal Affairs and will also include experts in all aspects of the operation of the court, Annan added.

As of 30 November 2001 the UN had received contributions of US $14.8 million for the first year, a shortfall of US $1.4 million, and pledges of US $20.4 million - a US $ 19.6 million shortfall - for the two subsequent years. Annan reiterated his concerns regarding the difficulties in raising the required funds through voluntary contributions alone and reserved the right to ask the Security Council to consider funding any continued shortfall "through assessed contributions or an alternate means of financing".

During Sierra Leone's 10-year civil war, thousands of people had their limbs chopped off, mainly by rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), while women and children were raped. Many other serious human rights abuses were committed as armed men took hold of the countryside. RUF leader Foday Sankoh has been held in detention since mid-2000 but scores of other RUF detainees have been released by the Sierra Leone government.

The Security Council, which adopted the resolution requesting the creation of the Special Court on 14 August 2000, recommended that its jurisdiction "should include notably crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law as well as crimes under relevant Sierra Leonean law committed within the territory of Sierra Leone". It also said that the court should have jurisdiction over individuals "who bear the the greatest responsibility for the commission of the crimes ... including those leaders who, in committing such crimes, have threatened the establishment and implementation of the peace process in Sierra Leone."