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UN team continues preparations for special court

[Sierra Leone] Freetown, Sierra Leone: This two-year-old girl lost her right arm when her grandmother was shot and killed by Revolutionary United Front rebels. She was being carried on her grandmother's back and was injured by the same bullet that killed C Dufka/HRW
Victims of Sierra Leone's 10-year rebel war
    ABIDJAN

    A visiting UN team has begun a series of meetings in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on "practical arrangements for the establishment and operation" of a special war crimes court in the West African country, the UN News service reported on Tuesday.

    The 15-member planning team met a government task force on the court, led by Justice Minister Justice Solomon Berewa, and various officials at the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), according to UN News. More meetings were planned for Wednesday.

    "Led by Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Ralph Zacklin, the team is focusing its work on locating premises for the Court, finding local personnel and services, and launching the investigative and prosecutorial process," the UN said. The team visited proposed premises for the tribunal at the weekend, as well as Freetown's Pademba Road Prison and the High Court, the UN News service reported.

    While the UN has authorised the establishment of the court, it still faces a shortfall in funding. However, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a letter to the President of the Security Council, released on 3 January, said he was convinced of the political will and commitment of states to the success of the court.

    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.

    The Security Council, which adopted a resolution requesting the creation of the 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".

    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). Women and children were raped and many other serious human rights abuses were committed as armed men took hold of the countryside.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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