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The government of Japan is to give US $500,000 to the United Nations to help set up a special international court to try those suspected of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sierra Leone, the Foreign Ministry announced in a report carried by Kyodo News Agency on Wednesday.
According to the state news agency, the Japanese contribution was in response to calls by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to member-countries to contribute to help bring peace and good governance to the war-torn west African country, the ministry was quoted saying.
Under the terms of a UN Security Council resolution adopted in August last year, the special court shall have jurisdiction over serious violations of international humanitarian law as well as over crimes under relevant domestic legislation in Sierra Leone, which has witnessed armed fighting and instability since 1991.
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