Concern over funding for Special Court

Amnesty International (AI) has expressed concern about the uncertainty surrounding funding for the Special Court for Sierra Leone following a UN Security Council’s decision to have it funded through voluntary contributions, an AI news release said on Tuesday. Relying on individual states to contribute towards establishing and operating the court could jeopardise its very creation, the human rights watchdog said. The international community as a whole should bear responsibility for the investigation and prosecution of crimes under international law, it said. In a resolution on the situation of human rights in Sierra Leone, the UN Commission on Human Rights resolved to “request the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the international community to assist Sierra Leone to establish and maintain an effectively functioning Truth and Reconciliation Commission”. Resolution E/CN.4/2001/L.27, adopted on 20 April, also calls on the international community “to strengthen the court and judicial systems, to provide funds, personnel, equipment and services for the Special Court, and to make technical assistance available to the Special Court”. AI said any delay in setting up the court due to a shortage of funds would send an “ambiguous message about the commitment to end impunity. At the same time human rights abuses against civilians in Sierra Leone continue.” The UN Security Council decided in August last year to establish a special court to try those people who bear the greatest responsibility for crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law in Sierra Leone.