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Truth commission launched in Makeni

Country Map - Sierra Leone (Lunsar, Makeni) IRIN
    ABIDJAN

    The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, launched the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Community Sensitisation Programme on Thursday in the northern town of Makeni, UNAMSIL reported.

    Through the programme, the commission will inform the community on its role in the peace process. It is being supported by the human rights section of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and Sierra Leone human rights organisations.

    RUF spokesman Gibril Massaquoi pledged his group’s support for the TRC, set up under the 1999 Lome Peace Agreement between the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the Sierra Leonean government. At Thursday’s launch, the chief of UNAMSIL’s Human Rights Section, Rodolfo Mattarollo, said the commission would help break the cycle of impunity in the country.

    “The TRC would gather a historical record and provide a balanced account of the Sierra Leonean conflict,” he said. “It would allow perpetrators to apologise to victims and victims to forgive perpetrators. It would also encourage victims to give information in confidence and perpetrators to take responsibility for crimes committed. This is what we are working towards.”
    The launch was witnessed by church and human rights officials.

    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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