UN adopts resolution on war crimes court

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Monday requesting UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to negotiate an agreement with the government of Sierra Leone to create an independent special war crimes court. It recommends that the jurisdiction of the court “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 says that the “special court should have personal jurisdiction over persons who bear the greatest responsibility for the commission of the crimes ... including those leaders who, in committing such crimes, have threatened the establishment of and implementation of the peace process in Sierra Leone”. The Security Council asked Annan to submit within 30 days a report on the implementation of the resolution and on his negotiations with the Sierra Leonean government concerning the establishment of the court. The head of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF), one of the parties accused of committing widespread atrocities in Sierra Leone, has been detained since mid-May by the Sierra Leonean authorities. Information Minister Julius Spencer told IRIN on Monday that RUF leader Foday Sankoh was still in Sierra Leone and was in good health.