Government welcomes US draft resolution

Sierra Leone’s government has welcomed a draft Security Council resolution - proposed by the United States - on the setting up of an international tribunal to try people accused of committing crimes against humanity. “We’re pleased with it as it shows cooperation and collaboration between the international community and our government,” presidential spokesman Septimus Kaikai told IRIN on Friday. The US-sponsored draft resolution recommends that the special court should operate under both Sierra Leonean and international humanitarian law and should have jurisdiction over suspected perpetrators of human rights violations, particularly those committed since the signing of the Lome Peace Accord in July 1999. “We want those who committed these heinous crimes to be brought to justice,” Kaikai said. The Revolutionary United Front, led by Foday Sankoh—detained by the Sierra Leonean authorities in an undisclosed location—has been widely accused of committing large-scale abuses including rape, amputations, mutilations and forced recruitment of adults and children, both before and after the signing of the peace treaty. Richard Holbrooke, US ambassador to the UN, said that he hoped the Security Council would vote on the proposal next week, the BBC reported on Friday. Although no time frame or location has been set for the proposed tribunal, Kaikai said he hoped it would be set up “expeditiously” and in Sierra Leone. The practical modalities of holding it in Sierra Leone, such as providing adequate security for detained suspects, are currently being discussed with members of the international community, he added.