(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release: 24 May 2000. For immediate release RIGHTS GROUPS CALL FOR “TWO-TRACK APPROACH” ON TRUTH AND JUSTICE IN SIERRA LEONE Forum of Conscience, a Sierra Leone human rights organisation, and ARTICLE 19, the Global Campaign for Free Expression, today joined together to make the case […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release:
24 May 2000.
For immediate release
RIGHTS GROUPS CALL FOR “TWO-TRACK APPROACH” ON TRUTH AND JUSTICE IN SIERRA LEONE
Forum of Conscience, a Sierra Leone human rights organisation, and ARTICLE 19, the Global Campaign for Free Expression, today joined together to make the case for a “two-track approach” on truth and justice in Sierra Leone: the Truth and Reconciliation Commission provided for under the 1999 Lomé peace agreement plus an international war crimes tribunal to try Foday Sankoh and other leaders accused of crimes against humanity. John Caulker, Executive Director of Forum of Conscience, said in Freetown: “The RUF has launched a direct attack on the peace process. In reaction, on 15 May we called for the establishment of an international war crimes tribunal. But this does not mean that there is no longer a role for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) once peace has returned to this country.”
Neither an international war crimes tribunal nor the judicial system within Sierra Leone are likely to have the capacity to promptly and efficiently undertake a large number of prosecutions of combatants accused of human rights abuses. Also, many combatants are children who were abducted by the armed parties to the conflict. Judicial processes may not be appropriate in such cases. The TRC process can assist in addressing the sense of injustice which many may feel if there seems little prospect in the foreseeable future of prosecutions of those implicated in human rights abuses against relatives, friends or local communities.
Shehu Lahai, Executive Secretary of the National Forum for Human Rights, the largest coalition of human rights organisations in Sierra Leone, today endorsed the position articulated by Forum of Conscience and ARTICLE 19. Andrew Puddephatt, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19, stated in London: “The TRC undoubtedly still has a key role to play in building a sustainable peace and preventing a return to the horrific human rights abuses we have witnessed over the past nine years. A credible and participatory TRC process will enable individuals to bear witness about their suffering and provide forums in which former combatants are required to account for their actions. It will also promote understanding of the roots of the conflict in Sierra Leone.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
1. In February 2000, the Sierra Leone parliament passed legislation to establish the TRC, as provided for in Article 26 of the June 1999 Lomé peace agreement.
