(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 7 September 2000 ARTICLE 19 press release: UK GIVES UN THE GO-AHEAD FOR FIRST £10,000 ON SIERRA LEONE TRUTH COMMISSION London and Freetown: – ARTICLE 19 today welcomed the British Government’s announcement that it has asked the UN to release £10,000 (1) for local organisations to begin public […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 7 September 2000 ARTICLE 19 press release:
UK GIVES UN THE GO-AHEAD FOR FIRST £10,000
ON SIERRA LEONE TRUTH COMMISSION
London and Freetown: – ARTICLE 19 today welcomed the British Government’s announcement that it has asked the UN to release £10,000 (1) for local organisations to begin public sensitisation and consultation efforts on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The news coincides with publication of a report (2) by ARTICLE 19 and Forum of Conscience, a Sierra Leonean human rights organisation, which highlights the importance of a participatory TRC process for building a sustainable peace in the country, which would run alongside proposed prosecutions of key human rights violators.(3)
Andrew Puddephatt, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19, said:
“We welcome the British government’s support for the TRC and hope the UN will release the money as soon as possible. If the TRC is to be credible and effective, it is crucial that it is participatory in character and has a strong constituency of support amongst ordinary Sierra Leoneans.”
Truth and reconciliation processes, including establishment of a TRC, can assist in addressing the roots of the conflict systematically, allowing people to bear witness and be a means of holding individuals to at least some account. ARTICLE 19 sees this as complementing selective prosecutions, and as vital to building a true and lasting peace in Sierra Leone.
The report spells out the likely implications of insisting upon a comprehensive programme of judicial prosecutions in Sierra Leone – a dramatic escalation of military action leading to the decisive defeat of the RUF would be required. Civilians – already bearing the brunt of the civil war – would continue to be the losers, as they would inevitably be caught in the crossfire. ARTICLE 19 and Forum of Conscience point out that there is no evidence that the international community has the appetite for a major
military campaign and give the example of Kosovo, which demonstrates how uncertain the outcome of such action can be in terms of protecting and promoting human rights in the longer-term.
ARTICLE 19 has been supporting the work of Forum of Conscience in making the case for a TRC in Sierra Leone. Both argued against the blanket amnesty provided for under the July 1999 Lomé peace agreement for those accused of human rights abuses in pursuit of their political objectives.
ENDS
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. In January 2000 the British Government gave the UN £250,000, to be used for the preparatory stage of the TRC.
2. Moments of Truth in Sierra Leone: Contextualising the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is available from ARTICLE 19 and can be viewed/downloaded at www.article19.org/docimages/783.htm
3. Prosecutions would be carried out by a special court under joint UN and Sierra Leonean auspices.
