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Security Council Paves Way for Creation of Special Court for Sierra Leone
The U.N. Security Council Monday unanimously adopted a resolution to pave the way for the establishment of a special court to try rebel leader Foday Sankoh and his followers in Sierra Leone, who launched war and attacked U.N. peacekeepers, for war crimes.
The resolution, recognizing "the particular circumstances of Sierra Leone," said, "A credible system of justice and accountability for the very serious crimes committed there would end impunity and would contribute to the process of national reconciliation and to the restoration and maintenance of peace."
The resolution asked U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to enter into an agreement with the Sierra Leonean Government to create an independent special court prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious violations of both international and Sierra Leonean laws.
The resolution also asked Annan to suggest a possible alternative host country for the court if it cannot be located in Sierra Leone.
The Security Council underlined "the importance of ensuring the impartiality, independence and credibility of the process, in particular with regard to the status of the judges and the prosecutors," the resolution said.
The Security Council requested Annan to submit a report, within 30 days, to the 15-nation body on the implementation of the resolution, particularly on his consultations and negotiations with the government of Sierra Leone on the special court.
The rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF), led by Sankoh, violated a peace accord signed by rebels and the government in Togo in July last year by taking more than 500 U.N. soldiers hostage and surrounding 223 others for more than two months in the eastern part of Sierra Leone.
Captured in May, Sankoh is currently in the government custody in Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone, and he is likely to be one of the first rebels brought to trial before the special court.
In a report to the Security Council, Annan said that the RUF still poses a threat to the peace process in the war-torn African nation.
In response, the 15-nation body adopted a resolution on August 4, giving the U.N. peacekeepers in Sierra Leone a tougher mandate to deal with rebels violating the peace accord. The U.N. peacekeeping force, known as the UNAMSIL, was sent into Sierra Leone to monitor the peace accord, which was intended to end the bloody civil war.
The U.N. force is due to "deter, and where necessary, decisively counter the threat of RUF attack by responding robustly to any hostile actions" or threat of imminent use of force, said the resolution, which, however, said attacks on the UNAMSIL by the RUF rebels had "revealed serious inherent weakness in the mission's structure, command and control and resources."
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