Sierra Leone: Justice Undermined by Taylor's Absence

Sierra Leone: Justice Undermined by Taylor's Absence
U.N., U.S. Should Urge Nigeria to Hand Over Liberian Ex-President

(New York, March 9, 2004) - The United Nations and the United States
should explicitly call on Nigeria to turn former Liberian President
Charles Taylor over to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Human Rights
Watch said today.

On Wednesday, the Special Court will officially open its newly
constructed courthouse in the Sierra Leonean capital Freetown. The
first trials of senior officials are expected to begin shortly. The
opening ceremony will be attended by high-ranking officials from the
United Nations and donor countries.

"The U.N. Security Council has called for indicted war criminals
Karadzic and Kabuga to be surrendered to the international tribunals for
the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, but has remained silent about Charles
Taylor," said Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice
program. "This reluctance to press Nigeria to hand over Taylor fosters
a double standard that betrays the people of Sierra Leone. It is time
to break the silence."

Sierra Leonean lawyers, former combatants, and members of civil society
have repeatedly told Human Rights Watch researchers, currently in West
Africa, that Charles Taylor's apprehension is vital to the justice
process.

The United Nations created the Special Court through an agreement with
the government of Sierra Leone. Nine senior, indicted war criminals are
currently in custody awaiting trial in the court's detention facility.
The Special Court has the power to prosecute those "who bear the
greatest responsibility" for serious violations of international
humanitarian law and certain violations of domestic law committed in
Sierra Leone since November 30, 1996.

Taylor was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for war crimes
and crimes against humanity for his role in contributing to the deaths,
rape, abduction and mutilation of thousands of civilians during Sierra
Leone's civil war. The former Liberian president is currently in exile
in Nigeria after being forced from power in August 2003.

However, neither the U.N. Security Council nor the Secretary-General has
explicitly called for Nigeria to hand Taylor over to the Special Court.
The United States, which has been a principal financial donor and
supporter of the court, as well as a member of the court's management
committee, has also failed to urge Nigeria to bring Taylor to justice.

"By creating the Special Court, the international community has made an
important commitment to bringing justice for the horrific crimes
committed in Sierra Leone. But justice will be undercut if Taylor is
shielded from the court," said Dicker. "For the U.S. government and the
United Nations not to press Nigeria to hand Taylor over will send a
clear message that the law only reaches so far."

Elected president of Liberia in 1997 after a seven-year war that ousted
former president Samuel Doe, Charles Taylor gained international
notoriety for the brutal abuses against civilians committed by his
forces in Liberia, and for his use of child soldiers organized in "Small
Boy Units."

Forces supported by Taylor have also been involved in conflicts in
neighboring Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire. There are credible reports that
Taylor remains in frequent contact with members of his former
government, and that hundreds of fighters loyal to him are undergoing
training in Liberia near the border with Cote d'Ivoire. The U.N.
peacekeeping force in Liberia has expressed concern about the
allegations of troop training, but so far has found no evidence to
support them.

Human Rights Watch has consistently called on Nigeria to arrest and
surrender Charles Taylor to the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
Shielding Taylor from justice contravenes international law and
undermines Nigeria's express commitment to combat impunity.

For Human Rights Watch's reports on the widespread and systematic use of
rape and sexual violence and other crimes committed in Sierra Leone, see
"We'll Kill You If You Cry: Sexual Violence in the Sierra Leone
Conflict," http://hrw.org/reports/2003/sierraleone/sierleon0103.pdf,
"Sowing Terror: Atrocities Against Civilians in Sierra Leone,"
http://www.hrw.org/reports98/sierra/, and "Sierra Leone: Getting Away
with Murder, Mutilation, and Rape,"
http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/sierra/.

For Human Rights Watch's letter urging Nigeria to hand Taylor over to
the Special Court, please see http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/11/nigeria-
ltr111703.htm.