Liberia: UN must address costs of moving Taylor to Hague

For immediate release

Contact: David Berry: +1 212 548 0385 (New York)

SECURITY COUNCIL MUST ADDRESS COSTS OF MOVING TAYLOR TRIAL TO THE HAGUE

New York, April 4, 2006—If the war crimes trial of Liberia's
ex-president Charles Taylor is moved from Sierra Leone to The Hague,
the international community must shoulder the increased financial
costs and address the likely negative impacts for Taylor's victims,
the Open Society Justice Initiative warned today.

The warning comes as the UN Security Council is widely expected to
consider a resolution to relocate the trial at the Special Court for
Sierra Leone from Freetown to The Hague because of concerns over the
potential impact of the trial on security and peace in Sierra Leone
and Liberia.

"Moving the trial from Freetown to The Hague will impose considerable
burdens on victims and witnesses, and increase the challenge of
ensuring broad public engagement in Taylor's trial," said James A.
Goldston, executive director of the Justice Initiative. "The Security
Council must do everything in its power to overcome these costs."

The Special Court for Sierra Leone mixes international and local
elements and has rightly been praised for successfully prosecuting
serious crimes in the place where they occurred. Among other benefits,
this has permitted public interaction with the Court and its
officials, facilitated access for victims and witnesses, and directly
confronted impunity in West Africa. Any relocation of the trial must
ensure that the positive message of prosecution is not undermined by
its removal from the Mano River region.

"The victims of Taylor's crimes are the Special Court's primary
constituency," said Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, the Justice Initiative's
senior legal officer for Africa. "The Security Council must ensure
that a decision to move the trial does not overlook their interests as
witnesses, participants, and advocates."

According to the Justice Initiative, the extra costs of holding
Taylor's trial in The Hague would include: the need to relocate
judges, prosecutors and court staff; the need to transport witnesses
and victims, many of whom are physically disabled and psychologically
traumatized; the impossibility for a significant number of Sierra
Leoneans to be physically present in the courtroom; the diluted impact
of the trial on political leaders and the general public in West
Africa; the difficulty for Mano River Union media to cover the
proceedings; and the risk that the move might delay and/or prolong the
trial.

It is therefore essential that if the trial is relocated, the Security
Council should plan for, and minimize, these costs by identifying and
providing extra financial resources, above and beyond the existing
Special Court budget, from United Nations assessed funds to pay for
these needs. The move to The Hague should not be paid for with
voluntary contributions from UN member states.

Specifically, the Security Council should accept responsibility for
funding or facilitating the following measures:

• Broadcasting the trial throughout West Africa, including on
television, radio, the internet, and on video disk. The scarcity of
electricity and appropriate equipment in much of the region will
require additional investments in facilities and technology. Funding
should also be made available to ensure presence of Sierra Leonean and
Liberian media at The Hague.

• Providing fast-tracked visa applications, transportation, and
accommodation in The Hague, to allow witnesses and victims to attend
the trial.

• Arranging to meet the special needs of victims and witnesses
attending the trial who are without limbs, otherwise physically
disabled, and/or in need of psychological support services.

• Maintaining the Court's expeditious pace, so the move to The Hague
does not compromise the defendant's right to speedy trial or the
victims' interest in seeing justice as promptly as possible.

Trials held at the Special Court for Sierra Leone are intended to send
a clear message to the people of West Africa and beyond that anyone
who commits mass crimes will be held legally accountable. Any
relocation of the trial of Charles Taylor must ensure that this
positive legacy of the judicial process for the peoples of the region
is preserved.

Background – The Justice Initiative's Work in Pursuit of Charles Taylor

Legal action launched in 2004 in Nigeria's courts by the Justice
Initiative and the Lagos-based law firm Aluko and Oyebode helped set
in motion the recent delivery of Charles Taylor to the SCSL. The suit,
seeking to end Taylor's asylum in Nigeria, was filed on behalf of two
Nigerian citizens who suffered amputations at the hands of the
Taylor-backed Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone. The legal
effort was supported by a coalition of NGOs across West Africa which
advocated in many quarters for Taylor to be tried by the SCSL. Last
November a Nigerian high court backed the victims' right to sue to
overturn Taylor's asylum. The ruling would have allowed the plaintiffs
to invoke Nigerian legislation barring asylum for war criminals to
challenge the decision to harbor Taylor. Hearings were pending at the
time Taylor was handed over.

The URL for this page is:
http://www.justiceinitiative.org/db/resource2?res_id=103165