West Africa: Countries face ‘serious’ human rights issues says UN rights chief

With war-torn West Africa still facing “very serious” human rights issues and tensions, the United Nations top rights official voiced concern for deteriorating human rights in Côte d’Ivoire, fading protections for women in Sierra Leone, and the “profoundly inadequate” justice system in Liberia. At a press conference marking her one-year anniversary as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour also renewed her call to African leaders to ensure that former Liberian President Charles Taylor – now living in exile in Nigeria – surrendered to the jurisdiction of the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone.