War Crimes Prosecution Watch

Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR)

The Official Website of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor

Records of East Timor, 1999
UCLA International Institute
by Angilee Shah
September 21, 2006

UCLA historian Geoffrey Robinson is leading a mission to save evidence of a young nation's turbulent birth and working through his own memories of violence.

Robinson and three colleagues brought three East Timorese community leaders into their office to say, in effect, that the UN was about to leave about 1,500 refugees to die.

When Geoffrey Robinson last saw the archives that chronicle the creation of East Timor, they were stored in an unremarkable Dili warehouse: one large room of audio recordings, transcripts, and reports, protected by a key and padlock and a low-ranking archivist.

Set up in 2000, the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation, better known by its Indonesian acronym CAVR, collected records on the period from 1974, when Portugal began to relinquish colonial control, through the 1999 election that made East Timor a sovereign nation, free after 24 years of occupation by Indonesia.

"It's important legally, it's important historically to outsiders, but it provides East Timor a basis to understand its own history," explains Robinson, a UCLA scholar of political violence and Indonesian and East Timorese history. In October, he will go back to Dili to oversee a year-long project to make a digital copy of the archive that will be housed in the British Library, beyond the reach of Indonesian military personnel and members of former East Timorese militias who are implicated in crimes.

Under its Endangered Archives Programme, the library will support the work of Robinson and a Dili-based team to back up the bulk of the archive's contents. Violence and instability that broke loose again in East Timor this May, when then-Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri dismissed almost half of the country's military, served as a further reminder for Robinson of the archive's vulnerability.

Between 1974 and 1999, CAVR reports, over 100,000 East Timorese were murdered or died from hunger or the collapse of health care as a result of the occupation. The London-based human rights group Amnesty International puts the number at 200,000. For a country that now has a population of one million, the toll was enormous.

For the 1999 UN-organized referendum, the Indonesian military, known by its Indonesian initials TNI, was charged with providing security and keeping militias from intimidating voters. But documents, written orders, telegrams, and radiograms in the CAVR archive show that military authorities and Indonesian police outfitted and directed pro-Indonesia East Timorese militias to commit violence and intimidate East Timor's independence seekers. Robinson hopes that such evidence will someday be used in an international tribunal to hold high-ranking officials accountable for the kinds of violence he saw as a member of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) in Dili, 1999.

Violence he saw and will never forget. Robinson recalls watching Indonesian soldiers stand by as militias charged at women and children. At a military morgue, he saw a family terrified to pick up the body of their young son, who had been shot by a soldier for protesting. He saw refugees and political leaders take to the hills for the safety of their families.

Robinson used these experiences and the CAVR archive to construct a report to the UN about the violence in the days before and after the vote. The report identifies 75 high-ranking Indonesian military officials who, according to testimony in the archive, committed crimes against humanity. Although the UN never published Robinson's 300-page report, CAVR included it as an appendix and cited it repeatedly in its final report submitted to the East Timorese government last year. The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network has made the report available online.

Robinson's experiences on the ground in 1999—some of which he recounted in a 2002 book article, "If You Leave Us Here, We Will Die"—form another kind of companion to the official reports. Whatever significance his tale holds, Robinson says, it is not a hero's story or the story of how a mild-mannered Canadian professor took risks for others in a country far away. ("I see those easy stories," he says, "and I despise them.") Rather, the tale has to do with the sometimes conflicting roles of historian, outsider, translator, rights worker, UN staffer, and human being and the effects that war has on roles and duties. And it's about the difference between recording for others and remembering.

In May 1999, Indonesia formally agreed with the UN to go ahead with an East Timorese referendum on independence. Robinson got a call from the UN Department of Political Affairs, which was looking for people qualified to assess the security and political situation for the vote. He volunteered himself.

Continue reading here.

[back to contents]

Central African Republic (ICC)

Official Website of the International Criminal Court
ICC Public Documents - Situation in the Central African Republic

Tens of Thousands Homeless for Nine Months in Northwest
AllAfrica.com - IRIN
September 28, 2006

Some of the tens of thousands of people who had been living in the bush in northwest Central African Republic (CAR) without proper shelter since fighting flared up in January are now trickling back to villages and towns, yet many more are still fearful of returning.

"I'm remaining in the bush like many others," Jacqueline Betoubam said on Friday at the paediatric hospital in the town of Paoua, where much of the fighting occurred.

She had come to the hospital, the only functioning medical facility in the town, with her malnourished son.

Betoubam said she was living in the bush, 28 km south of Paoua and five or six kilometres from her village, because it was safer there and her home had been burned down during fighting between the army and armed groups that are not clearly identified.

"We lost everything, including all our money," she said.

At least 50,000 people in the northwest provinces of Ouham and Ouham-Pendé who have fled into the bush are in urgent need of help, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in July. At least 40,000 more fled to neighbouring Chad, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and at least 20,000 are in nearby Cameroon.

Officials were not willing to say how many people had returned to their homes. A local health worker in one village south of Paoua said about half the population had returned so far while 25 percent would come in for a few hours then return to their sanctuaries in the bush.

The dearth of food, shelter and medical supplies is common to both the bush and towns and villages, according to Stephanie Callard, of Médecins Sans Frontières, who heads the paediatric hospital in Paoua.

"Ninety-five percent of children we treat are suffering from malaria and many also have diarrhoea, worms, respiratory infections and skin diseases," she said.

A clergyman in the area, who did not wish to be identified, said despite the apparent calm in recent months, those people who had returned home "live like prisoners". He said, "They cannot move in and out of the area without paying off security forces."

They also do not go out to their farms for fear of being attacked by armed bandits, he added.

Those who stay in the bush do so because they feel safer and they can farm. The clergyman said the army was afraid of patrolling outside the towns, despite support from the regional military force of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States.

President François Bozize is blaming the man he ousted from power, Ange-Félix Patasse, for instigating the rebellion. However Patasse's supporters have said the rebellion was fomented by Bozize's former fighters, who claim they have not been sufficiently compensated for supporting the current president.

While the cause of the conflict remains uncertain, the effect on the population is all too clear. "We are looking after 80 children affected by malnutrition every month," Callard said. "Among them, we usually have 15 who show signs of severe malnutrition."

Countrywide, 30 percent of all children are facing chronic malnutrition and 4 percent have severe malnutrition, according to OCHA, though it could not provide a breakdown of the figures on malnutrition for the northwest.

Locals say their standard of living is deteriorating, with less meat and dairy products available because the M'bororo pastoralists in the area have fled with their cattle across the border to Chad or Cameroon. The pastoralists normally sell their dairy produces to buy crops from local farmers. Therefore, the farmers are losing income.

A butcher in Paoua, Maurice Koipa, said the town appeared to have returned to normal but it was "cosmetic". He said, "Until there is security then economic activities will not return to normal."

Armed groups have been targeting the few relief organisations working in the area, making it difficult for them to help people in the bush. On Friday, armed men stopped a jeep used by the Italian NGO Coopi. The driver was forced to pay them 13,000 CFA (US $26).

Gaston Kofiane, who runs a health clinic in the village of Talli on the road south from Paoua, fled into the bush in January but has now returned. However, he said, it was difficult to do much.

"I am running a small hospital without a single tablet," he said.

[back to contents]

Democratic Republic of the Congo (ICC)

Official Website of the International Criminal Court
ICC Public Documents - Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

More Than 70,000 Return Home Under UN Repatriation Programme
AllAfrica.com - UN News Service
September 28, 2006

The United Nations voluntary repatriation programme for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has brought home more than 70,000 refugees since it started operations just under a year ago as the vast country moves ahead with its transition from a deadly six-year civil war.

Each returnee receives a standard assistance kit from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners, including household items, plastic sheeting, buckets, jerry cans, mosquito nets, agricultural tools and food rations for three months.

There are still more than 420,000 Congolese refugees in neighbouring countries, including 140,000 in Tanzania, who fled the six-year conflict, which cost 4 million lives through fighting and attendant hunger and disease, widely considered the most lethal fighting in the world since World War II.

Just last week, the 20,000-mark was passed for refugees crossing Lake Tanganyika from Tanzania to Baraka in South Kivu province.

In early September, UNHCR resumed the organized voluntary repatriation of Congolese refugees following a month-long suspension of activities during the first round of the landmark DRC presidential election, the largest and most complex vote the UN has ever helped organize. The second round is due to be held on 29 October.

The UNHCR aid that the returnees receive sometimes causes friction with internally displaced Congolese who came home to destroyed houses and burned crops without receiving a helping hand to get them started, and the Agency is working on community projects to help mitigate this.

UNHCR is collaborating with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to rebuild bridges within torn communities. Other activities range from infrastructure repairs, reconstruction and improvement of education facilities to income-generating activities for women.

"Through operational partnerships and a community-based approach to repatriation efforts we are hoping to achieve a more sustainable and effective level of reintegration and community support," UNHCR country representative Eusebe Hounsokou said.

Despite these efforts, UNHCR's effectiveness is limited due to inadequate funding. "Last year we paid all the school fees and gave school kits to each returning child through the NGO AIDES," Awada Houssein Adar, UNHCR community services officer in Baraka said.

"Unfortunately, this year we will not have the funds to continue such support. For the next school year we'll have to rely on parent-teacher associations to come to some compromise and mutual agreement on how to pay teachers and enable students to continue their studies."

[back to contents]

Darfur, Sudan (ICC)

Official Website of the International Criminal Court
ICC Public Documents - Situation in Darfur, Sudan

Sudan: Extension of AU peacekeeping mission only first step
Amnesty International
September 21, 2006

Reacting to today's news that the Sudanese government has agreed to an extension of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Sudan, Amnesty International said that today's development is a first step towards the protection of civilians in Darfur but must be followed by the deployment of UN peacekeepers.

"The people of Darfur need UN peacekeepers now," said Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International. "Sudanese government agreement to an extension of AMIS' mandate is not a major concession. It is the absolute minimum of what is required to protect the people of Darfur and must be replaced, as soon as possible, with a strong UN peacekeeping force."

The African Union Peace and Security Council today issued a statement expressing the organization's intention to renew the mandate of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) until 31 December 2006. It also reiterated its support for a transition to a UN peacekeeping force.

"The Sudanese government has been playing political games for far too long -- games that have cost the lives of women, men and children in Darfur," said Irene Khan. "The international community cannot accept a compromise when it comes to human rights. The rights of civilians in Darfur cannot be bargained away in the interest of political expediency."

"The extension of AMIS' mandate in no way absolves the international community of maintaining pressure on Sudan to accept UN peacekeepers."

Rice Says Sudan Could Face More Sanctions Over Darfur
New York Times
by Helene Cooper
September 27, 2006

WASHINGTON , Sept. 27 — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday raised the threat of more international sanctions against Sudan if the government did not stop military operations in the Darfur region and unconditionally accept a United Nations peacekeeping force.

“If the Sudanese government chooses confrontation — if it continues waging war against its own citizens, challenging the African Union, undermining its peacekeeping force, and threatening the international community — then the regime in Khartoum will be held responsible, and it alone will bear the consequences,” Ms. Rice said during a speech to the Africa Society.

“The international community must make clear to the leaders of Sudan that this is the choice they face,” she said.

The 53-nation African Union has about 7,200 peacekeeping soldiers in Darfur and was scheduled to hand over its task to a larger United Nations force in September. But President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has fiercely opposed such a move, and in the meantime, the union has announced that it will send more troops to the region while pressure on him continues.

The union force has not had much success in stopping violence in Darfur that has continued despite a cease-fire in May. Ms. Rice was blunt during her speech, laying the blame for the bloodshed at the feet of Mr. Bashir’s government.

“Citing attacks by rebels in the area, the government of Sudan recruited a tribe of Arab nomads, known as the janjaweed, who have long resented the Africans of Darfur,” Ms. Rice said. “Funded, armed and encouraged by the Sudanese government, the janjaweed attacked village after village in Darfur — torturing and executing the men and the boys; beating and raping the women and the girls.”

Ms. Rice challenged Mr. Bashir’s authority to refuse the United Nations peacekeeping force. “We cannot, we will not, accept Sudan’s opposition,” she said. “Since the Sudanese government will not save the lives of its own people, then the United Nations must act.”

U.N. Peacekeepers in Darfur Unlikely
Associated Press via The Washington Post
by Alfred de Montesquiou
September 28, 2006

KHARTOUM, Sudan -- The U.N. chief in Sudan said Thursday the government is unlikely to let U.N. peacekeepers in the country anytime soon, and the international community should instead push for the African Union force to remain in the war-torn region indefinitely.

The comments came after Sudanese authorities and a Darfur rebel group that signed a peace agreement with the government clashed in an affluent neighborhood of Omdurman, a city across the river from Khartoum. The incident underscored the simmering tensions in the country.

A U.N. Security Council resolution calls for 20,000 peacekeepers to replace the ill-equipped and underfunded AU force that has done little to prevent escalating violence in Darfur. But Sudan's president fiercely rejects the U.N. mission, and it can't deploy without his consent.

"I don't expect the government to accept a U.N. transition any time soon," Jan Pronk, the U.N. chief envoy to Sudan, told The Associated Press. "The international community should instead push for the African Union's mission to be prolonged and reinforced."

He called for the AU force to be extended indefinitely to prevent jeopardizing humanitarian work in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in three years of fighting.

At least 350,000 people are cut off from any aid in North Darfur because of the intensified fighting there, the U.N. said. At least another 100,000 people have fled their homes.

Pronk said he was confident the Sudanese government would allow the African troops to stay on in the region, though for now Khartoum only has agreed to keeping them an extra three months.

Pronk also urged the international community to guarantee more funds for the AU force. He said there were reports the AU force was so strapped for cash that some soldiers in Darfur were not being fed and patrols weren't going out because there was no gas for their armored vehicles.

The current 7,000-strong AU force was due to leave Darfur at the end of September but recently prolonged its mission until the end of the year. John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., called it a temporary measure while the international community pressures Sudan to allow troops into the country.

Earlier this week, Sudan's top official for Darfur said the government was willing to let a trickle of U.N. military advisers join the AU forces, describing it as "a third way" that could resolve the stand off between Khartoum and the United Nations.

Pronk said these discussions were now being settled and the first batch of 105 U.N. military advisers and dozens of police could be sent to Darfur "very soon." He hinted that their numbers could be increased "in a step by step process."

Meanwhile, the AU has pledged to boost its force by up to 4,000 troops. Some of the soldiers would be immediately available, but the AU says it doesn't have the cash to send them in.

The U.N. chief maintained that the peace agreement signed in May between the government and the rebel faction was "in a coma," which he said reflects the worsening humanitarian situation.

Both government forces and rebels have violated the cease-fire more than 70 times between May and August, and there were new violations in September after Khartoum launched a large-scale offensive in northern Darfur, Pronk said.

On Thursday, tensions degenerated into an open shootout in Omdurman, Khartoum's sister city. Rebel leaders with the Sudan Liberation Movement say they took three police officers hostage in retaliation for the arrests of two of their members.

Pronk said one man was killed during the clashes. "That (the conflict) has now reached Khartoum is just another proof of how bad things are," he said.

Sudan: Independent UN Expert Says Human Rights Continue to Be Violated
AllAfrica.com - UN News Service
September 28, 2006

Sudanese Government forces, militia and armed groups such as rebel factions and opposition from neighbouring Chad continue to violate life in Sudan, particularly in the Darfur region, an independent United Nations rights expert has told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Sima Samar, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, said discrimination and marginalization of certain groups continued and basic rights such as access to food, shelter, health and education were not guaranteed, according to a press release from the Council.

The right to life continued to be violated, in particular in Darfur. The perpetrators were Government forces, militia and armed groups such as rebel factions and Chadian opposition, while rape and sexual violence against women also continued, again especially in Darfur, she said in a report delivered yesterday.

In response, Omar Dahab Mohamed said Sudan would continue to fully cooperate with Ms. Samar as well as with the numerous other Special Procedures and with all the work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

However, he said Sudan wondered about the real motivation of one or two States that were using international forums to put pressure on the country to affect negatively its fight against poverty.

Representatives from over 30 countries and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) made statements during the debate before the 47-member Council moved on to discuss the human rights situation in Belarus and a report on the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.

Adrian Severin, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, said that the human rights situation in the country had deteriorated during 2005 and so far this year to such an extent that the elements usually defining a dictatorship could be seen.

Civil and political rights were limited, cultural rights were ignored, and economic and other rights were enhanced to reward for obedience, he said, adding that the Government had refused any cooperation with the Rapporteur and this was not in coherence with the UN Charter.

Responding to the report, Sergei Aleinik said Belarus had repeatedly stated its position of rejecting the mandate of this Special Rapporteur, adding that his findings were a clear attempt to stigmatise and slander the country.

The Special Rapporteur was doing this in a clearly straightforward manner, in the best tradition of notorious cold war propaganda, he added.

Over 30 countries and NGOs also spoke during the debate, before the Council heard a report from Marc Bossuyt, Chairman of the 58th session of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.

Mr. Bossuyt said the Sub-Commission recommended that the Council set up an independent body in the field of human rights, possibly composed of 28 members, to conduct research, generate thematic studies, set standards, promote coherence, technical assistance, and identify existing gaps.

Representatives from over 20 countries and NGOs spoke in the interactive dialogue after the report was delivered. This second session of the Council, set up earlier this year to replace the much-criticized Commission on Human Rights, opened on 18 September and will run until 6 October.

UN 'must drop' Darfur peace force
BBC News
September 29, 2006

Top UN officials say the world body must abandon efforts to pressure Sudan to accept UN peacekeepers in Darfur.

UN Sudan envoy Jan Pronk says the existing African Union force should instead be strengthened.

Sudan has always argued that the AU should remain in charge of peacekeeping in Darfur, rather than the UN.

Outgoing deputy secretary general Mark Malloch Brown has meanwhile said the US and UK's use of "megaphone diplomacy" is almost "counterproductive" in Sudan.

The cash-strapped and poorly equipped AU force currently stationed in Darfur was meant to leave at the end of the month but its mission was recently prolonged until the year's end.

The 7,000 AU troops have not been able to stop the conflict, which has worsened in recent months.

The UN Security Council has approved sending a larger, better equipped UN peacekeeping force to protect civilians and guarantee the security of aid workers.

But this was dependent on Sudan's approval, and Khartoum rejected the resolution.

'Crusade victims'

In an interview with the UK-based Independent newspaper, Mr Malloch Brown said UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush "need to get beyond this posturing and grandstanding".

He said the two leaders' "megaphone diplomacy" was not "plausible".

" Sudan doesn't see a united international community," Mr Malloch Brown said.

He said this meant Khartoum had come to regard itself as the latest front in the "war on terror" - "the victims of the next crusade after Iraq and Afghanistan".

Mr Malloch Brown said major Arab and African states, as well as China, should play a greater role in diplomacy over Darfur.

China and Russia, which have strong trade ties to Sudan, have blocked previous attempts to get a strong UN resolution on Darfur.

'More funds'

Mr Pronk has meanwhile told the Associated Press news agency he does not expect Khartoum to accept UN peacekeepers any time soon.

"The international community should instead push for the African Union's mission to be prolonged and reinforced," Mr Pronk is quoted as saying.

He said the AU force's mandate should be extended indefinitely to ensure relief continued to reach Darfur's refugees.

Mr Pronk is quoted as saying he was certain Khartoum would allow the AU force to stay on in Darfur.

World leaders, he said, must guarantee more funds for the AU so it can carry out necessary peacekeeping work.

"Otherwise, we're shooting ourselves in the foot each time," he said.

"Our first priority must be to help the people of Darfur."

More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur since 2003 in violence blamed on rebels and pro-government militia groups.

More than 2 million have been displaced by the fighting.

[back to contents]

Uganda (ICC)

Official Website of the International Criminal Court
ICC Public Documents - Situation in Uganda

War crimes amnesty for rebels is necessary, Uganda tells UN General Assembly
UN News Service
September 20, 2006

Uganda has offered an amnesty to the leadership of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group notorious for using child soldiers and committing other human rights abuses, because it believes this is the best way to end the 20-year conflict peacefully, the country’s Foreign Affairs Minister informed the General Assembly today.

Sam Kutesa told world leaders gathered for the annual general debate at UN Headquarters in New York that Uganda made “a painful decision to offer amnesty” after carefully studying the situation.

“Painful in the sense that we do not condone impunity,” Mr. Kutesa said. “We are, however, convinced that the alternative traditional justice system that we intend to apply is an equitable solution.”

Last month the LRA and Uganda signed a cessation of hostilities to end the conflict in the country’s north and east, but a comprehensive peace deal has not yet been struck and some LRA figures face International Criminal Court (ICC) indictments.

Those indicted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity are LRA leader Joseph Kony and commanders Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Dominic Ongwen and Raska Lukwiya.

During its long conflict with the Ugandan Government, the LRA became notorious for abducting children and then using them as soldiers or porters, while subjecting some to torture and allocating many girls to senior officers in a form of institutional rape.

But Mr. Kutesa asked the international community to “assist the process we have embarked on. We are determined to resolve the conflict peacefully. Peace is what our people want and it is peace that we are determined to give them.”

ICC indictments against rebels should stay, says President
IRIN
September 21, 2006

President Yoweri Museveni's insistence that indictments against Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) commanders should not be rescinded until they sign a peace deal could discourage the rebels from coming out of the bush, local leaders in northern Uganda said.

Museveni said on an FM radio talk show in northern Uganda on Wednesday that the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictments would not be dropped until the "terrorists" accepted a peace deal.

"Why should we reward you before you give us peace?" the president asked. "If the ICC indictments are removed, it will make the terrorists untouchable. The removal of the indictments will be a reward for their signing of the agreement. Otherwise you [rebels] will die in our hands or in the hands of the ICC."

He advised them to take his amnesty offer "so the community can cleanse them through the traditional justice system, mato oput. Thereafter, the government would plead with the ICC," adding that if ongoing talks in Juba, southern Sudan, between the LRA and the rebels collapsed, his government and the army were ready to protect civilians and resume hunting the insurgents.

"If these talks fail, we shall hunt down these terrorists because the government is always there to fight and protect civilians. The army is now very strong, they have all the means to destroy these terrorists," Museveni said on Mega FM in Gulu, the epicentre of the conflict in northern Uganda that has killed thousands and displaced nearly two million people over two decades.

Museveni's remarks were made in apparent response to assertions by LRA leaders that they would only come out of the bush if the indictments were lifted. On Wednesday, at one of two neutral camps in southern Sudan where rebel fighters are to gather under a truce signed with the government, the LRA's deputy leader, Vincent Otti, said: "Not even a single LRA soldier will go home before [the indictments] are lifted."

Referring to charges and arrest warrants issued last year by The Hague-based court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, he added: "The ICC is the first condition, without that I cannot go home because it might be a trap."

James Otto, spokesperson for the Gulu-based Human Rights Focus, said the president should have been seen leaning towards the peace process. "This was not the case, unfortunately. It was a repeat of the old message; an issue of calling names that may sway the process one way or the other."

Odoki Lamaka, commandant of the Unyama internally displaced peoples' camp near Gulu, said: "If this continues, it will mean that these rebels will not come out and we shall never get peace. The ICC should hear our voices and drop these arrest warrants."

Museveni warned that the talks in Juba, mediated by the government of south Sudan, were the last chance for the rebels to come out of the bush. "The Juba talks are the last chance for them to come out. I advise those of you who are still in the bush to come back. If you don't, you will perish for nothing," he told listeners. "You should remember that Kony [Joseph, LRA leader] killed so many people including a Briton and UN staff in Garamba [Democratic Republic of Congo]."

ICC says Uganda crimes may go on without arrests
Reuters via The Washington Post
September 26, 2006

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor said on Tuesday leaders of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army must be arrested to stop them from committing more crimes, despite calls for an amnesty to allow for peace talks.

Last week, deputy LRA leader Vincent Otti said lifting the ICC war crimes indictments against himself and other top LRA leaders was a pre-condition to a full peace deal.

The LRA launched one of the world's most vicious insurrections from northern Uganda 20 years ago, killing civilians and often slicing off victims' lips and noses.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said war crimes could not go unpunished.

"If we do not execute the arrest warrants, the crimes can start again," Moreno said at a public hearing with non-governmental organizations.

The NGOs backed the ICC's efforts to arrest and prosecute those responsible for war crimes.

"It is critically important that the ICC gets convictions under its belt," said Nicholas Grono of the International Crisis Group," If it is continuously trumped by peace processes it will never have a deterrent effect."

Amnesty International's senior legal adviser, Christopher Keith Hall, said it was extremely disturbing that the LRA leaders had not yet been arrested and that the ICC needed more policing power.

"We urge the prosecution to press the United Nations and other international government organizations to establish law enforcement teams," he said.

On September 15, the ICC ordered an urgent report into Uganda's efforts to arrest and hand over LRA leaders, stressing that the arrest of LRA leader Joseph Kony and his deputies was vital for their effective prosecution and the prevention of further crimes.

[back to contents]

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

Official Website of the ICTY

Pasko Ljubicic Transferred to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Press Release of the ICTY
September 22, 2006

Paško Ljubičić was transferred today from the custody of the Tribunal to Sarajevo to be tried before the war crimes section of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ljubičić is charged with crimes committed against Bosnian Muslim civilians in the Lašva Valley in central Bosnia and Herzegovina between January and July 1993. It is alleged that as commander of the 4th Military Police Battalion of the Croatian Defense Council, the accused, together with troops under his control, conducted a number of attacks on the town of Vitez and neighbouring villages in the spring of 1993 and that during these attacks, they killed more than 100 Bosnian Muslim civilians, detained and abused many more and destroyed Muslim property, including two mosques in the village of Ahmići.

The Tribunal's Judges ruled on 12 April 2006 that the case against Ljubičić was not one that necessarily had to be tried before the Tribunal, and it could be referred to the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who were adequately prepared to accept the case. Following an appeal from the accused, the ICTY Appeals Chamber affirmed the referral decision on 4 July 2006.

To date, the ICTY has referred five cases involving nine accused to Bosnia and Herzegovina and one case involving two accused to Croatia for trial before national courts in these countries. In addition, the Tribunal's Prosecution is providing national prosecutors cases which were investigated but indictments were not issued by the ICTY.

The transfer of cases forms part of the Tribunal's Completion Strategy, under which the ICTY concentrates on the prosecution and trial of the most senior leaders while cases involving intermediate and lower-rank accused are referred to national courts. The ICTY cooperates closely with the judiciaries in the region to assist in the effective prosecution of war crimes suspects.

Glavas Case Raises Concerns About Croatian Judiciary
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
by Drago Hedl in Osijek
September 22, 2006

A court in Croatia has come under fire for allowing an indicted war crimes suspect to remain at large while his case is investigated, even though prosecutors have warned that this could jeopardise the fairness of the trial.

Branimir Glavas, a former general and member of parliament who has been one of the most powerful politicians in Croatia over the past 15 years, is accused of crimes against Serb civilians in Osijek, a city in eastern Slavonia near the border with Serbia, during the Croatian war in 1991.

The Zagreb District Court’s handling of the matter has been criticised as lax, and although this prosecution was generated locally, it has rung alarm bells among those worried about whether Croatia’s judiciary is ready to take over war crimes cases referred to it by the Hague tribunal, as part of the latter’s completion strategy.

Three months after the investigation into his case began, Glavas is still a free man, despite repeated requests from prosecutors to place him in custody. They have argued that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the accused is impeding the investigation by intimidating witnesses into changing their testimony.

But the Zagreb judge leading the investigation, Zdenko Posavec, has turned down all requests for custody, saying there is no proof that Glavas was behind any threats.

Charges brought against Glavas after a year-long investigation conducted by leading crime scene expert Vladimir Faber include the murder of at least two Serb civilians and the unlawful detention and mistreatment of many others.

The investigation followed claims by Krunoslav Fehir, a former member of a Croatian unit under Glavas's command, that the general ordered gruesome extrajudicial executions of Serbs in Osijek.

Fehir alleged that Glavas ordered civilians to be imprisoned in his wartime headquarters, the National Defence Secretariat, where they were interrogated, tortured and finally killed. The alleged acts of torture included forcing acid from car batteries down their throats.

Fehir, who was only 16 at the time, admitted taking part in these crimes. He told Croatian investigators that one of the detainees, Cedomir Vuckovic, died shortly after he was forced to drink acid. He said that another Serb who had seen what happened, Djordje Petkovic, was executed on Glavas's order. Petkovic's body was never found.

Faber was dispatched from Zagreb to investigate allegations of war crimes in the city, because it had become apparent that the local police force would not be able to do so. The investigation was then shifted from Osijek to Zagreb for the sake of impartiality.

In April this year, Faber completed his investigation and brought charges against both Glavas and Fehir. A month later, Glavas was stripped of his parliamentary immunity so that the state prosecutor could start criminal proceedings. The case is now being overseen by an investigating judge.

Despite the serious nature of the accusations, there is no sign that Glavas will be arrested any time soon. Investigating judge Zdenko Posavec even allowed Glavas to travel to Germany this summer to watch the football World Cup.

According to police in Osijek, former soldiers who served under Glavas subsequently threatened some of the witnesses, leading the state prosecutor to demand his arrest – with no success.

“The case of Glavas and Fehir causes great concern and raises questions about Croatia's ability to conduct war crimes investigations efficiently,” said Mary Wyckoff, who heads the law department of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s mission in Zagreb. “This case shows how important it is to have adequate protection measures for witnesses who cooperate with the judiciary.”

Wyckoff said respecting the rule of law is central to any war crimes investigation, and that those working on them should get all the support they need to do their job well.

“The investigative procedure should strengthen the public's confidence in state institutions responsible for criminal investigations and proceedings. If this procedure is conducted properly, then its results – whatever they are - will be accepted as legitimate,” she explained.

Because of the way the whole case has been handled, many observers suggest it has descended into farce.

Several legal experts told IWPR it was “scandalous” that Glavas has been allowed to defend himself as a free man. They argue that there are grounds for immediate detention, specifically the gravity of the allegations and the indications that the accused has used his liberty to influence witnesses.

Several witnesses who were questioned by the investigating judge have already significantly altered the original testimonies they gave to police.

Glavas even threatened some witnesses in the presence of investigative judge Posavec.

Ladislav Bognar, a university professor who was in the area where Glavas was in charge at the time of the events of 1991, says he found himself in an alarming position when he gave a statement to the authorities.

“Since the things I was saying were not really in Glavas's favour, he attacked me right in front of judge Posavec. He called me a communist bastard and said I would get what I deserved,” said Bognar.

Glavas did not stop there – he launched his own web site on which he started posting witness testimonies. He stopped only when the investigating judge asked him to remove the material from the internet.

But he still used his website and media appearances to insult Faber, the investigating police officer, calling him “an immoral freak” and “human trash”. Nor did he spare other officials, calling State Prosecutor Mladen Bajic “rotten as a rotten tooth” and describing the judiciary as corrupt and politically influenced.

“I would much rather be tried in Banja Luka in Republika Srpska, because their judiciary is much more honest than Croatia's,” he said in one of his public outbursts.

The accused also lashed out at Croatian parliament speaker Vladimir Seks for dismissing his allegations that the case against him was a “politically assembled process”. Seks was a senior official in Osijek during the Croatian war, and Glavas has repeatedly tried to shift the blame to him.

Glavas denies all charges against him and claims he is a victim of a “witch-hunt”, for which he blames Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader, who expelled him from his Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, party last year.

Asked to comment on why Glavas is still a free man, a high-ranking HDZ source said, “This in fact proves that politicians are not interfering in the work of the judiciary. We don't have to agree with their decisions, but as you can see, we don't try to change them, either.”

Appeals Chamber Affirms Judgement Against Ivica Marijacic and Markica Rebic in Contempt of Court Case
Press Release of the ICTY
September 27, 2006

The Appeals Chamber of the ICTY today dismissed appeals by Ivica Marijačić and Markica Rebić against the Trial Chamber judgment which found them guilty of contempt of court.

In its judgment from 10 March 2006, the Trial Chamber stated that both Marijačić and Rebić deliberately disclosed information regarding the testimony of Johannes van Kuijk, a Dutch army officer who testified as a protected witness in the case against former Croatian Army general Tihomir Blaškić.

During the relevant period, Marijačić was a journalist and editor-in-chief of the Zagreb-based weekly publication Hrvatski List. Rebić is the former head of the Security Information Service ("SIS") of the Republic of Croatia.

Although no harm was done to the protected witness as a result of the disclosure of his identity and content of his testimony, the Trial Chamber found that the deliberate and calculated manner in which Marijačić and Rebić disregarded the closed session order is a serious matter which tends to diminish the authority of the Trial Chamber in the Blaškić trial. The Judges added that "public confidence in the effectiveness of the Tribunal's protective measures is vital to the success of its work".

The trial against Marijačić and Rebić began on 17 January 2006 and concluded on 19 January 2006.

The Appeals Chamber dismissed all grounds of appeal and affirmed the fine of 15,000 Euros on each of the accused. However, it allowed the accused to pay the fines in three monthly installments instead of 30 days, as ruled by the Trial Chamber.

Momcilo Krajisnik Convicted of Crimes Against Humanity, Acquitted of Genocide and Complicity in Genocide
Press Release of the ICTY
September 27, 2006

Tribunal judges today sentenced Momčilo Krajišnik, a former member of the Bosnian Serb leadership, to 27 years, convicting him of persecutions, extermination, murder, deportation and forced transfer of non-Serb civilians during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Trial Chamber acquitted him of genocide, complicity in genocide and one count of murder as a violation of the laws or customs of war.

The Trial Chamber established the existence of a joint criminal enterprise, involving Radovan Karadžić and other Bosnian Serb leaders, intended to, "ethnically recompose the territories targeted by the Bosnian-Serb leadership by drastically reducing the proportion of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats through expulsion". The Chamber found that "Mr Krajišnik gave the go-ahead for the expulsion programme to commence during a session of the Bosnian-Serb Assembly when he called for "implementing what we have agreed upon, the ethnic division on the ground"".

The Trial Chamber further found that although the original crimes of the joint criminal enterprise were limited to deportation and forced transfer, the evidence also shows that ".the criminal means of the enterprise very soon grew to include other crimes of persecution, as well as murder, and extermination."

"Immense suffering was inflicted upon the victims in this case, and the consequences that the crimes have had on the Muslim and Croat ethnic groups in Bosnia-Herzegovina are profound. The crimes were committed over a long period of time, often through brutal methods, with hatred or appalling lack of concern," reads the summary of the judgment.

The judges found that Krajišnik's role in the commission of the crimes for which he was convicted was "crucial" as he held senior positions within the Bosnian-Serb leadership. The judgment states that "Mr Krajišnik wanted the Muslim and Croat populations moved out of Bosnian-Serb territories in large numbers, and accepted that a heavy price of suffering, death, and destruction was necessary to achieve Serb domination and a viable statehood."

In the summary of its judgment, the Trial Chamber notes that although the crimes that took place ".constituted the actus reus of genocide.", the evidence "does not show that the crime of genocide formed part of the common objective of the joint criminal enterprise in which Mr Krajišnik is shown on the evidence to have participated, nor that Mr Krajišnik had the specific intent necessary for genocide."

The full summary of the judgment as read out by Presiding Judge Orie can be found at:

http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2006/p1115e-summary.htm (in English) and

http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2006/p1115f-summary.htm (in French)

Mladić helpers on trial today
Beta News Agency via B92
September 27, 2006

BELGRADE -- The court process against suspected helpers of Hague fugitive Ratko Mladić begins today in Belgrade’s Second Municipal Court.

Court official Marina Klarić-Živković said that the presiding judge will decide today whether the trial will be open to the public, since the initial investigation was deemed a national secret.

This means that journalists, family and the public will not be able to enter the courtroom at the beginning of the trial, until the judge decides whether the trial will be open to the public. If the chief investigation is proclaimed public, then the court will be open to all interested parties.

The suspects accused of helping Ratko Mladić hide from Serbian and international authorities are Jovo Đogo, Stanko and Predrag Ristić, Saša Badnjar, Ratko Vučetić, Marko Lugonja, Blagoje Govedarica, Borislav Ivanović and Tatjana, Bojan and Ljiljana Vasković.

If convicted, the accused could be looking at up to eight years in prison.

Security Information Agency officials, in cooperation with the War Crimes Prosecution, arrested Marko Lugonja several days ago, a former officer of the Republic of Srpska Military, who tried to flea to Moscow by way of the Belgrade airport.

He was held in custody during the months of May and June and was released before the trial, but sent back to custody after his attempted escape.

Bosnian Serb leader jailed for 27 years after UN tribunal convicts him of war crimes
UN News Service
September 27, 2006

The United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today sentenced a former Bosnian Serb political leader to 27 years’ jail after convicting him of crimes against humanity for his role in the 1990s conflict in the Balkans.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) found Momcilo Krajišnik guilty of persecutions, extermination, murder, deportation and the forced transfer of non-Serb civilians. But the court, which is based in The Hague in the Netherlands, acquitted him of genocide, complicity in genocide and one count of murder.

The Tribunal heard that Mr. Krajišnik was part of a joint criminal enterprise between July 1991 and December 1992 that aimed to reduce the population of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats within Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The joint enterprise included the former Yugoslav President Slobodan Miloševic, the notorious paramilitary leader Željko Ražnatovic (aka ‘Arkan’) and the former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadžic, who remains at large today.

Mr. Krajišnik, 61, was a senior Bosnian Serb political figure during the 1990s, serving variously as President of the Bosnian Serb Assembly and a member of the Expanded Presidency of the “ Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

The three judges hearing the case found that he gave the go-ahead for the programme of ethnic cleansing during a session of the Bosnian Serb Assembly. Although the initial plan was confined to deportations and forced transfers, the court said the evidence showed it soon extended to murder and persecution.

“Immense suffering was inflicted upon the victims in this case, and the consequences that the crimes have had on the Muslim and Croat ethnic groups in Bosnia-Herzegovina are profound. The crimes were committed over a long period of time, often through brutal methods, with hatred or appalling lack of concern,” according to a summary of the judgement.

The judges hearing the case were Alphons Orie (presiding) of the Netherlands, Spain’s Joaquín Martín Canivell and Claude Hanoteau of France.

In a separate ruling, the ICTY dismissed appeals by Ivica Marijacic and Markica Rebic against an earlier judgement which found them guilty of contempt of court.

In March the Tribunal ruled that Mr. Marijacic, a journalist with a weekly Zagreb publication, and Mr. Rebic, the former head of Croatia’s Security Information Service, deliberately disclosed information about the testimony of a witness during a closed session. The appeals chamber affirmed the ruling and the fine of 15,000 euros each.

Del Ponte: Action plan report unsatisfactory
B92
September 29, 2006

Helsinki -- UN chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte accused Serbia for its lack "of political will" to find and arrest Ratko Mladić.

"We are unsatisfied. They're not, in our evaluation, working properly to locate Mladić," Del Ponte said during a visit to Helsinki.

Del Ponte said she would travel to Belgrade on Monday and Tuesday to meet Serbian leaders and to discuss an action plan presented by Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica in July in Brussels.

"We are not satisfied about what is described in the report from Belgrade on the implementation of the action plan."

Meanwhile, she urged the European Union to continue to suspend talks Serbia on a stabilization and association agreement, considered the first step to joining the 25-nation bloc.

"If the EU keeps the suspension of negotiations (in place) until (we have) full cooperation and (the) location of Mladić ... I'm optimistic we will have Mladić," she said.

Del Ponte said she was disappointed about the lack of effort being made to find Karadžić as well.

"I do not know who is looking for Karadžić now. I'm the only institution looking for Karadžić, myself and my tracking team, which is made (up) of four policemen," she said.

"NATO is winding up, they will leave Bosnia by the end of this year. (European Union force) EUFOR has no mandate. I don't know who's looking for Karadžić, probably nobody but me."

[back to contents]

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

Official Website of the ICTR

Rwandan singer accused of using music to incite genocide goes on trial at UN tribunal
UN News Service
September 18, 2006

The United Nations war crimes tribunal for Rwanda has begun the trial of a well-known singer and composer accused of using his songs to incite supporters to kill Tutsis during the country’s 1994 genocide.

Simon Bikindi, 52, has pleaded not guilty to six charges at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which is based in Arusha in neighbouring Tanzania.

The charges are: conspiracy to commit genocide; genocide, or alternatively complicity in genocide; direct and public incitement to commit genocide; murder as a crime against humanity; and persecution as a crime against humanity.

More than 800,000 people were massacred, mostly by machete, for being ethnic Tutsis or Hutu moderates during a period of less than 100 days starting in April 1994.

Opening his case today, the prosecutor Hassan Bubacar Jallow told the Tribunal that Mr. Bikindi “consciously and deliberately” helped in the plan to kill Tutsis through the lyrics of his music.

Mr. Bikindi, who was also the director of the performance group Irindiro Ballet and an official in the Ministry of Youth and Sports, used his lyrics to incite supporters to join the Interahamwe militia, which carried out numerous massacres during the genocide, and commit such crimes.

Mr. Jallow alleged Mr. Bikindi not only contributed to the atrocities through his music, but took part in the extermination plan himself, including the recruitment and training of Interahamwe members.

The judges hearing the case are Inés Mónica Weinberg de Roca of Argentina (presiding), Cameroon’s Florence Rita Arrey and Robert Fremr of the Czech Republic.

Rwanda, Tanzania-based UN court agree to mend ties
AllAfrica.com - The New Times (Kigali)
September 20, 2006

A fortnight after a bitter tension unfolded between the government of Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the two sides yesterday agreed to bury the hatchet and foster their relations. The move, which came a day after the UN court terminated the contract of defence counsel Callixte Gakwaya, the man who was at the centre of the latest dispute - was arrived at during a two-hour meeting between the prosecutor general, Martin Ngoga, and the visiting ICTR deputy registrar, Everard O'Donnell.

"We have had a very good and frank discussion," Ngoga told reporters shortly after the two-hour closed door meeting at his office in Kimihurura. He said the two sides had agreed to establish an information sharing mechanism through which they would exchange information on any Rwandan bound to get a job at the tribunal. Ngoga said Rwanda would now pursue Gakwaya just like any other genocide fugitive.

Gakwaya, who has been serving as the lead counsel for genocide suspect, Yusuf Munyakazi, had been arrested by Tanzanian police on 1 September, but was released four days later following a protest letter from the ICTR registrar, Adam Dieng. Gakwaya reportedly fled to Mozambique after his release.

Concerning the 12 other genocide suspects said to be on ICTR's payroll, O'Donnell said that the tribunal was only aware of 11 and that nine of them either resigned or had their contracts terminated in the past. He said only two others were still employees of the UN court, but declined to name them.

"An independent investigation on these two is still going on," said O'Donnell, who also doubles as the tribunal's spokesperson. Yesterday's meeting agreed that the tribunal suspends the duo, pending investigations into the genocide allegations against them, which will be concluded in two months time.

Ngoga said: "We discussed name by name and I don't see why we should doubt their information. He said nine of them are no longer working with the tribunal, and we believe that is true."

The majority of the suspects are serving or were serving as defence investigators. In the past two suspected genocide criminals in the ICTR ranks - Simeon Nshamihigo and Joseph Nzabirinda - were arrested with the assistance of the Tanzania-based court. However, both sides held different opinions on whether ICTR should release a report from its own investigation into the genocide allegations against several of its employees. While Ngoga insisted the tribunal should make the findings known to the public, O'Donnell said the findings were not for public consumption. "We have agreed to disagree on this issue," said the prosecutor general.

Sources said that the report of the investigations, carried out by the ICTR Liaison office at Remera, Kigali, was handed over to Dieng and then put under key and lock. The same sources claim that the probe outcome largely corresponded with earlier findings by Kigali investigators.

O'Donnell's visit comes five days after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation extended an olive branch to ICTR, calling for immediate talks to ease flaring tension between the two sides. The latest development now puts to rest fears that Kigali could cut its links with ICTR, only two years to the expiry of the court's mandate. Such a move could have brought the tribunal's business to a tragic standstill as over 80 per cent of witnesses who testify at the ICTR come from Rwanda.

New Acquittal At the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
AllAfrica.com - Hirondelle News Agency (Lausanne)
September 20, 2006

The international criminal tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has pronounced Wednesday morning a fifth acquittal, this time in the case of André Rwamakuba, ex minister of education in the government in place during the genocide.

The prosecutor has not declared yet if he intends to appeal or not; he has 30 days to do so. The last acquitted was Jean Mpambara, last week Rwamakuba, 56 years old, was accused of genocide, extermination and assassinations constituting crimes against humanity. Dennys Byron (St Kitts) who presides over this court and his assistants Judge Karen Hockborg ( Sweden) and Judge Gustave Kam (Burkina), have estimated that the evidences produced by the prosecutor were not sufficiently supported by reliable testimonies.

It is mostly the reliability of the witnesses that is questioned in the judgment. They have repeatedly contradicted themselves and Rwamakuba's lawyer, David Hooper (GB), even called them a « clique of liars ». The judgment, naturally more poised, mentions only of their lack of clarity and the absence of a precise identification.

After the sentence was pronounced, Rwamakuba's lawyer denounced the fact that « false allegations » were brought against Andre Rwamakuba, "those allegations received active support from authorities in Rwanda and were supported by the prosecutor here - even when it mist have been apparent that they were at least unreliable and most probably perjury" he said. « The victims of the Rwandan genocide have been betrayed by those who lied and by those who have supported them », David Hooper added.

Rwamakuba was released shortly afterwards. Now, the tribunal's registry will most probably help him find a country of asylum. Three other defendants acquitted by the ICTR are already in Arusha, waiting for an asylum country to accept them. None of the governments contacted so far have agreed to grant them a refugee status.

The judgment of the chamber also points out that Rwamakuba did not receive a proper treatment before his trial, and requires a compensation of damages for the accused.

Incarcerated for 7 years, Rwamakuba has refused to appear before the chambers that have judged him for he considers that the conditions of his detentions were illegal. Captured and released a first time, he has effectively been arrested a second time after a new indictment was issued against him.

A joint trial of Rwamakuba and other defendants that had started had had to be resumed. The prosecutor then demanded that the ex-minister's case be separated from the others' and transferred to the chamber of first instance and not the appeals chamber as Hirondelle mistakenly published last Tuesday.

André Rwamakuba is the twelfth minister, member of the interim government in place during the genocide, to be judged in Arusha. Five have already received their sentence, for detention for life and one acquittal - and judgments are pending in the case of another six. Others are still on the loose. Since its first hearing on January 1997, the ICTR has judged 31 defendants, 5 of which have been acquitted.

ICTR to Begin Transfers
AllAfrica.com - The New Times (Kigali)
by Felly Kimenyi
September 21, 2006

The Commandant of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Detention Facility (UNDF) has said that the Tribunal is set to transfer convicted prisoners to various countries. Saidou Guindo said the ICTR had so far signed agreements with Mali, Swaziland, Benin, France and Italy, but hastened to add that it is only Mali that has so far got the prisoners. Located about 12km from the Tribunal, the UNDF has 56 detainees. Established in 1995, the Tribunal has acquitted at least five suspects with two of them, Jean Mpambara and Andre Rwamakuba, acquitted in a period of less than one week.

Former prosecutor goes on trial at UN tribunal for role in Rwandan genocide
UN News Service
September 25, 2006

The United Nations war crimes tribunal for Rwanda today began the trial of a former prosecutor on charges of genocide, extermination and murder for allegedly recruiting, arming and ordering militia to massacre Tutsis and moderate Hutus during the 1994 killing spree in the small Central African country.

Simeon Nchamihigo, former deputy prosecutor of Cyangugu Prefecture, pleaded not guilty to all charges in the four-count indictment during his initial appearance in 2001 before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), based in Arusha in neighbouring Tanzania.

More than 800,000 people were massacred, mostly by machete, for being ethnic Tutsis or Hutu moderates during a period of less than 100 days starting in April 1994.

The prosecution alleges that the defendant wore a military uniform and carried a weapon as he participated in a campaign with leaders of the military and the Interahamwe militia in Cyangugu to exterminate Tutsis and moderates from the Hutu opposition whom he considered traitors and accomplices of the rebel Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front.

It added that on numerous occasions in 1994, the defendant distributed weapons and ordered the killing of Tutsi civilians including a priest, who was killed in his presence at a roadblock in May of that year. He is also alleged to have rewarded Interahamwe members with food and beer for participating in the massacres.

Rwanda: UN tribunal and diplomats hold talks with Kenya on fugitive genocide suspect
UN News Service
September 28, 2006

The Prosecutor for the United Nations war crimes tribunal for Rwanda and diplomatic representatives from 25 countries have held talks with Kenyan Government ministers to discuss efforts to apprehend the fugitive businessman Félicien Kabuga, who stands accused of helping to fund the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Prosecutor Hassan Bubacar Jallow and the diplomats met Kenya’s Justice Minister Martha Karua and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Moses Wetangula in Nairobi yesterday, according to a press statement issued by the Tribunal.

Mr. Kabuga, who has been under indictment for genocide and other charges since 1997, has been tracked for several years by the ICTR, which said it believes he has been a regular visitor to Kenya.

He is accused of setting up and then operating a notorious “hate” radio station, as well as helping to fund and arm the Interahamwe militias responsible for many of the massacres during the genocide.

In the press statement, Mr. Jallow and the representatives from the diplomatic missions said they “appreciated Kenya’s commitment to pursue all available leads in this case, including, through the investigation of suspected associates of Mr. Kabuga; investigation and, where appropriate, seizure of assets and provision of any records relating to the accused movements into and out of Kenya.”

The statement concluded: “We are hopeful that these efforts will soon bear fruit with the apprehension and prosecution of Mr. Kabuga before the ICTR.”

Last December Mr. Jallow told the Security Council that previous efforts to seize Mr. Kabuga in Kenya “appear to have been compromised by leakages.”

More than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus are estimated to have been killed during the genocide, which took place between April and July 1994. The Security Council later established the ICTR, which is based in the Tanzanian city of Arusha, to hear cases involving the most serious crimes committed during that period.

[back to contents]

Iraqi High Tribunal

Official Website of the Iraqi High Tribunal
Grotian Moment: The Saddam Hussein Trial Blog

“Lessons from the Saddam Trial”
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Frederick K. Cox International Law Center War Crimes Research Symposium
Friday, October 6, 2006

For more information, including how to register or watch the symposium live online, click here to download the symposium brochure.

First Book about the Saddam Hussein Trial Now in Print

With the judgment in the Saddam Hussein trial to be issued in two weeks, on Oct. 16, 2006, Carolina Academic Press has just published Saddam on Trial: Understanding and Debating the Iraqi High Tribunal -- a timely and unique book of essays that examine over fifty issues related to this historic trial. The book was written by Case School of Law Professors Michael Scharf (Director, Frederick K. Cox International Law Center) and Gregory McNeal (Assistant Director, Institute for Global Security Law & Policy), who have been assisting the Iraqi High Tribunal, and features contributions by Cherif Bassiouni, David Crane, Bill Schabas, Mark Ellis, Leila Sadat, Mark Drumbl, Paul Williams, and other leading experts.

A year ago, on Oct. 19, 2005, Saddam Hussein and seven of his henchmen began a legal battle of epic proportions, with their lives literally in the balance. The first of several planned trials before the Iraqi High Tribunal focused on the destruction of the town of Dujail and the torture and murder of its inhabitants in retaliation for a 1982 failed assassination attempt. Billed by the international media as "the real trial of the century," the televised proceedings were punctuated by gripping testimony of atrocities, controversial judicial rulings, assassinations of defense counsel, resignation of judges, scathing outbursts, allegations of mistreatment, hunger strikes, and even underwear appearances.

- Was it a mistake to try Saddam in Baghdad before a panel of Iraqi judges?
- Was the Iraqi High Tribunal a legitimate judicial institution?
- Were the proceedings fundamentally fair?
- Did the judges react properly to the defendants’ attempts to derail the proceedings?
- Did the Prosecution prove its case?
- Did Saddam have any valid defenses?
- What precedents did this extraordinary trial set?

Saddam on Trial: Understanding and Debating the Iraqi High Tribunal provides the reader with a thorough understanding of these and a host of other issues related to the Saddam Trial. The text offers a series of essays, in which leading international and criminal law experts discuss and debate more than fifty discrete questions raised by the trial. The book also includes a psychological profile of Saddam Hussein, a chronology of the trial, a glossary of key legal terms, a synopsis of the charges and applicable law, a summary of the evidence and testimony, and English translations of the Tribunal’s Statute, Rules, and other relevant instruments.

Saddam on Trial is designed for law students, undergraduates, academics, journalists, and general readers. The book will be useful as a supplement for any law school course on International Law, International Criminal Law, International Humanitarian Law, or National Security Law. It is also suitable for undergraduate Foreign Relations, Public Policy, or Criminal Justice courses. An accompanying Teacher’s Guide, available on Nov. 1, 2006, will reproduce the text and provide analysis of the Tribunal’s Dujail Trial Judgment, as well as contain suggested questions and answers, debates, simulations, and role play exercises designed to facilitate use of the book as a teaching tool.

You can order the book for $29.95 from Carolina Academic Press: http://www.cap-press.com/books/1625. Review copies for professors interested in adopting the book for their classes are available at no charge. Shipment is immediate.

Removal of Judge a Grave Threat to Independence of Genocide court
Human Rights Watch
September 19, 2006

Human Rights Watch is very concerned about reports concerning the removal of Judge Abdullah al-Amiri, presiding judge in the on-going trial of Saddam Hussein and others for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. This appears to be improper interference in the independence of the tribunal, and may greatly damage the court.

According to reports appearing this evening, Judge Abdullah al-Amiri, the presiding judge of the second trial chamber of the Iraqi High Tribunal was removed from his position, by a decision of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Council of Ministers). According to these reports, Ali Dabbagh, spokesperson for the Prime Minister, said:

“We have asked the court to replace the judge because he has lost his neutrality after he made comments saying Saddam is not a dictator. The court told us he has already been replaced. This was a decision by the cabinet of the prime minister.”

Article 4(4) of the Statute of the Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT) provides that Iraq’s Presidency Council can, upon recommendation of the Council of Ministers, transfer a judge or prosecutor from the court to the Supreme Judicial Council, for “any reason.” A judge transferred to the Supreme Judicial Council retains his status as a judge, but loses any role he has in the IHT. Judges have also expressed the concern that, upon transfer, they may lose the personal protection measures afforded to them by the IHT.

Judge al-Amiri had been the subject of intense public criticism after his September 14 courtroom comment that former President Saddam Hussein was “not a dictator.” The full statement by Judge al-Amiri to Saddam Hussein, as reported by The New York Times, was: “I will answer you: you are not a dictator. Not a dictator. You were not a dictator. The people or those who are around the official make him a dictator, and it is not just you. This is the case all over the world.”

If accurately reported, the Council of Ministers’ action is a clear and damaging violation of the judicial independence of the Iraqi High Tribunal. The transfer of Judge al-Amiri off the case reflects 1) a grave failure of the IHT Statute to adequately protect judges from interference, and 2) a complete lack of respect for judicial independence on the part of the Iraqi government.

Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Iraq ratified in 1971, provides that all persons have a right to be tried by a “competent, independent and impartial tribunal.” The independence of judges must be guaranteed by ensuring that the conditions of their appointment and dismissal are free from executive interference or control. The United Nations’ Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary provide that the independence of judges be adequately secured by law. Article 4(4) of the IHT Statute undermines the independence of the IHT judges, because it allows the executive to remove any judge, for any reason and at any time, from a case.

In those situations where there is an allegation of bias or misconduct on the part of a judge, the procedure for removal or suspension must itself be impartial and conform to the procedures of the court. The IHT has a procedure contained in its regulations to independently adjudicate allegations of bias. A complaint about bias should be submitted to the President of the Court, who refers it to the appeals chamber of the tribunal, which issues a decision within three days (Rule 8, Rules of Evidence and Procedure).

The transfer of a judge for reasons of bias is thus wholly a matter for the appeals chamber of the IHT, not the Council of Ministers. By riding roughshod over the court’s own rules and procedures, the Council of Ministers has not only interfered with the court’s independence, but greatly undermined the court’s own appearance of neutrality and objectivity. The transfer effectively sends a chilling message to all judges: toe the line or risk removal.

This development continues a disturbing trend observed in the early phases of the Dujail trial. When the first presiding judge in the Dujail case, Rizgar Amin, was not deemed firm enough in handling Saddam Hussein’s courtroom behavior, he was publicly criticized by the then-Minister of Justice and parliamentarians, and bitterly attacked in the press. Judge Amin resigned out of protest.

Judges must not be the subject of inflammatory criticism by government officials. Any process for disciplining or removing judges must occur in accordance with independent judicial procedures, and not take place in the court of public opinion.

Iraq Acts to Oust Hussein Trial Judge
Los Angeles Times
by Solomon Moore, Times Staff Writer
September 20, 2006

BAGHDAD — Five days after the chief judge in the genocide trial of Saddam Hussein said the former president was "not a dictator," the Iraqi government announced Tuesday that it would replace him.

A unanimous vote by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed President Jalal Talabani's decision to end Judge Abdullah Amiri's leadership of the tribunal. The decision must be reviewed by Iraq's High Juridical Council, said government spokesman Ali Dabbagh, but few people believe Amiri will again preside over the tribunal.

"We feel that the judge, by giving the designation of 'non-dictator' to Saddam Hussein, is not neutral," Dabbagh said. He cited the Iraqi Special Tribunal Rules of Procedure and Evidence, which demand that a judge withdraw "from any case in which his impartiality or independence may be reasonably doubted."

The government did not identify a replacement.

Hussein and six codefendants, including his cousin Ali Hassan Majid, known as Chemical Ali, are accused of orchestrating a brutal seven-month military offensive in 1987 and 1988 that killed as many as 100,000 Kurds, many of them victims of heavy artillery and poison gas attacks.

Shiite Muslim and Kurdish political leaders applauded a change of jurist. "We are supporting the decision … to change this judge," said Shiite legislator Ridha Jawad Taqi. "We saw victims of dictatorship being humiliated during court proceedings."

"He's quite weak, and he allows Saddam to say anything he likes," said Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish member of the national parliament. "And the judge is apparently tougher" on the witnesses.

U.S. legal experts, however, said they were concerned that the removal of Amiri, a 54-year-old Shiite Muslim, could further delay justice for victims of the so-called Anfal campaign and bring more discredit to Iraq's beleaguered legal system.

"This appears to be improper interference in the independence of the tribunal and may greatly damage the court," Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. The group was among the first to call for an international tribunal to try Hussein and Majid for the Anfal deaths.

Amiri's transfer, Dicker wrote, "effectively sends a chilling message to all judges: Toe the line or risk removal."

Michael P. Scharf, a law professor and war crimes tribunal expert at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, said Amiri's dismissal could set a dangerous precedent for executive branch meddling in the judiciary.

"The idea was to create breathing space for the tribunal so that it would be independent from the government," Scharf said.

News of Amiri's imminent removal came shortly after the tribunal adjourned after nine days of wrenching testimony from Kurdish victims.

Ubaid Mahmoud Mohammed, 48, testified Tuesday that he passed out while attempting to shepherd his wife and six children through a poison cloud. He awoke alone in a Kurdish hospital. Returning to his home village, Mohammed said he found it looted, burned and bulldozed.

"I yelled for my wife and children. I yelled for my mother-in-law. I was screaming and looking for my children," he testified. "After that I realized all my fears were true. My entire family was gone."

Amiri's dismissal stemmed from an exchange last week, after a Kurdish witness said he had once met with Hussein to ask about the fate of his wife and children, who had been missing since the Anfal campaign. Hussein stood up in court and said his meeting with a humble Kurd belied allegations that he was a "dictator."

"You were not a dictator," said Amiri, who also served as a judge during Hussein's rule. Hussein seemed momentarily stunned as Amiri repeated, "You weren't a dictator."

Saddam Barred, Lawyers Boycott, New Judge Forges On
Reuters
by Alastair Macdonald and Ahmed Rasheed
September 25, 2006

Saddam Hussein was thrown out of court again on Monday and his lawyers did not show up at all, but the new judge appointed by the Iraqi government in mid-trial pressed on with hearing Kurdish witnesses to alleged genocide.

One told the court of girls being raped by a prison camp commander, of beatings and of children dying for lack of milk in jails packed with Kurds following gas attacks on their villages during Saddam's 1988 Anfal, or Spoils of War, campaign.

Saddam clashed with judge Mohammed al-Ureybi, saying he had asked to be excused attendance and no longer wanted to sit in a "cage." Ureybi promptly ordered guards to remove the former president, just as he did at the last hearing, on Wednesday.

That had been Ureybi's first appearance at the head of the five-judge bench. He stepped in after the government dismissed his predecessor for assuring Saddam "You were not a dictator."

"It dishonors me to talk to you," Saddam, 69, told the judge two hours into Monday's hearing. He waved a yellow paper that he said was a request to be allowed not to attend court.

"I don't want to be in this cage any more," he said.

Ureybi told him: "It's not up to you. You come when I say you come and you leave when I say you leave."

Scoffing at Saddam's claim to legal qualifications, he said he had broken courtroom discipline and told guards: "Take him out."

Eight court-appointed lawyers stood in for the defense team that has been representing Saddam, his cousin "Chemical Ali" Hassan al-Majid, and five other Iraqi commanders. The defense walked out on Wednesday and said on Sunday it was suspending its activity in protest at government interference in the trial.

Justice concerns:

Human rights groups have also raised the alarm about what the action by a government dominated by Shiites and Kurds means for the chances of Saddam and his mostly Sunni Arab aides having a fair trial in a country on the brink of sectarian civil war.

The chief judge in Saddam's first trial resigned nine months ago in protest at government pressure and three defense lawyers have been killed since October when that case opened. It concerns the deaths of 148 men from the Shiite town of Dujail.

Rifat Mohammed Said, a Kurd in his 70s and one of three witnesses on Monday, described a camp near the southern city of Samawa where children died for want of their mothers' milk, wild dogs dug up the bodies of prisoners and one man was tied to a soccer goal and beaten by the commandant, named only as Hajaj.

He also accused the chief guard of raping women prisoners, the first time the crime, particularly sensitive in the Muslim world, has been mentioned in a year of televised hearings:

"One of the guards would take girls to Hajaj's room," Said said. "The girls would cry and tell us they had been brutally raped by Hajaj. He was the biggest criminal in this whole case."

A verdict in the Dujail case is due next month. As in the Anfal case, Saddam faces hanging. But there can be no execution without an appeal likely to be delayed by several other trials.

The court-appointed lawyers spoke up on Monday to question witnesses from time to time. One of Saddam's co-defendants complained he did not want to be represented by someone he did not recognize. Another accepted an assurance from the judge that he would have a chance to meet his new attorney later.

The trial resumes today when court officials said they expected Saddam to be present, whether he wants to be or not.

Judge Ejects Saddam From Courtroom Again
Associated Press via Guardian Unlimited
by Sameer N. Yacoub and Jamal Halaby
September 26, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Saddam Hussein's genocide trial was adjourned until early next month after a contentious session Tuesday marked by shouting matches and the ejection of the former leader from the courtroom for the second day in a row.

All seven defendants argued loudly with the chief judge, Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa, who first removed Saddam from the court, then Saddam's former defense minister, Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai.

The trial was adjourned until Oct. 9 after a brief recess, without the ex-president and his six co-defendants present in the courtroom. The judge said he wanted to give the defendants time to contact their lawyers or appoint new ones after days of disruptions.

An official close to the court said later that al-Khalifa also threw out the remaining five defendants before the recess.

The outburst began when Saddam refused to remain silent after repeated requests to do so by the judge. Clutching his Quran, Saddam tried to make a statement, interrupting the prosecution's questioning of a witness.

``You are a defendant and I'm the judge,'' al-Khalifa said, telling Saddam to sit down. A defiant Saddam refused and continued speaking even though the judge shut off court microphones.

Saddam's six co-defendants then began a shouting match.

``Shut up, no one may speak ...'' al-Khalifa shouted, pointing his finger at the defendant.

``The court decided to eject Saddam Hussein from the courtroom,'' al-Khalifa added.

Saddam left with a smile, ejected from the courtroom for the second time in as many days.

Al-Tai was the most vocal during the shouting match, shouting insults at al-Khalifa and at one point saying, ``I'm not sitting down,'' and pointing at the judge in a belligerent way. ``I served in the army for 44 years and no one dared to shout at me. We are polite and well behaved.''

After the shouting match, Al-Khalifa ordered a one-hour recess and a curtain was abruptly closed on the journalists' gallery as microphones were cut off in the courtroom. The court then resumed to hear testimony, then was adjourned.

Saddam and his six co-defendants have been on trial since Aug. 21 for their roles in a 1987-1988 crackdown against Kurdish rebels.

The prosecution says about 180,000 people, mostly civilians, died in the military offensive - code-named Operation Anfal - which allegedly included the use of chemical weapons. The defendants could face the death penalty if convicted.

In an earlier exchange Tuesday, al-Khalifa warned Saddam to respect court procedures, saying that he would be given an opportunity to speak, but that he would not be permitted to mock the proceedings.

``You are a defendant here. You have rights and obligations,'' al-Khalifa told Saddam.

``You can defend yourself, question witnesses ... and I am ready to allow you (to do so), but this is a court - not a political forum,'' he said.

He told Saddam to limit his comments to matters pertinent to the trial and said he must rise to address the tribunal - ``not to speak while sitting down.''

Saddam asked for permission to respond. When al-Khalifa agreed, the deposed Iraqi leader took out a piece of paper - apparently to read a prepared statement.

But the judge interrupted, saying he would not allow him to read it ``if it was the same letter I received from you.''

Saddam ignored the call. The judge allowed him to read the statement while he stood - taking 20 minutes to do so - but cut off microphones in the courtroom.

On Monday, Saddam was thrown out of the courtroom after he protested the court's appointment of lawyers, replacing his own.

Saddam's defense team also boycotted proceedings Monday after having accused the court of violating judicial procedures. Al-Khalifa appointed replacement lawyers so the hearings could continue.

Meanwhile, four witnesses who took the stand Tuesday recalled the disappearance of family members and brutality at the hands of Saddam's military during Anfal.

Thameena Hameed Nouri, 51, said several family members, including her husband, fled their northern Iraqi village after heavy shelling by Iraqi forces. She said troops arrested villagers, separating the men from the women.

While at detention camp, troops beat her ``3-year-old son in front of me, he was unconscious for 1 hours,'' she said. ``We started screaming and crying, demanding they return our children.''

``We were forced to drink contaminated water that harmed us, the children vomited and suffered from diarrhea. Lice covered our bodies,'' recalled the woman, who has a tribal tattoo on her chin.

Nouri said that she knew of three children dying in the camp, including her daughter Galala.

Brother-in-law of new Saddam judge slain
Associated Press via Yahoo! News
September 29, 2006

The brother-in-law of the new judge presiding over Saddam Hussein's genocide trial was killed and his nephew was wounded in a shooting Friday in Baghdad, the latest deadly violence linked to proceedings against the former Iraqi leader.

Kadhim Abdul-Hussein was fatally shot, and his son, Karrar, was wounded in the capital's western Ghazaliyah neighborhood by unidentified assailants, police 1st Lt. Thaer Mahmoud said.

It was not immediately clear whether they were targeted because they were related to Judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa, a Shiite Muslim who took over the Saddam trial last week, or if it was another of the sectarian attacks that have been plaguing Baghdad.

During Saddam's first trial, three defense lawyers were killed, and in July, Saddam and three other defendants refused food to protest lack of security for lawyers and conduct of the trial.

Friday's attack in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Ghazaliyah came a half-hour before the weekly ban on vehicular traffic in the capital that has been instituted to try to prevent suicide bombings on the Muslim holy day.

Al-Khalifa had been deputy to the original chief judge in the trial, Abdullah al-Amiri, who was removed on accusations he was too soft on Saddam. Among other things, al-Amiri had angered Kurdish politicians by declaring in court that Saddam was "not a dictator."

Saddam's nine lawyers walked out of the trial Monday to boycott the proceedings in protest of al-Amiri's removal.

Al-Khalifa later adjourned the trial until Oct. 9, saying he wanted to give the defendants time to persuade their original lawyers to end the boycott, or to confer with new attorneys.

The trial, Saddam's second, began Aug. 21. He and six co-defendants face genocide charges for their roles in a bloody crackdown against Kurdish rebels in the late 1980s.

The defendants could face the death penalty if convicted.

[back to contents]

Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) &
Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Offical Website of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
The Sierra Leone Court Monitoring Programme

Annan Calls for UN Liberia Mission to be Extended Until September 2007
News Blaze
September 21, 2006

Liberia has made "tangible progress" in areas such as Government reform and the fight against corruption but still faces major challenges in its reconstruction efforts after years of conflict, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today as he called on the Security Council to extend the UN mission there for another year until 30 September 2007.

Mr. Annan recommended the extension in his latest situation http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2006/743 report to the 15-member Council that comes before the current mandate of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) expires at the end of this month, and he highlights in particular the continued UN role in providing security and training of the armed forces.

" Liberia has continued to make tangible progress in a number of areas. The three branches of Government are functioning; the reform... of the security sector is gradually progressing; the resettlement of internally displaced persons has been completed; an increasing number of Liberian refugees have returned home," he said, while also noting progress to fight corruption and the start of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

"Nevertheless, Liberia still faces enormous challenges in several areas. The country is heavily dependent on UNMIL for the provision of security, given that the new police service is still in its formative stages and the training of the new armed forces is only just beginning."

Mr. Annan also warns that the Government and UNMIL need "to remain vigilant to carefully manage the internal threats to stability," especially from people who may be adversely affected by the Government's reform processes, and he also highlights the large number of unemployed youth concentrated in urban areas as a "serious" concern.

However despite such problems, he describes the security situation as having "remained generally stable" since June and says his previous recommendation to withdraw one UNMIL infantry battalion remains valid, adding that this will take place in November while also leaving open the possibility of further reductions "if the security situation permits."

The Secretary-General also said that Liberia's efforts to cultivate good relations with its neighbours were progressing well, and he highlighted the important regional message sent by the transfer on 20 June of former Liberian President Charles Taylor from Sierra Leone to The Hague to face charges of war crimes.

"The transfer [of former President Taylor]... to stand trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone sitting in The Hague was an important development. Not only did it signal that the world will not accept impunity, it also demonstrated the recognition by the Government of Liberia, regional leaders and the Security Council that Mr. Taylor's continued presence in Freetown was a threat to peace and stability in the subregion."

UNMIL was established in 2003 to support the implementation of a ceasefire and a peace process in Liberia and as of the start of this month had over 14,800 military and police personnel in the country.

Source: United Nations

Liberia: April trial date for Taylor
IRIN via Reuters
September 25, 2006

DAKAR, 25 September (IRIN) - The war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor has been tentatively set for 2 April next year at The Hague.

Trial Judge Julia Sebutinde said on Friday that it was necessary to have a fixed date for his trial to avoid continuous delays.

Last June, the United Nations Security Council determined that Taylor could not be tried at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in Freetown because of regional security concerns. The Special Court, which retains jurisdiction in the case at The Hague, indicted Taylor on 11 counts of war crimes for his alleged support of rebel fighters during Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war.

Taylor has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include murder, rape and recruitment of child soldiers. The fighters he is accused of supporting were notorious for hacking off the limbs of their victims. In exchange for weapons, the rebels allegedly sold Taylor diamonds.

Taylor triggered civil war in his own country when he invaded from neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire in December 1989. That conflict lasted 14 years.

Under pressure from the United States and other Western nations as Liberian rebel forces attacked the capital, Monrovia, in August 2003, Taylor stepped down as president. Nigeria granted him asylum and then was pressured to arrest him in March as he attempted to flee the country.

Taylor's supporters in Liberia said they doubt that Taylor will get a fair trial at The Hague and have begun raising funds for his defence.

"The pace in which the processes leading to the trial is going, we are very much in doubt that he would get a fair trial. He does not have sufficient legal defence," John Richardson, a former national security adviser to Taylor told IRIN on Monday.

The court in April assigned British attorney Karim Khan, a specialist in international criminal law and human rights law, to defend Taylor.

TRC, CPA Task Force Sign MOU
AllAfrica.com - The Inquirer (Monrovia)
September 25, 2006

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the task force of the Child Protection Agencies (CPAs), have signed a Memorandum Of Understanding(MOU) on 21 September, 2006.

The MOU is aimed at catering to the general wellbeing of Children during the entire TRC process.

The TRC says the MOU supports article VII, Section 26(0); of the TRC Act, established by law on 10 June, 2005 and that it recognizes the professional knowledge and competence of the Task Force of the Child Protection Agencies (CPAs).

Making remarks, TRC's Chairman, Cllr. Jerome J. Verdier, thanked Mrs. Oneke Gooding Freeman and the CPAs for the signing of MOU. He said the TRC regards children as victims of crisis and not perpetrators.

"We are extremely happy to come to this milestone of what was a six months process. This shows that the interests and rights of children are reflected and presented in all the works of the TRC. It shows the importance to child rights issues and the impact the crisis had on them. This is why as a nation and people we must secure a better environment for them," he stressed.

For her part, Mrs. Gooding Freeman who heads the Child Protection Agencies(CPA)praised the TRC for giving the CPA the opportunity to put forth the issue of children at the level of the TRC.

She expressed gratitude to the commission for recognizing the need to make the issues of children a focus. She pledged on behalf of all the CPAs in Liberia their unflinching support to TRC.

TRC Holds Statement Takers Workshops in America
AllAfrica.com - The Analyst (Monrovia)
by Sam Togba Slewion
September 26, 2006

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Liberia will next week, begin holding series of workshops with various Liberian communities across the United States in preparation for hearings in the Diaspora.

According to Commissioner Massa A. Washington, Head of the TRC's Diaspora Committee, who is currently in the United States coordinating the trainings, the workshops will create a forum for the TRC to update Liberians in the Diaspora on the activities of the Commission and recruit volunteers to serve as Statement-takers for the TRC as prelude activity to the commencement of hearings in the Diaspora.

More importantly the TRC wants to dialogue with Liberians and hear the views about the reconciliation and healing process in the country after 14 years of civil conflict.

Commissioner Washington, who is galvanizing the Liberian Diaspora communities in the United States through community leaders for participation in the workshops, explained further that the trainings will take place in the States of Minnesota, Staten Island and Washington DC.

Unlike the Minnesota workshop, which will be held exclusively for Liberians residing in that State, she added that the other workshops on Staten Island, New York, and in Washington DC will combine several Liberian communities due to resource constraints on the part of the TRC.

She stated that the workshop in Minnesota will be held for two days on Friday, September 29 and Saturday, September 30, beginning at 9am to 4pm.

Community leaders and members from the Liberia communities in North New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts will attend the workshop scheduled to be held on Staten Island, New York on October 14, 2006, while the Washington DC workshop slated for October 7, 2006 will have in attendance leaders and members of the Liberian communities in Washinton DC, Maryland, Philadelphia, South New Jersey, Delaware and Virginia.

The three workshops will be conducted by the TRC in collaboration with the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) in New York, Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights and the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT).

The Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights and the CVT both based in St. Paul, Minnesota, are collaborating partners of t