The Wire

Between 1991 and 2002 Sierra Leone was torn apart by an civil war which claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 2 million people many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. The effects of the war are still being felt today; with the United Nations Development Programs ranking Sierra Leone second last on its Human Development Index in 2005. In 2002 the Government of Sierra Leona signed an agreement with the United Nations to establish a Special Court to try those who bear the ‘greatest responsibility’ for the many war crimes and crimes against humanity that were committed during the conflict. One of the 11 people indicted by the court is the former Liberian President, Charles Taylor. It is alleged that Taylor supported the rebel movement in Sierra Leone so as to destabilize the neighboring state and gain control over the county’s resources. He stands accused of 17 war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in planning and instigating unlawful killings and acts of physical and sexual violence against both the civilian population of Sierra Leone and UN peacekeeping forces. Since 2003 President Taylor has been in exiled in Nigeria. Despite repeated calls from the UN, the US Congress and Human Rights Groups, Nigeria has consistently refused to extradite Taylor to face charges in the Special Court for Sierra Leone. At last weeks UN World Summit in New York, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo again came under pressure to approve the extradition. Richard Dicker from the New York Office of Human Rights Watch spoke with Tristan Burt about the nature of the charges leveled at Charles Taylor by the Court.