By Myriam Clerge

Impunity Watch, Africa

The guilty verdicts were declared for three men accused of being co-conspirators and participants of war crimes in Sierra Leone. Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu were alleged leaders of the junta, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), responsible for toppling Sierra Leone’s government in 1997. The group later formed an alliance with the notorious Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels to control the country until 1998.

The court found the three defendants, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, guilty of 11 of the 14 charges including terrorism, using child soldiers, enslavement, rape and murder. They were acquitted of sexual slavery and other inhumane acts. Sentencing is scheduled for July 16th.

These are the first verdicts made by the Sierra Leon UN-backed war crimes court. More importantly the verdicts mark the first conviction in an international court for enlisting children under the age of fifteen into armed forces or groups and using them to participate actively as soldiers.

Roughly 30,000 children, in Sierra Leone alone, were conscripted into the war. In Liberia, former President Charles Taylor’s men are accused of creating the Small Boys Unit that “enlisted” young boys whom they baptized Babykillers. Although children have been used in war, never before was their involvement more obvious.

Backed by Liberia’s former president Charles Taylor in exchange for “blood diamonds,” the AFRC and RUF held power from 1997 to 1998. During that period thousands of women were raped and turned into sex slaves. About half a million people were brutally murdered. Those not killed by the rebels’ trademark of hacking off limbs, were forced to work in the mines to fuel the devastation.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone was set up following the end of fighting in 2002 with the help of the United Nations. Although the convictions of the three leaders of the ARFC mark a vital step, many criticize the slow progression of trials. To date the court has indicted 12 people, including Charles Taylor, out of the thousands who committed these crimes and who continue to enjoy impunity. Of the 12 people indicted, three have since died before trial including the notorious leader of RUF Foday Sankoh.

Amnesty International said while Thursday’s verdict was a positive step, it should not be the closing chapter in the struggle to achieve justice for the terrible crimes committed against the people of that country. Thousands of others must be held criminally responsible and reparations must be provided to the victims.

Taylor’s trial is scheduled to resume next week.

For more information please see:

AllAfrica – Sierra Leone: Guilty Verdicts Not the End of the Story for Victims of War Crimes – 21 June 2007

BBC – First S Leone war crimes verdicts – 20 June 2007

BBC – Country Profile: Sierra Leone – 20 June 2007

Yahoo – Sierra Leone convicts 3 of war crimes – 20 June 2007

By Myriam Clerge

Impunity Watch, Africa

Hundreds of stakeholders were prompted to meet at Windhoek for a four day national conference to seek solutions to the string of horrible and cruel forms of violence that is plaguing Namibia. 350 delegates representing government, civil society, traditional leaders and religious groups came together on Tuesday to find a solution to the thorny issue of gender-based violence.

The meeting came together two days after the latest incident in which a young woman was murdered and her head, legs and arms were savagely hacked off. The remaining parts of her body was dumped in a bin on the road between Okahandja and Windhoek.

Marlene Mungunda, Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, says these incidents show that Namibia is fighting a vicious enemy. She stated that the problem called for “watertight strategies.”

The police have been criticized for failing to arrest perpetrators committing gender-based violence, especially those committing crimes that are gruesome and shocking to the public. The minister made a passionate appeal to the Namibian police and other law enforcers to assure that the perpetrators of gender-based violence, particularly those committing bizarre murders, are arrested.

Namibia is among countries in the SADC region that have good legislation on children and women’s rights. However, the effective implementation of these laws is being doubted in some regions.

Norman Tjombe, Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) Director, said, “Gender-based violence is Namibia’s main human rights problem.” Tjombe singled out rape and said 60 rape cases out of 100, 000 persons in the country are recorded every year. While society has viewed rape as an incident where the female is always the victim and the male the perpetrator, shockingly one out of 14 victims is a man or a boy.

The conference is being held under the theme “Unifying Action to Eliminating Gender-Based Violence in Our Society.”

For more information please see:

AllAfrica – Namibia: Meeting to Thrash Out Gender Violence – 19 June 2007

AllAfrica – Namibia: Mungunda Calls On ‘Supernatural’ to Help Fight Violence – 20 June 2007

AllAfrica – Namibia: Violence Conference Begins Huge Task – 20 June 2007

By Impunity Watch Africa

The Special Court for Sierra Leone, a UN-backed court, issued its first verdicts today, convicting three former junta leaders of war crimes.  The court found the three defendants – Alex Timba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara, and Santigie Borbor Kanu – guilty of 11 of 14 charges, including terrorism, the use of child soldiers, enslavement, rape, and murder.  No judgments were issued on the charges of sexual slavery and inhumane acts related to sexual violence, and all three were acquitted of “other inhumane acts” related to physical violence.  The three defendants were commanders of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), former government soldiers who split from the army and sided with the RUF rebels during the conflict.

Corrine Dufka, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that today’s verdict marks a watershed.  “It’s the first time that an international court has issued a verdict on child recruitment.”  David Crane, the founding prosecutor for the Sierra Leone court agreed.  “It’s a huge moment for children around the world who have been oppressed in these conflicts.  This particular judgment sets the cornerstone forever – those who recruit children into armed force are criminally liable.”

The Special Court for Sierra Leone was established following the end of fighting in 2002 to prosecute the worst offenders.  It is estimated that half a million people were the victims of killings, systematic mutilation and other atrocities during the 1991-2002 conflict.  To date, the court has indicted twelve people, including former Liberian president Charles Taylor who is accused of backing the rebels.  Three of the suspects have since died and the location of one is still unknown.  Taylor is currently facing trial in The Hague due to fears that the case would trigger violence.  Taylor is also linked to abuses in his own country, but Liberia has opted for a truth and reconciliation commission rather than a court.

For more information, please see:

ABC – Sierra Leone court delivers first war crimes verdicts – 21 June 2007

CNN – Sierra Leone war crimes court convicts 3 – 20 June 2007

USA Today – 3 convicted of Sierra Leone War Crimes – 20 June 2007

Chronicle Journal – Sierra Leone court convicts three junta leaders of war crimes in civil war – June 2007

Mail & Guardian – Sierra Leone court delivers first war-crimes verdicts – June 2007

Yahoo News – Sierra Leone court to deliver first war crimes judgment – June 2007

By Myriam Clerge

Impunity Watch, Africa

Several weeks ago the UN Security Council received a letter from the Ethiopian government accepting the commission’s decision to award the town of Badme to Eritrea. The agreement arrives five years after Ethiopia initially promised to comply with the UN’s 2002 ruling.

Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after 30 years of guerilla war. For two and a half years the two countries fought over the town of Badme until they agreed to a truce to cease hostility in 2000.

Ethiopia’s letter to the UN Security Council required Eritrea to comply with the 2000 truce and if violated to be sanctioned by the commission. In response to Ethiopia’s conditional acceptance, Eritrea issued its own letter blaming the UN for failing to force Ethiopia to turn over the town.

The Security Council met with African Union and Ethiopian officials in Addis Ababa this past weekend to discuss border issues and possible resolutions.

The Security Council was greeted by thousands of Ethiopian Jews in Addis Ababa waiting to get to Israel. In 2005 Israel unofficially promised to relocate Ethiopian Jews who claim their families were forced to convert to Christianity in the 19th century, known as the Falashmura, by the end of 2007.

Under Israel’s “law of return” anyone who is Jewish or has a Jewish relative or spouse is granted automatic Israeli citizenship. However, Ethiopian Jews in Israel are claiming that the government is discriminately blocking their relatives’ immigration.

Instead, thousands of Ethiopian Jews, who have abandoned their home and livelihood, are living on little hillocks near the Israeli embassy in Addis Ababa, waiting in vain to get to the Promise Land.

For more information please see:

Yahoo – Ethiopian troops attacked in Somalia – 15 June 2007

Yahoo – Ethiopia agrees to give town to Eritrea – 15 June 2007

Yahoo – Ethiopian Jews in limbo, waiting to get to Promised Land – 14 June 2007

BBC – Country Profile: Eritrea – 09 March 2007

By Impunity Watch Africa

This week Sudan agreed to a hybrid AU-UN force of 19,000 troops, however details over control has continued to be an issue of debate.   Currently the plan is for the UN to have overall control of the mission with the AU having responsibility for the day-to-day responsibilities.  Similar agreements in the past have failed due to Khartoum’s opposition.  Both the US and UK have warned that if Sudan continues to resist peacekeepers, sanctions will be imposed.

UN Security Council envoys are due to hold talks with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on deployment soon.  Western diplomats are looking for an exact timetable for deployment of peacekeeping force.  A Sudanese diplomat stated that troops could be in Darfur by October, depending on the time it takes the two organizations to get troops and funds.

Meanwhile, British aid agency Oxfam has stated that they are leaving Darfur due to safety concerns for its workers.  Three aid agencies based in Geneva were attacked by a rebel group in December.  One aid worker was beaten, another was raped, and several were subjected to mock executions.  Oxfam has stated they are withdrawing due to a lack of prosecution for the crime and a lack of assurances that such an attack would not happen again.   Oxfam has been supplying water, sanitation and healthcare to 130,000 people in refugee camps outside Gereida town.

Violence in Darfur has killed more than 200,000 people and turned 2.5 million people into refugees.  Much of the violence has been the cause of clashes between government-sponsored Janjaweed militias and Darfur rebel groups.

For more information, please see:

BBC – UN Talks Darfur detail with Sudan – 18 June 2007

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation – UN, Sudan to discuss Darfur plan – 17 June 2007

Sudan Tribune – Hybrid peacekeeping force could be in Darfur by October – 13 June 2007