On December 6, 2006, the United States Department of Justice indicted Charles “Chuckie” Taylor, Jr., son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, for committing torture in Liberia. The case, which is scheduled to go to trial in September 2008, is significant on a number of levels.
John Laughland suggests that human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch, are more concerned about the conviction of former heads of state than about them getting fair trials. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The challenges judges need to rise to in trying war-crimes cases fairly and efficiently were evident at the opening of the trial of Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia. But the significance of a trial of a former head of state associated with horrendous crimes shouldn't be obscured because the proceedings didn't open without a hitch.
As the transfer of Liberia's former president to face trial in The Hague remains stalled, the EU ministerial meeting this week with the Economic Community of West African States could not be more timely.
In the early hours of 29 March a Land-Rover with Nigerian diplomatic number plates arrived at a border post linking north-east Nigeria with Cameroon. It passed through immigration and was on its way through customs when officials realised that among the passengers was one of the world's most wanted war criminals: Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia. For those who care about justice this was a historic moment, and one many believed could never come.
The transfer of former Liberian president and war crimes suspect Charles Taylor to the UN-backed Special Court on Sierra Leone is more evidence that the world has become a less hospitable place for people who are accused of committing atrocities.
Bringing to justice those who commit atrocities has obvious appeal. It provides redress for victims and their families, punishes perpetrators, and deters others from replicating their crimes. But is the price too high? Critics argue that the threat of prosecution compels dictators to cling to power rather than step down, or that it encourages abusive combatants to fight on rather than sue for peace. Yet a decade of experience with international tribunals suggests these fears are overblown.
If Condoleezza Rice's testimony this week at her Senate confirmation hearing as secretary of state is an indicator of the Bush administration's plans for Africa, Africans and the human rights community should be worried.
On Friday, Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan are hosting an international donors' conference to raise $500 million to rebuild Liberia. Donors will only be successful in building the rule of law in Liberia if they address the serious abuses of the past. Should the conference fail to produce the necessary funds and long-term attention to matters such as bringing Charles Taylor, the exiled president-warlord, to justice, Liberia could well slide back into chaos.
With Zimbabwe and Pakistan suspended from the Commonwealth's top table for their failure to undertake meaningful political reform, Robert Mugabe and Pervez Musharraf won't be there. But will the Prime Minister and other Commonwealth leaders also get tough with host nation Nigeria for its dismal human rights record?
On December 6, 2006, the United States Department of Justice indicted Charles “Chuckie” Taylor, Jr., son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, for committing torture in Liberia. The case, which is scheduled to go to trial in September 2008, is significant on a number of levels.
John Laughland suggests that human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch, are more concerned about the conviction of former heads of state than about them getting fair trials. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The challenges judges need to rise to in trying war-crimes cases fairly and efficiently were evident at the opening of the trial of Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia. But the significance of a trial of a former head of state associated with horrendous crimes shouldn't be obscured because the proceedings didn't open without a hitch.
As the transfer of Liberia's former president to face trial in The Hague remains stalled, the EU ministerial meeting this week with the Economic Community of West African States could not be more timely.
In the early hours of 29 March a Land-Rover with Nigerian diplomatic number plates arrived at a border post linking north-east Nigeria with Cameroon. It passed through immigration and was on its way through customs when officials realised that among the passengers was one of the world's most wanted war criminals: Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia. For those who care about justice this was a historic moment, and one many believed could never come.
The transfer of former Liberian president and war crimes suspect Charles Taylor to the UN-backed Special Court on Sierra Leone is more evidence that the world has become a less hospitable place for people who are accused of committing atrocities.
Bringing to justice those who commit atrocities has obvious appeal. It provides redress for victims and their families, punishes perpetrators, and deters others from replicating their crimes. But is the price too high? Critics argue that the threat of prosecution compels dictators to cling to power rather than step down, or that it encourages abusive combatants to fight on rather than sue for peace. Yet a decade of experience with international tribunals suggests these fears are overblown.
If Condoleezza Rice's testimony this week at her Senate confirmation hearing as secretary of state is an indicator of the Bush administration's plans for Africa, Africans and the human rights community should be worried.
On Friday, Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan are hosting an international donors' conference to raise $500 million to rebuild Liberia. Donors will only be successful in building the rule of law in Liberia if they address the serious abuses of the past. Should the conference fail to produce the necessary funds and long-term attention to matters such as bringing Charles Taylor, the exiled president-warlord, to justice, Liberia could well slide back into chaos.
With Zimbabwe and Pakistan suspended from the Commonwealth's top table for their failure to undertake meaningful political reform, Robert Mugabe and Pervez Musharraf won't be there. But will the Prime Minister and other Commonwealth leaders also get tough with host nation Nigeria for its dismal human rights record?