Sierra Leone
Press release issued: 9th October 2007
SIERRA LEONEANS RATE SPECIAL COURT HIGHLY BUT SAY IT COULD DO BETTER
More than two-thirds of Sierra Leoneans think their country’s UN-backed Special Court has performed well so far, although more than a quarter think the court is putting some of the wrong people on trial, according to a nationwide survey for the BBC World Service Trust.
The household survey, carried out in July 2007 with Search for Common Ground and the International Center for Transitional Justice, explores knowledge and attitudes on transitional justice issues in the wake of Sierra Leone’s civil war, which ended five years ago.
Sixty-eight percent of respondents say they think the Special Court’s performance to date has been “good” or “excellent.” An overwhelming majority of respondents (96%) say they are aware of the Special Court, although only 4% say they know a lot about its proceedings. More than one in four people report that they do not know anything about the court’s proceedings.
Nearly 90% of people questioned said they were aware the court had put on trial former Liberian President Charles Taylor. Of those, half approved its decision to try Taylor in The Hague rather than in West Africa, but more than a quarter (27%) would have preferred the trial to be held in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown. Charles Taylor is on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly backing Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front rebels. His trial began in June 2007, but has been adjourned until 7th January, 2008.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone was set up in 2002 by the government and the UN to bring to justice those with “greatest responsibility” for atrocities committed during the civil war. Its decision to try leaders of the pro-government Civil Defence Forces (CDF) as well as the insurgent RUF rebels and Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) has generated some controversy, as has Charles Taylor’s transfer to Europe. The court gained custody of Taylor in 2006, but transferred him to The Hague after West African leaders expressed fears that holding the trial locally could destabilize the region.
Low awareness of TRC recommendations
The survey also found Sierra Leoneans to be generally positive about their country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which worked from 2002 to late 2004 and submitted an extensive report to the government. Respondents were asked to rate the TRC’s contribution to reconciliation, truth, justice and creating an accurate record of what happened during the conflict. The commission scored the highest percentage of good or excellent ratings for its contribution to reconciliation (73%), followed by truth (68%), creating an accurate record of what happened (66%) and justice (57%).
Nearly 90% of people were found to be aware of the TRC, but only 23% of these said they were aware of its recommendations. Those people were then asked to rate the government’s response to the TRC’s recommendations. Only 14% rated the response as “very successful,” while 51% said it had been “quite successful.” A further 18% said “neither successful nor unsuccessful” and 10% said the government’s response had been “unsuccessful”.
The TRC’s recommendations include reparations to victims of the conflict; reform of the judiciary and security services; and measures to promote human rights, good governance and freedom of expression.
Asked what the government’s main priority should be in finding justice for Sierra Leone, the most frequent responses were: access to justice for people through the courts (50%); reduce corruption (36%); and improve the court system and/or judiciary (27%).
Only 23% of respondents said they were aware of the Justice Sector Development Programme (JSDP) for Sierra Leone. Of those who are aware, 18% of respondents said they think it has led to a big improvement, 59% think that it has led to a little improvement, 11% think that it has made no difference, and 3% think that it has made things worse.
The JSDP is a five-year project funded by the British government’s development agency DFID and launched in 2005. Its stated purpose is “to support the development of an effective and accountable Justice Sector that is capable of meeting the needs and interests of the people of Sierra Leone, particularly the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized.” The project has completed its “inception phase” and has recently started a new phase of implementation.
Note to Editors:
The survey is based on a sample of 1,700 adults, taken from seven districts and the Western Urban and Western Rural Areas of Sierra Leone. Participating households were selected randomly, with one respondent meeting the sample criteria being taken from each household.
A full report from the survey will be available later in 2008 on this page.
