9 May, 2012 - 13:56

International Justice Tribune 151

Dear reader, please find the latest International Justice Tribune (IJT).

For any suggestions, comments or ideas, please do not hesitate to contact our Editorial Coordinator Franck Petit (petitfranck40@neuf.fr) and follow him on Twitter@Franck_IJT

The next issue will be published May 23, 2012

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IJT – Interview: Beyond Taylor, “Where is our justice?”
Sierra Leone and Liberia experimented with very different paths to justice – restorative with truth commissions and retributive with the Special Court for Sierra Leone trials. How do local communities see this, following the Trial Chamber’s final conviction against former Liberian president Charles Taylor two weeks ago?
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IJT- Analysis: Much remains to be done in Sierra Leone
“The purpose of the Residual Special Court (RSCL) is to carry out the functions of the Special Court for Sierra Leone that must continue after the closure of the Special Court,” states the RSCSL Statute. But in the wake of the Taylor judgement and almost two years after the RSCSL Agreement signed between Freetown and the UN, questions are being asked as to how much is actually in place today to ensure the Court’s legacy.
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IJT – Report: Zintan pledges to try Saïf-al Islam
The leaders of Libya’s mountain town of Zintan say they will hold the war crimes trial of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi at home, posing a further complication to the tug-of-war over the suspect between Libya and the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC last Wednesday threw out an appeal filed by Libya on April 6 against the court’s demand that Muammar
Gaddafi’s jailed son be transferred to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity.
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IJT – Analysis: Still no timeline for truth in Burundi
The promise by President Pierre Nkurunziza for a truth commission in Burundi may well turn out to be an empty one. More than a decade after the Arusha Peace Agreement, which called for a special tribunal and a truth commission in the country, Nkurunziza renewed his pledge in his New Year’s address. “This year will see the establishment of this Commission.” He repeated his promise to the BBC in late February and it was bolstered by a visit by the UN Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights last week.
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International Justice Desk:
Half-time: the prosecution rests its case against Karadzic
After more than two years of evidence, prosecutors on Friday closed their case in the genocide trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
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Interview: General Butt Naked: From warlord to preacher
The documentary “The Redemption of General Butt Naked” (2011) tells the story of Joshua Milton Blahyi--aka General Butt Naked. A feared warlord during Liberia’s civil war, he’s now a Christian evangelist travelling around West Africa preaching love, forgiveness and redemption.
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Opinion: The Taylor verdict: victory for justice?
Can we just step away from the euphoria for a little while? Charles Taylor has been declared ‘guilty’ for having aided and abetted murder, rape, the use of child soldiers, pillage and other offenses.
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The real invisible children: female child soldiers
The plight of child soldiers in Africa has grabbed the headlines in recent weeks, first with the ‘Kony 2012’ video from the Invisible Children pressure group, and this week with the conviction of former Liberian President Charles Taylor for aiding the recruitment of child soldiers. But what is overlooked by many is how many of those children are girls.
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Charles Taylor – guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes
In a tense courtroom in The Hague today, Charles Taylor became the first former President to be convicted by a modern international Tribunal. He will be sentenced on May 30.
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