Q&A with Emmanuel Roberts

Published Feb 25, 2008

The government of Sierra Leone requested that UN Security Council establish an international tribunal to prosecute individuals responsible for committing atrocities in the country’s brutal civil war, which broke out in 1991 and remains unresolved despite the Lomé Peace Accord of July 1999. This request was made in hopes that such prosecutions would help to break the ongoing cycle of violence and promote reconciliation.

On March 30, 2001, the Security Council adopted a Resolution which encouraged the Government of Sierra Leone, together with the Secretary General of the UN, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other relevant international actors, to expedite the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). On 22nd November 2000, the Parliament of Sierra Leone unanimously passed into law the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  It was meant to work alongside the international criminal tribunal, the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL).

Have these institutions contributed to Restorative Justice in Sierra Leone?

So far, the TRC has compiled stories, reports and recommendations that have yet to be implemented.  Restorative justice faces many obstacles because many offenders have never been caught, prosecuted or convicted and those who have been convicted are often poorly monitored. The TRC has been criticized for being punitive rather than serving as alternatives to incarceration which affirms the offender's self-worth, giving him/her the opportunity to "make things right."

The mandate of the SCSL required that credible justice be brought to those members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), the Civil Defense Forces (CDF) and their accomplices responsible for committing crimes against the people of Sierra Leone. The SCSL has incarcerated high profile people including (Charles Taylor, the former President of the Republic of Liberia and late Chief Sam Hinga Norman both of whom were responsible for crimes against humanity. The TRC is also charged with addressing impunity, responding to the needs of victims, promoting healing and reconciliation and stopping human rights violations and abuses in addition to investigating and report on the “antecedents” of the conflict. 

(Washington, DC) - Africa Faith and Justice Network is both saddened and incensed by the news reports and stories coming out of Kenya. As an Africa advocacy organization, we feel it is important to address the issue and to engage in some serious analysis about the situation there and how it affects the democratic process in Africa. However, as our primary mission is to influence US policy toward Africa, we have struggled to determine a proper course of action. In many ways, we feel it is the Kenyan people and the Kenyan political parties who must procure peace for themselves. We also hope that the US heeds the warning from Kenya and commits to a more comprehensive development policy toward Africa in the long-run – one that de-emphasizes defense and boosts diplomacy and civilian engagement.

As such, we call on
--The people of Kenya to halt all violent acts in order to allow incumbent Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to come to an agreement. The violence that has pervaded the post-election process is only further ethnicizing the political process in Kenya.

--President Kibaki to include Luo people and other Kenyan tribes in his government. The Kenyan people must accept Kibaki as the President but it is in Kenya’s best interest that Kibaki bring all parties into the government.

--The United States to recognize that peace is the end goal and to encourage it among Kenya’s political parties.

Updated Feb 28, 2008

Friday, January 25, 2008 was designated as a special day of prayer for peace and reconciliation in Kenya.  To mark this day, the Kenyan Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a special prayer included below.  You are  invited to join in solidarity with the Kenyan people by praying this prayer and others on Friday and throughout these days of violence and uncertainty in that country.

In the midst of rallies in Iowa and café stops in New Hampshire, Senator Barack Obama has been on the phone, attempting to resolve the political crisis in Kenya that has claimed approximately 500 lives and displaced nearly 200,000. He spoke with both the incumbent, Mwai Kibaki, and the opposition leader, Raila Odinga. Obama also phoned the State Department to push for urgent diplomatic action.