Nigeria: Comply With Liberia s Request on Taylor

26 March 2006

Sierra Leone Marks 15th Anniversary ofConflict

(Lagos) -- Nigerian President OlusegunObasanjo should promptly comply with Liberian PresidentJohnson-Sirleaf s request for former Liberian PresidentCharles Taylor to face trial at the Special Court for SierraLeone, the Campaign Against Impunity said today.

Todaymarks the 15th anniversary of the devastating armed conflictin Sierra Leone, which began on March 23, 1991, when rebelgroups launched a cross-border attack from Liberia on asmall village in the Kailahun district. Members of theCampaign Against Impunity are holding news conferences todayin Monrovia, Freetown, and Lagos to press for Taylor ssurrender to the Special Court.

"PresidentJohnson-Sirleaf has taken a crucial stand against impunityin Africa by requesting Taylor s surrender," said EzekielPajibo, director of the Center for Democratic Empowerment inLiberia, a group that is part of the Campaign AgainstImpunity.

"Now President Obasanjo must demonstratethat he too cares about justice on the continent by handingTaylor over to the Special Court," said Shina Loremikan,director of programmes for the Committee for the Defence ofHuman Rights, a Nigerian organization that is also part ofthe Campaign.

Charles Taylor has been indicted on17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for hisrole in the armed conflict that lasted from 1991 to 2002.The crimes include killings, mutilations, rape and otherforms of sexual violence, sexual slavery, the recruitmentand use of child soldiers, abduction, and the use of forcedlabor by armed opposition groups.

In 2003 CharlesTaylor left Liberia for Nigeria where he remains. Nigeriaacted with the support of the United States, the AfricanUnion and other actors in the international community intaking Taylor in as a temporary measure to secure a peacefultransition in Liberia.

President Obasanjo hasresisted surrendering Charles Taylor to the Special Court.He has indicated, however, that he would consider returningCharles Taylor to Liberia upon a request from a duly-electedLiberian government. Accordingly reported, Johnson-Sirleafmade a request to Obasanjo, a move publicized on March 17.

"How many years must the victims keep waiting tosee justice done?" said Sulaiman Jabati, the executivesecretary of the Sierra Leonean Coalition for Justice andAccountability, also part of the Campaign Against Impunity."It is time for Taylor to face trial for his allegedcrimes."

In a statement issued by the Nigeriangovernment last Friday, Obasanjo said he would consult withthe African Union and the Economic Community of West AfricanStates (ECOWAS) on the request. Johnson-Sirleaf has alsoindicated that she wants consultation between Obasanjo andregional leaders on this issue. Nevertheless,Johnson-Sirleaf is equally clear that following suchconsultation, Taylor should face trial.

"It is afundamental principle of criminal justice that justicedelayed is justice denied," said Kolawole Olaniyan, AfricaProgramme director at Amnesty International.

"AsPresident Johnson-Sirleaf has said, time is of the essence,"said Richard Dicker, director of the International JusticeProgram at Human Rights Watch. "Consultation must not delayjustice."

In January 2006 the African Unionreiterated its commitment to fight impunity consistent withthe provisions of its Constitutive Act. The Campaign AgainstImpunity urges African leaders to give this commitmentmeaning by expressing support for Taylor s surrender to theSpecial Court.

The Campaign Against Impunity is acoalition made up of some 300 African and internationalcivil society groups formed to ensure the surrender ofCharles Taylor to the Special Court. It was set up in 2002to try "those most responsible for war crimes and crimesagainst humanity" in the Sierra Leone conflict.
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