The Uganda Coalition on the International Court (UCICC) and Human Rights Network-U (HURINET-U) applaud the decision of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in its recent sentencing of former Liberian President Charles Taylor to 50 years imprisonment.

He was sentenced by the SCSL’s Trial Chamber II on May 30th and will serve his term in a high security prison in the United Kingdom. His sentence represents a milestone in the history of international criminal justice, as he becomes the first former head of state to be convicted since the end of the Second World War.

The trial of Prosecutor v. Charles Ghankay Taylor commenced in 2007. Taylor was found guilty on April 26th 2012 on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for aiding and abetting Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front during the country’s 1991-2001 civil war. Taylor’s charges included terrorizing the civilian population, murder, sexual violence, physical violence, conscripting child soldiers, enslavement and looting.

This sentence sends an important message to heads of states’ around the world that they will not sidestep justice by virtue of their ranks. In Justice Richard Lussick’s statement before the Court, he emphasized that “leadership must be carried out by example, by the prosecution of crimes, not the commission of crimes.”

Arrest warrants must be executed

Taylor’s arrest by Nigerian authorities in 2006 should send a message to other nations that they too must live up to their international obligations to arrest individuals currently wanted by international courts and tribunals.

UCICC and HURINET-U have called on the governments of East Africa to arrest Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). With the upcoming 10th anniversary of the enforcement of the Rome Statute, the ICC’s governing treaty, the need to execute all outstanding arrest warrants becomes more pertinent than ever.

Ending impunity for gross violations

Charles Taylor’s sentence also marks another achievement for international criminal justice this year, as it follows the ICC’s first verdict and conviction. Earlier this year, former war lord Thomas Lubanga was convicted of enlisting and conscripting child soldiers and using them to participate in hostilities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

We therefore applaud the work being carried out by these international courts and tribunals and encourage all states to work towards ending impunity for gross violations of human rights.


For Immediate Release Monday June 4th 2012