The following statement is issued jointly by Carol Bellamy, Executive
Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); Sadako Ogata,
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); Olara Otunnu, Special
Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict;
Mary Robinson, United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights and Sergio
Vieira de Mello the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator:
The current crisis in Sierra Leone is a brutal
reminder to the delegations now meeting in Rome of the urgent need for
an effective international criminal court to provide justice for the appalling
violations of human rights in that country and elsewhere.
Since April this year, rebel forces in the
east, north and more recently the west of Sierra Leone have engaged in
a terror campaign involving the systematic laceration, mutilation or severing
of limbs of non-combatants including children and the elderly.
The perpetrators of these atrocities are deaf
to appeals from the international community. Despite the willingness
of the government, there is little likelihood of the judicial system in
the war-shattered country being able to bring these criminals to justice.
This raises the prospect of yet another round of mindless violence going
unpunished.
A standing international criminal court empowered
and resourced to take action when national systems are either unable or
unwilling would provide a credible deterrent. We believe that much
of the criminal violence in armed conflicts and rebellions is the result
of impunity.
It is no longer sufficient for humanitarian
and human rights officials to denounce atrocities while unable to prevent
their recurrence. The International Criminal Court is intended to
be the first effective weapon against the culture of impunity which has
fuelled cycles of violence in every part of the world over the past decades.
The brutality in Sierra Leone is a harsh reminder that the
diplomatic exchanges in Rome have flesh and blood, life and death consequences
for people living in fear in many parts of the world.
United Nations officials in Sierra Leone report
that, since April, 500 people have been admitted to hospitals after brutal
rebel attacks. These people say that for every person hospitalised
there are another five either dead or incapable of reaching help.
Most victims receiving treatment are men,
aged from eight to 60 years, but there are also female victims. The
youngest amputee is a six year old girl whose arm was severed. Other
victims report babies being taken from their mother's arms, doused with
petrol and set on fire. There are numerous reports of rape, including
one of the multiple rape of a 12 year old girl. Doctors at one hospital
say the lacerations on the head of a 60 year old woman are the result of
a failed attempt to behead her.
The actions of the rebel forces constitute
outrageous violations of the human rights of the victims and their families.
They are also grave breaches of international humanitarian law. They
can achieve nothing good and serve only to inflict further terror and pain
on people who have suffered too much already. These acts, creating
a climate of violence and fear, have forced hundreds of thousands
of Sierra Leoneans to seek refuge in neighbouring Liberia and Guinea.
We urge the delegations now meeting in Rome
to study carefully the situation in Sierra Leone and to ensure that the
Statute they adopt will result in a court able to combat impunity, bring
justice and contribute to a lasting peace in this country.