Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission

History of the Conflict

Commissioners

• Bishop Christian Humor - Chairman
• Hon. Justice Laura Marcus-Jones - Deputy Chairperson
• Professor William Schabas
• Ms. Yasmin Louise Sooka
• Mr. Sylvanus Torto
• Madam Ajaratu Satang Jow
• Professor John Kamara

  Mandate

• To construct an impartial historical record of violations and abuses of human rights during the armed conflict in Sierra Leone.
• To address impunity, to respond to the needs of the victims, to promote healing and reconciliation, and to prevent a repetition of the violations and abuses suffered.
• To investigate and report on the causes, nature, and extent of violations and abuses to the highest possible degree in order to determine a proper course of action for reconciliation purposes.
• To help restore the dignity of the victims, and to provide an opportunity for healing and reconciliation between the victims and those who carried out the abuses.

Findings

• The conflict and post-independence period preceding it represent the most shameful years of Sierra Leone’s history. This conflict reflects an extraordinary failure of leadership individuals amongst the government, society, and public.
• The central cause of the war was endemic greed, corruption, and nepotism that deprived the nation of its dignity and reduced its citizens to a state of poverty.
• Government accountability was non-existent, and the institution designed to uphold human rights was co-opted by the executive.
• Both sides of the conflict specifically targeted civilians.
• The Sierra Leone civil war was characterized by indiscriminate violence. It broke long-standing rules, defiled cherished traditions, sullied human respect and tore apart the very fabric of society.
• Children aged between ten and 14 years were especially targeted for forced recruitment. Girls between the ages of ten and 14 were targeted for rape and for abuse as sexual slaves. These women were also tortured and suffered cruel and inhumane acts.
• The leadership of the Revolutionary United Front and the Government of Sierra Leone are responsible for either authorising or instigating human rights violations against civilians. They also stand accused of failing to stop such atrocities, and for failing to acknowledge the occurrence of these atrocities.
• Contrary to popular belief, the exploitation of diamonds did not cause the conflict in Sierra Leone. However, various factions targeted diamondiferous areas in order to gain wealth to support their war efforts.
• The right to the truth is inalienable. This right should be upheld in terms of national and international law. It is the reaching of the wider truth through broad-based participation that permits a nation to examine itself honestly and to take effective measures to prevent a repetition of the past.

Reparations

In designing a reparations programme for the victims of the Sierra Leonean conflict, the Commission had to take into account a number of factors. It would have been gratifying if all victims of the conflict could benefit from a reparations programme but such a programme would be totally impossible for the country to implement. The Commission therefore had to determine who would benefit from a reparations programme. The Commission determined the category of beneficiaries by considering those victims who were particularly vulnerable because of the human rights violations they had suffered and the harm that they continued to live with.

Recommendations

• The commission found that due to a lack of visionary leadership, there was no one to steer the country away from its slide into chaos and civil war. Because of this, the commission called on leaders from all levels of Sierra Leonean society to commit themselves to employing better forms of leadership.
• The central cause of the war was endemic greed, corruption and nepotism, which deprived the nation of its dignity and forced its citizens into poverty. The commission calls upon all members in the private sector to work together and usher in a new culture of ethics and to fight the "scourge of corruption which saps the life-force of Sierra Leone."
• The commission also recommended the implementation of a more modern human rights culture in which all "Sierra Leoneans respect each other's human rights, without exception." Therefore, the creation of a new constitution was also recommended. In the commission's words: "A Sierra Leone that is united around clear constitutional rights, values and principles has a promising future."
• Due to a severe lack of governmental accountability, democracy and the rule of law had ceased to exist. Therefore, the commission recommended that Sierra Leone must strengthen its institutions of accountability.

Criticisms