This is a victory for Sierra Leonean victims, and all those seeking justice when the worst abuses are committed
Charles Taylor is the first head of state convicted by an international court since the post-Second World War Nuremberg military tribunal
In a historic ruling, an international court today convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity for supporting brutal rebels in neighbouring Sierra Leone in return for “blood diamonds”. Taylor is the first head of state convicted by an international court since the post-Second World War Nuremberg military tribunal.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor became the first head of state since World War II to be convicted by an international war-crimes court, a historic verdict that sends a message that tyrants worldwide will be tracked down and brought to justice. The warlord-turned-president was found guilty of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for arming Sierra Leone rebels in exchange for “blood diamonds” mined by slave laborers and smuggled across the border. Judges at the Special Court for Sierra Leone said Taylor played a crucial role in allowing the rebels to continue a bloody rampage during that West African nation’s 11-year civil war, which ended in 2002 with more than 50,000 dead. Ten years after the war ended, Sierra Leone is still struggling to rebuild. The rebels gained international notoriety for hacking off the limbs of their victims and carving their groups’ initials into opponents and even children they kidnapped, drugged and turned into killers. The rebels developed gruesome terms for the mutilations that became their chilling trademark: They would offer their victims the choice of “long sleeves” or “short sleeves” – having their hands hacked off or their arms sliced off above the elbow.
Before Taylor’s judgment, there was a lot of anxiety among observers about whether the recent decision of the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the case of Momčilo Perišić would have an impact on Taylor’s case. In the Perišić case, the ICTY Appeals Chamber reversed the Trial Chamber’s decision that convicted Perišić for aiding and abetting the commission of serious crimes. The Appeals Chamber in Perišić decided that for a person to be convicted for aiding and abetting, it is not sufficient that his conduct had “substantial impact” on the commission of crimes, but rather, that his conduct was “specifically directed” to the commission of said crimes. The Trial Chamber in Taylor’s case had also dismissed a “specific direction” requirement and had said it was sufficient that Taylor’s conduct had a “substantial impact” on RUF/AFRC crimes in Sierra Leone. In Tazlor’s judgment, the Special Court’s Appeals Chamber judges said they were not persuaded by the ICTY’s finding that “specific direction” is an element of aiding and abetting.
This judgment brings some measure of justice to the many thousands of victims who paid a terrible price for Mr Taylor’s crimes. Taylor’s prosecution delivers a strong message to all perpetrators of atrocities, including those in the highest positions of power, that they will be held accountable. The Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada hailed the judgment as a significant milestone for international criminal justice that sends a strong signal to all leaders that they are and will be held accountable for their actions. Taylor’s prosecution as a watershed moment in the fight against impunity for national leaders responsible for atrocities. Not since Nuremberg has an international or hybrid war crimes court issued a judgment against a current or former head of state. This is a victory for Sierra Leonean victims, and all those seeking justice when the worst abuses are committed.
