Criminal Remedies for Grave Human Rights Violations

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Criminal Remedies for Grave Human Rights
Violations
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Prosecution of Charles Taylor Sr.

• Taylor Sr was head of a rebellion to oust
  Liberian President starting in 1989
• Liberian government lost to rebel forces
  resulting in Taylor Srs installation as
  President in 1997
• Other rebel forces continued to challenge
  Taylors presidency until he went into exile in
  2003
• Widespread serious HR abuse during Liberias
  civil wars committed by all factions
• Crimes committed included widespread massacre,
  forced recruitment of soldiers, use of child
  combatants, and brutal sexual violence

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Taylor Sr the Sierra Leonean Conflict

• During the Liberian civil wars, Taylor provided
  substantial support for a Sierra Leonean rebel
  force - United Revolutionary Front (RUF) - headed
  by an old colleague from his days at a guerrilla
  training camp in Libya in the 80s
• Ensuring a continued state of conflict in Sierra
  Leone was beneficial to Taylors aim of keeping
  the whole region in chaos, so that West African
  peacekeeping forces had no stable base from which
  to quell the civil wars
• West African forces were preventing Taylor from
  maintaining control of the Liberian capital of
  Monrovia, and of natural resources of Liberia and
  Siera Leone

4
Taylor Sr the Sierra Leonean Conflict cont.

• Taylors brokerage fee for support to RUF was
  Sierra Leonean diamonds, gold and timber
• 11 year Sierra Leone civil war was marked by
  severe and brutal violence (1991-2002)
• Systematic use of machetes for hacking off limbs
  of civilians, violent sexual brutality and use of
  drugged and abused child soldiers were
  characteristic crimes
• 200,000 mutilated or murdered and 1/3 of the
  population displaced
• All factions implicated, but majority of violence
  committed by RUF

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Special Court for Sierra Leone

• War ended in 2002 after many attempts to stop the
  violence
• 2002 request by Sierra Leonean President asking
  assistance from UN to try those responsible for
  grave abuses
• UNSC Resolution 1315 requesting the Secretary
  General to begin negotiations with Sierra Leone
  to establish a Special Court
• Established hybrid court based on a treaty
  agreement between the UN and Sierra Leone

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Taylor Srs Indictment

• 2003 SCSL issued indictment against Taylor and
  others for WC and CAH while he was in Ghana
• Ghana refused to arrest Taylor who returned to
  Liberia. 2 months of intense violence ensued with
  an arrangement of cease fire if Taylor agreed to
  step down immediately

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Taylors Asylum and Capture

• Taylor was offered asylum in Nigeria and stayed
  until March 2006, when Nigeria announced it
  would no longer provide refuge (in response to
  request from new democratically elected Liberian
  President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf)
• Taylors attempt to flee was thwarted by Nigerian
  authorities he was captured and transferred to
  Sierra Leone under UN guard

8
ICC agreement with SCSL

• Due to potential for instability if Taylor Sr
  were tried in Freetown, President of SCSL
  requested the use of ICC facilities for trial
• ICC agreed to allow relocation of SCSL based on a
  MOU concluded between the parties in April, 2006
• The SCSL Trial Chamber sits at the Hague, and
  ICC provides courtroom facilities, administrative
  assistance, and detention services. All costs
  are paid by SCSL

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Jurisdiction of SCSL

• Authorized to try those who bear greatest
  responsibility for war crimes committed after
  11/30/96
• 3 categories of crimes
• CAH
• crimes in violation of international humanitarian
  law
• Serious crimes under Sierra Leonean law

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No Diplomatic or Official Immunity

• "The official position of any accused persons,
  whether as Head of State or Government or as a
  responsible government official, shall not
  relieve such person of criminal responsibility
  nor mitigate punishment."

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Command Responsibility

• The issue of command responsibility is of crucial
  importance, given that its mandate is to try
  "persons who bear the greatest responsibility
• Standard A Superior is criminally responsible if
  they knew or had reason to know that the
  subordinate was about to commit such acts, or had
  done so and the superior had failed to take the
  necessary and reasonable measures to prevent such
  acts or to punish the perpetrators

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Status of Taylor Sr. Trial

• Trial commenced June, 2007 at the Hague
• Recessed July 07 and reconvened Aug 20, 07
  wherein defense counsel withdrew from case and
  new counsel was appointed (Court declined
  Taylors request to represent himself)
• Request for continuation by defense granted to
  permit further time to apprise themselves of the
  case
• Trial commenced on January 7, 2008 and is
  currently in session

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Prosecution of Chuckie Jr.

• Charles Taylor Jr. is a US citizen, born in
  Massachusetts and grew up in Boston and Florida
• Mid 1990s he left for Liberia, and under the
  leadership of his father headed up an elite
  presidential security force-Anti-Terrorism Unit
• ATU gained reputation for brutally committed
  rapes, murders, beatings, burnings, abductions,
  and recruitment of child soldiers
• Fled Liberia upon his fathers exile

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Arrest on Passport Fraud

• The day after Taylor Srs apprehension, Chuckie
  was caught by US immigration attempting to sneak
  into US from Trinidad. He had been living there
  waiting for the statute of limitations to run on
  Florida indictments for arms-related offenses
• Chuckie Jr. was convicted of passport fraud for
  lying about his fathers identity on his passport
  renewal application, and ordered to serve an 11
  month sentence

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The Red Flag Anti-Atrocity and Alien Deportation
Act, 2001

• Pursuant to the Act, Chuckie Jr. was on a
  watchlist of people deemed inadmissable
• Act directs officials to develop lists of persons
  suspected of engaging in torture (defined in the
  AAADA), extra-judicial killings (defined in
  TVPA), genocide, or religious freedom violations
  abroad
• Inclusion on the list results in status as unfit
  for US citizenship and ripe for deportation

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Indictment under Anti-Torture Statute -18 USC
2340,1994

• While in custody, Chuckie Taylor was indicted
  under US Federal Anti-Torture Statute for crimes
  committed between1999-2003 in Liberia
• Pursuant to the AADA, normal policy of DOJ is to
  expel, deport or extradite defendant from US and
  not hold over for trial under another statute

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Anti-Torture Statute

• ATS is a criminal statute enacted to bring the US
  into compliance with its obligations as a
  signatory to the CAT which it ratified in 1994
• The ATS covers torture committed outside of the
  US
• Torture is an act committed under color of law
  upon a person within their custody/control
• Intended to inflict severe physical/mental
  pain/suffering
• Jurisdictional reach
• US nationals
• Any person present in the US

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Status of Taylor Jr. Case

• Prosecution of Taylor Jr is the first successful
  indictment under the Anti-Torture Statute since
  its enactment
• Initial Appearance occurred 9/10/07
• Trial date scheduled 1/07/08 was continued, and
  is currently set for 9/15/08Note ATS allows the
  US to prosecute anyone who commits torture abroad
  regardless of their nationality (Is this UJ??)