Sierra Leone: Charles Taylor and the Sierra Leone War

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS BRIEFING August 4 2010 AI Index: AFR 51/006/2010 Sierra Leone: Charles Taylor and the Sierra Leone War The devastating war in Sierra Leone is over now but impunity for conflict diamond trafficking remains a burning issue and casts a large shadow over the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor in The Hague. [...] Charles Taylor stands accused of unlawful killings, mutilations, rape and other forms of sexual violence, sexual slavery, the recruitment and use of child soldiers, abduction, and the use of forced labour by Sierra Leonean armed opposition groups, which he is alleged to have actively supported. [...] Blood diamonds and Amnesty International Amnesty International researched atrocities committed by all parties to the Sierra Leonean civil war, including crimes committed by Charles Taylor’s forces, and also researched links between the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels and Charles Taylor. [...] Amnesty International actively campaigned for Charles Taylor to stand trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone - Mr Taylor sought to avoid prosecution by claiming asylum, and lived in exile in Nigeria between 2003 and 2006. [...] Amnesty International participated in establishing the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme - an international certification scheme aiming to break the link between the illicit trade in rough diamonds and mass human rights abuses associated with armed conflict.