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Letter
to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
Regarding Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
7 September 2000
Mr. Kofi Annan
Secretary-General
United Nations
New York, New York
Re: International Tribunal for Sierra Leone
Dear Sir,
We are writing to you concerning the imminent
establishment of an ad hoc tribunal for Sierra Leone and the importance of
ensuring a gender perspective within its mandate.
The Women's Caucus for Gender Justice, a
network of individuals and organizations from all over the world, was formed
in 1997 to ensure that gender would be fully integrated into the statute of
the International Criminal Court.
As you are aware, the ICC is widely heralded
for its unprecedented level of gender integration. This is evident in the
crimes included within the Court's jurisdiction, gender-sensitive procedures
for victim and witness participation and protection as well as statutory
mandates for a fair representation of women and men. The commitment to gender
integration was reaffirmed in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and the
Elements Annex, which were adopted by the Preparatory Commission for the ICC
in June.
We respectfully urge that these aspects of the
Rome Statute and its supplemental texts, which now represent a standard, serve
as a model in the creation of the Sierra Leone court. As with any conflict
situation, women and children experienced the Sierra Leone crisis in distinct
ways. Their experiences, as the past has shown, will require an awareness of
this fact and a determination to uncover and address the violations they
suffered in a gender-sensitive manner.
While the failure of the peace process to end
the violence and bloodshed in Sierra Leone is tragic, the international
community, in partnership with the people of Sierra Leone, is rightly seeking
to find ways of achieving justice for the people. This must be done keeping in
mind those historically left out of the justice process.
We thank for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Vahida Nainar
Executive Director
cc: Mr. Ralph Zacklin
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