US approves $13m for court

2005-07-20 13:18

Washington - The United States senate passed legislation on Tuesday to provide $13m for the United Nations-backed special court for Sierra Leone, which was established to be financed by international contributions but is far behind on collections.

"While the amendment is simple, it is critically important to promoting the rule of law in Africa; helping advance security and stability in West Africa; and holding accountable some of the worst war criminals of the 20th century," a sponsor, senator Barack Obama, told his colleagues.

The legislation passed by voice vote without dissent. The House of Representatives must still approve it.

Charles Taylor's broken agreements

Obama, whose father was Kenyan, said the amendment also was meant to send a message to Nigeria to send former Liberian President Charles Taylor to the Sierra Leone for trial in the court.

Taylor, a Liberian warlord, resigned that country's presidency in August 2003 and fled to neighbouring Nigeria after promising not to meddle in other countries' politics.

"There are credible reports that Mr Taylor has repeatedly broken the terms of his agreement with the Nigerian government, continues to meddle in the affairs of Liberia and other West African nations, is involved in a number of activities that threaten to destabilise the region and has associations with al-Qaeda," Obama said.

"There is no question the United States and the international community owe the Nigerian government a debt of gratitude for helping to remove Mr Taylor from power," the senator said. "However, the job of promoting regional peace and security cannot be completed until Mr Taylor appears before the special court to answer to the charges against him."

Bringing Taylor to justice a top priority

The amendment "makes clear bringing Mr Taylor to justice is a top US foreign policy priority", Obama said.

"It makes clear the court is not going away anytime in the near future. It makes clear the transfer of Mr Taylor to the court will help reduce transnational threats in West Africa, promote peace and security in the region and enhance respect for the rule of law throughout Africa."

The court was supposed to have finished its work by the end of this year. It recently won a six-month extension from the UN.

A court statement said last month the absence of Taylor and a former henchman, Johnny Paul Koroma, are making it impossible for the court to complete its work. The statement said the court's rules say suspects cannot be tried in their absence unless they have been offered a chance to appear and have refused.

Taylor and Koroma have never appeared and thus cannot be tried. Koroma was reported in 2003 to have been killed by Liberian soldiers, but his body has not been transferred to authorities.

- AP