Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-06-Speech-4-148"
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"en.20070906.19.4-148"2
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"Mr President, it so happens that the next round of parliamentary elections is due to take place in Sierra Leone this coming weekend. I cannot but express my regret that the European Parliament delegation previously planned will not be present there.
We might well ask ourselves why the Special Court for Sierra Leone is so important. This is not simply a case of one more of the many African countries with a history of rape and murder. It concerns the prestige and development of the international administration of justice in the area of criminal law.
We have recently witnessed two spectacular failures of this very system, and we should be honest with ourselves and recognise them as such. I refer to the failed attempt to sentence Slobodan Milošević and the exceedingly controversial circumstances surrounding the death of Saddam Hussein. Should a further fiasco now occur in the wake of these much-publicised events, that is to say, should the Court be obliged to cease operations due to a lack of financial resources, it would amount to the
for international administration of justice in the area of criminal law.
To go into detail, what is at stake is the allocation of less than USD 90 million over the next two and a quarter years, with more than a third of the total to be transferred this year. This is needed in order to ensure the continued operation of the Court. The prestige of the administration of cross-border justice really does depend on the Special Court for Sierra Leone sentencing Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia, and on it investigating 17 allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murders and sexual offences.
I should like publicly to thank two countries from the floor of this House, namely the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, which have provided significant financial support for the Court’s activities. The United Nations also has an important role to play. It cannot behave like Pontius Pilate and simply wash its hands of the matter. I am glad that the European Parliament will speak with one voice on this issue."@en1
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