Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-04-24-Speech-5-070"
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"en.20090424.7.5-070"2
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"Mr President, two years ago I had the opportunity, as part of a mission headed by Mrs Isler Béguin, my colleague, who is in the Chamber here, to visit Sierra Leone, to attend the Special Court and to become aware of the huge task that it was accomplishing, not only for Sierra Leona, but also for mankind as a whole.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone has of course set a precedent, as has already been mentioned here. It has set a precedent in that, as the resolution states, it is the first international court to be funded by voluntary contributions, the first to be established in the country where the alleged crimes took place and it was also the first court – as has already been pointed out – to indict a former head of state.
For all these reasons, not only because it constitutes a precedent, but also because it is a benchmark for other courts that have been created and modelled along the same lines – such as the courts of Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, Cambodia or Lebanon – we consider it vital that this resolution, on which we have now been working together with the court for several months, be adopted.
Two years ago we adopted a resolution to support its funding, since at that time the Special Court was going through a difficult period, was without any funds and did not have the necessary support – and here we should thank the European Commission too, which gave the court its financial support.
Now we are asking, above all, for two things: firstly, that those who have been convicted should serve their sentences – what is at stake here is not the operation of the Special Court, which will conclude its work next year, but the legacy that it is to leave us – and, secondly, obviously, that all this should be accompanied by more funding.
In short, the Special Court for Sierra Leone is a fine example and a benchmark for all of us and for all courts that have dealt with war crimes. It is a fine example and a benchmark and it is a lesson being given to us by the second-poorest country on the planet: as we entered the court, we saw the slogan ‘no peace without justice’. That is exactly why we have a moral obligation, not only as Europeans, but as human beings, to ensure that the legacy of this Special Court leaves its mark on history."@en1
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