Justice for Africa: Charles Taylor in the Dock Posted by Suzanne Nossel

In scenes straight out of a Hollywood action film, last week former Liberian strongman Charles Taylor found himself in a dragnet when the Nigerian government, after years of protecting him, finally announced plans to turn the ex-dictator over to a UN special court to be tried for war crimes and atrocities committed in support of civil war in Sierra Leone.  Within 24 hours Taylor had escaped, and rumor was that he might attempt a coup back in Liberia's capital.  But the Nigerians nabbed him, and Taylor is now in UN custody in Freetown, Sierra Leone on his way to trial.

If things go as planned from now on, Taylor's extradition could become a major step toward justice and accountability in Africa.  Though Chad, Ethiopia, Uganda and many other countries have suffered under brutal and reckless leaders, none of these criminal heads of state has ever been brought to trial.   The U.S. played a constructive role in trying to break the pattern with Taylor, pushing hard on newly elected Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to demand his extradition from Nigeria. 

U.S. and UN pressure, coupled with Johnson-Sirleaf's call, forced Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to depart from a longstanding but deeply destructive policy of unwavering comity among African leaders.  Feeling sidelined and mistreated by the rest of the world, African leaders have sought strength in solidarity and been reluctant to break ranks regardless of how illegitimate, incompetent, or plain evil individual members of the fraternity are.

When Interpol first tried to arrest Taylor at a Summit of East African leaders in 2003, Obasanjo and others balked at the affront to a head of state representing his country at a multinational gathering.  This despite Taylor's role in violating 8 peace accords and 13 ceasefires in his region, and his continued efforts to bedevil attempts to settle a conflict fought by hacking the limbs and gouging the eyes of children.

African leaders found it unseemly that Taylor would be tried as a sitting President by a "not well recognized court" and a "junior legal luminary" (the American prosecutor).  So instead of being held accountable for his crimes, Taylor was granted asylum in Nigeria on condition that he stay out of Liberian affairs and that if a duly elected Liberian government were ever to ask, he would be handed over.  The first condition was never enforced, and Taylor continued to have in-person contacts and financial dealings with Liberian rebels. 

There are rumors that Obasanjo's fealty to Taylor continued even after the Nigerian President agreed to accede to the extradition last week.  The speed with which Nigerian policy recaptured Taylor after his escape raises questions over whether the Nigerian government may have known his whereabouts all along.

But that aside, the reality of Taylor being put in the dock to account for his crimes before a hybrid international and Sierra Leonian court sends the following important messages:

1.  That even a continent with no greater downfall than official corruption and abuse, there is hope for accountability.  The road to Taylor's capture was sufficiently long and tortured that most wayward African despots will still be able to comfort themselves that they aren't important enough to the United States to ever attract the level of attention and pressure put on the Taylor case.   But if well-publicized over the next year or two, Taylor's trial and fate could have some constraining effect.

2.  That the firm fraternity of African leaders, thick enough to mask all manner of misdeeds, has its limits.  There have been a few tentative signs in recent months that African leaders are starting to recognize the folly of protecting their own irrespective of the geopolitical and moral costs.  They kept Sudan from assuming the rotating presidency of the African Union and now, though under duress, have turned in Taylor.  If this trend can gain steam, competent and incorruptible African leaders could one day be the most powerful force the continent has for cracking down on those who are neither.

3.  That the U.S., in spite of everything, can under the right circumstances still be a force for accountability and the rule of law.  We've spent a lot of time at Democracy Arsenal and elsewhere talking about the violence that's been done to America's international legitimacy by dint of our rejection of the International Criminal Court, tolerance for torture, indifference to detainees rights, etc.   A primary reason why all that's so distressing is that its undermined the U.S.'s role as a champion for human rights around the globe, setting back both our influence and the struggle for human rights itself.  The damage is serious, but its neither complete nor irreversible.  Our role in the apprehension and trial of Charles Taylor is a reassuring, though fleeting reminder of the kind of force in the world we can and must again be.

Comments

[SafeCruise]

Now Posted at Safecruise.blogspot.com

In a greedy attempt to avoid taxes and safety, security, and employee rights regulations did cruise lines help finance a decade of terror causing 300,000 deaths in Liberia and neighboring countries? The fighting also left at least 850,000 displaced from their homes and another 700,000 had become refugees in neighboring countries. That's out of a prewar population of 2.5 million to three million. Child soldiers roamed the countryside, numb from years of violence.

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Lines operate cruise ships that are registered or flagged in Liberia. Royal Caribbean is also incorporated in Liberia. Liberia's shipping registry was tied conclusively to UN sanctions busting in October of 2001, when a US panel of experts revealed that registry funds had gone directly to pay for arms purchases and transport. The Liberian Corporate and Maritime Registries provide an important source of revenue to a poor country. The maritime registry is of international repute but it is vulnerable because of the use of the funds it generates for opaque off-budget expenditure including for sanctions-busting. Critics have also claimed that companies used Liberian registry to conceal diamond smuggling and tax evasion. That same report described Liberia's Bureau of Maritime Affairs as "little more than a cash extraction operation and a cover for sanctions-busting".

[ck]

OMG!!!
poore little kid!!
*crying*
(does giving you my e-mail going to bring me spam?? cause I dont want any. . . .)

[denesha]

the history

[Kontorcum]

There are certain things in life related to smoking that simply cannot :)
parça kontör
parça kontör bayiliği
parça kontör bayilik

[Sho Online Mun]

I know the game from my friends and first my friends give me a lot Sho Mun and after that i go to earn the Sho Online gold alone, i find that the Sho gold is very interesting and the i like to buy Sho Online gold alone very much. So i think if you join ue to play the game you will like the game too.

[Perfect World Gold]

I hope i can get Perfect World Silver in low price.

[sealonline cegel]

When I have seal cegel, I was just told you, I decide to earnsealonline cegel, that is so interesting.

[silkroad gold]

Once I played silkroad, I did not know how to get strong, someone told me that you must have silkroad gold. He gave me some sro gold.

[runescape money]

I like the runescape gold, my brother usually
buy runescape for me. I appriciate him.

[cheap mesos]

you must borrow cheap mesos from friends, or you buy maplestory mesos.