STATEMENT BY Rt. REV. Dr. JOSEPH HUMPER, CHAIRMAN OF THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION ON THE OCCASION OF ITS FIRST WEEKLY BRIEFING, ON WEDNESDAY 24TH JULY 2002.

 

Ladies and gentlemen

Welcome to the first of our weekly briefings. As you are all aware, the Commission was inaugurated on the 5th July 2002. Since then, we have spent a considerable amount of time discussing among ourselves, how we intend to proceed, and providing responses to some of the immediate challenges we now face. Perhaps it is germane to discuss a few of these, and then we shall take your questions.

1. The Interim Secretariat

The Interim Secretariat of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up in late March this year to begin the preparatory processes for the establishment of the Commission. It started with only one member of staff, the Executive Secretary, and subsequently grew to a staff strength of 14, comprising international advisers and national consultants. Initially, it operated out of UNAMSIL before it moved to the present office, which now houses the Commission. The Commission recognizes the efforts of the Interim Secretariat staff in giving it a soft landing, and wishes to express its appreciation to the Executive Secretary, the International Advisers, national consultants and support staff for the work they have done in preparing the ground for the Commission, particularly in respect to the sensitisation campaign on the Commission. With the inauguration of the Commission, the Interim Secretariat has now ended. The staff of the Interim Secretariat have been absorbed into the Commission to assist it during this preparatory phase of its activities.

2. Preparatory Phase of Activities

During this three months preparatory phase, which commenced on 5th July and will end on 4th October this year, the Commission is expected to do a number of things, which include the following:

a. Hire Staff.

The Commission will shortly be advertising for the hiring of staff. As I said in our first press conference, our staff recruitment policy shall be guided by transparency, diversity, pluralism and inclusiveness. We want to build a team of dedicated and hard working staff committed to offering our people a first class, accessible and hands-on Commission. Therefore, those who believe that they have the skills that will be useful to the Commission are encouraged to apply.

b. Procurement of Office Space.

The Commission is in consultation with a number of people and institutions, both private and government for the procurement of office space at all levels of governance in the country, so that the Commission can be accessible to all sections of the Community.

c. Designing and Undertaking a Public Education Campaign.

One of the first things the Commission has decided on is to organize a theme song, logo and slogans competition across the country. To this end, the competition will be at three levels, the district, regional and national levels. Entries will be collected at the district levels and analysed with prizes awarded for the best three entries in each category. The winning entries at the district levels will be submitted for the provincial level competition, and a final competition organized for the three wining entries in each category from each of the provinces, to choose the official theme song, logo and slogan for the Commission.

In the process of the competitions, all the entries will be broadcast or read on television and radio as a way of creating awareness within the country. For the Western area, the Commission is treating it as two districts, Freetown area and greater Freetown. The places of submission of entries for all the districts will be announced shortly. The entry for the theme song, need not have musical accompaniment, (even though it will be helpful if it does), but it needs to be recorded on an audio cassette. All the winning entries will be mass-produced and distributed across the country.

d. Preparing a Budget and Securing Funds.

One of the immediate tasks, which the Commission faced after its inauguration, was the need to prepare a budget, which would facilitate its fundraising efforts. As part of the planning process for the Commission, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had prepared a budget for the Commission which would require the sum of USD$9.9million for the Commission's activities over a fifteen month period. The Commission has reviewed this budget with the assistance of a Mission from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. First, the Commission recognised the need to have a separate budget for its preparatory phase. This is because the preparatory phase began immediately on the inauguration of the Commission. The Commission therefore urgently needs that aspect of the budget to commence its activities. The Commission has come up with a final Preparatory Phase budge that it hopes will enable it do all that is required within the period including the personnel and operational costs. The Commission is satisfied that the funds for the preparatory phase are available from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to enable it commence work immediately.

The Commission is has also reviewed its budget for the 12-month operational period mandated by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act 2000. In this respect also, the Commission was assisted by the OHCHR Mission to design a budget that segments the activities of the Commission into respective phases and therefore enables the Commission to produce a more realistic budget for its activities, as well as make it easier for the OHCHR and the Commission to raise the funds that may be required. The Commission recognizes that budgets are estimates. The Commission is however convinced that it has produced a realistic budget that donors or prospective donors will find attractive and thus be minded to assist the Commission raise the funds as well as make up any shortfalls if necessary. The budget also demonstrates the Commission's determination to be prudent and cost conscious. The Commission and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will simultaneously release the total figures for the budgets at a date in the immediate future, to commence the second phase of the Appeal Fund for the Commission.

e. Undertaking a Sensitisation Programme and Preliminary Background Research

The Commission has been receiving briefings from a number of organisations and institutions contracted to perform certain activities related to the work of the Commission. These activities include the following:

1. A sensitisation campaign funded by OHCHR to the International Human Rights Law Group The Commission wishes to commend the NGO and its civil society partners in particular, the Truth and Reconciliation Working Group, the National Forum for Human Rights and the National Commission for Democracy and Human Rights, for the work they have done in this respect. The Commission hopes to build on the work they have done in holding further consultations with civil society organisations, including the faith community, and in traveling around the country to meet the people and explain to them the methodologies and procedures for the work of the Commission.

2. An OHCHR funded preliminary research into the violations and abuses that occurred in the course of the conflict, the human rights and international humanitarian law violations as well as identifying the victims or witnesses where necessary or the alleged perpetrators. The Commission has received a comprehensive briefing on the research that has been conducted. This research has been concluded by the Campaign for Good Governance and its Consultant, Miss Awa Dabo. The Commission is eagerly awaiting the presentation of the formal report to it, so that it could begin the preliminary investigation and other work necessary to give it a very clear idea of the violations that occurred, and the nature of the statement taking process that it would conduct.

3. The third project is also an OHCHR funded research into the traditional methods of conflict resolution and reconciliation in Sierra Leone. Manifesto 99, an NGO, conducted this research. Commission staff have been in discussion with the organisation, and a briefing for the Commission by the organisation will hold next week.

3. Visits to Embassies and High Commissions

The Commission has during the last two weeks been paying courtesy calls on a number of embassies and high commissions. The Commission is charged with raising the funds for its activities, in addition to any cash and/or in kind support it might receive from the Government of Sierra Leone. The visits to the embassies and high commissions have therefore been to explain the mandate of the Commission to the ambassadors and high commissioners, the challenges confronting the Commission, and how the embassies and high commissions might assist the Commission in providing the logistic and other support to fulfill its mandate. So far, the Commission has visited the following:

1. The Nigerian High Commission

2. The Ghanaian High Commission

3. The Embassy of the United States of America, and

4. The British High Commission.

It is the intention of the Commission to visit all the embassies and high commissions in Freetown. Many of the governments represented in Sierra Leone contributed to the peace efforts in bringing the conflict to an end. They therefore have a stake in the consolidation of the peace. The Commission believes that their Excellencies, High Commissioners and Ambassadors, will be keen to advise their home governments on the need to assist the Commission. No assistance will therefore be too little.

Visit to the Commission's Offices

The Commission is heartened that since its inauguration, hundreds of Sierra Leoneans have visited its offices not only to felicitate with the Commissioners on their appointment, but also to express their willingness to make statements on the conflict to the Commission. Indeed, since the Commission was inaugurated, no less than 20 people come to the Commission's office every day eager to make statements to the Commission. The Commission deeply appreciates the willingness of the people to come to it to make statements on the violations that occurred, and on other matters related to the conflict. The Commission however wishes to advise the general public that the statement-taking phase of its activities will commence in October, after it would have recruited and trained the personnel who will undertake it. The Commission shall early enough publicise that phase of activity as much as possible, so that all Sierra Leoneans are aware, and those willing to make statements shall not be left out. We implore those ready to give their statements to exercise a bit more patience. The Commission desires to reach all Sierra Leoneans wherever they may be. It therefore requires a lot of planning to commence an activity such as statement taking in relation to the conflict in the country.

Finally, I wish to thank everyone who came for this briefing. We recognise that the task before us cannot be done by ourselves alone. It requires the support and active partnership of all Sierra Leoneans and friends of Sierra Leone. We are eager to partner with you all to ensure that the work is completed in good time, in a manner that includes everyone, so that justice is done on all the issues Please, we are eager to receive your comments and suggestions on how the Commission should proceed or deal with some of the issues before it. All you need do is come to our Secretariat and discuss with our staff.

I thank you for listening and look forward to seeing you next week Wednesday.