ADDRESS AT 4TH WEEKLY BRIEFING OF THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION BY MADAM AJARATOU SATANG JOW, COMMISSIONER,
 ON WEDNESDAY 14TH AUGUST 2002.

 

Ladies and gentlemen

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this week’s briefing on the activities of our Commission. Seeing the increasing numbers of participants every week at our briefings gives us the confidence that our messages are gradually getting across to the people, and that interest in our activities is increasing and people are eager to identify with us and join in with our activities. This is as it should be. We must all remember that this Commission is a national institution. It belongs to the people. If the people are not aware of our activities and don’t get involved in them, it becomes doubtful, how successful we will be. Most of our activities during this period therefore are focused on educating the public on how we intend to operate, what the issues are and how people can relate to us. A lot of in-house work is involved, especially on the procedures and methods we intend to adopt in relation to our work.

1. At last week’s briefing, we announced that we want to ensure that people feel confident that whatever information they give to us is secure and would not be used by any of our staff for any personal or other purpose. It was thus necessary that an oath of confidentiality be taken as a safeguard and a confidence building measure for the public. I wish to report therefore that the during the course of last week its entire staff took an oath of confidentiality.

Under the oath, all staff of the Commission swore to the following:

a. That each member of the Commission and member of staff of the Commission whether employed on a permanent, temporary, consultancy or voluntary basis, serves in his/her individual capacity, independent of any political party, government or other organisational interests, and shall avoid taking any action, which could create an appearance of partiality or otherwise harm the credibility or integrity of the Commission.

b. Each member of the Commission and member of staff of the Commission whether employed on a permanent, temporary, consultancy or voluntary basis, shall not divulge any information whether confidential or otherwise gained as a result of and/or in the course and scope of his/her work in the Commission;

c. Each staff acknowledged that s/he is aware that no member of the Commission or member of staff of the Commission whether employed on a permanent, temporary, consultancy or voluntary basis, shall make private use of or profit from any information whether confidential or otherwise gained as a result of his/her work in the Commission; and

that they are aware that any member or member of staff of the Commission whether employed on a permanent, temporary, consultancy or voluntary basis, who contravenes the duties acknowledged above, shall be guilty of misconduct and liable to be dismissed from the Commission and may also be guilty of an offence.

Every new member of staff of the Commission will be required to swear to this same oath. The penalty for a breach of this oath is dismissal from the service of the Commission. This penalty applies even to Commissioners. This oath is also binding even if the staff leave the service of the Commission before the conclusion of its work. In this connection, we must all remember that the taking of an oath is a very serious act under the laws of this and many other countries. When you therefore breach an oath you have willingly sworn to, there are other laws that impose punishment for such conduct, or the person may be held liable under the laws of perjury. We believe therefore that we have created the necessary safeguards as a Commission that will encourage people to begin to come forward in confidence with the documentation that would enable us have a comprehensive understanding of all that happened during the conflict.

2. An implementation plan for the preparatory and operational phases of the Commission is currently being finalised by the Secretariat and will be discussed by the Commission in the next couple of days. The delay in finalising this plan was because the Commission had to first deal with the issue of its budget upon its inauguration. Now that this has been concluded, it is only logical that the plan follows, as the plan is based on the budget of the Commission. These public activities of the Commission will be preceded by an intense phase of consultations and public meetings in all the districts, as a way of notifying and preparing the people of this country to participate and interact with the Commission. The details of these meeting and consultations are being finalised. and we hope to conclude them by the third week of September.

3. May I also announce that the budget for the preparatory phase of the Commission’s activities has been approved without amendment by the Project Review Committee of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva. During one of our earlier briefings, we made the point that we had produced a budget that was realistic and attractive, and we hoped that the international community would also find it realistic enough to assist us to raise the necessary funds. This approval gives us the confidence that the budget for the operational phase would also be approved within the shortest possible time; in the light of the framework and approaches we have adopted for the 12-month budget. We are now looking forward to the immediate release of funds for the preparatory period by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, so that we can maximise the time left during the preparatory phase. On the question of funds, while the main thrust of the fund raising efforts is going to happen internationally, we wish to remind Sierra Leoneans that they also need to contribute funds and other resources to enable the work of the Commission take place.

4. The Commission is also considering its staffing needs, job descriptions and the process and time frame for recruiting its staff. As we have repeatedly said, we want to ensure representativity, diversity and inclusiveness in our staffing. Within the shortest possible time, we shall be advertising in the media, inviting applications from both nationals and internationals that wish to work for the Commission.

5. The Commission has continued its public education and media engagements through scheduled meetings with a range of institutions and groups. These meetings will be ongoing throughout the preparatory phase. As many of you have noticed, a number of media organisations have now dedicated programmes on the Commission. Foremost among these is Radio UNAMSIL. Others include SLBS, Radio Democracy, 98.1 FM, and a host of newspapers. The Commission wishes to express its gratitude to them, and urges them to remain steadfast in supporting our work.

6. The German Ambassador to Sierra Leone, His Excellency, Rheinhard Buckholz has also visited the Commission. He came in the company of the former German Ambassador to Sierra Leone and current Head of the West Africa Division at the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin, Mr. Karl Prinz. At the meeting, the Commission explored the range of support that the German Government can provide it with the visitors.

7. The Commission has also been engaged in reviewing a range of policy and operational documents produced by the staff. Among these issues are the following:

a. Reparations.

b. Role and participation of women and children in the Commission.

c. Forensic investigations.

d. Reconciliation procedures.

e. Media and community outreach procedures and strategies.

f. Security and protection issues, among others.

In the coming days and weeks, the Commission will be announcing its decisions on these issues and ensuring the widest media coverage of its decisions.

8. Amnesty International launched its 2002 Report titled “Access to Justice” last Friday at the British Council. The statement by the Vice president, His Excellency, Mr. Solomon Barewa is worth recalling. He said that the government is committed to the Commission. He said further that the Commission and the Special Court are two separate and distinct independent institutions. The Chairman of the occasion, Mr. George Coleridge-Taylor, who is a Commissioner in the National Commission for Democracy and Human Rights also said that the “Commission is one of the indispensable mechanisms for re-establishing peace and security in a hitherto battered and shattered Sierra Leone.”

Our own chairperson in his statement at the occasion appropriately captures the challenge facing Sierra Leoneans at this point. They desire peace but also year for justice. Justice is an integral part of peace. Indeed, it is not possible to resolve conflicts and attain sustainable peace unless attention is paid to the justice and fairness of the process as well as the outcome of the settlement. Justice has two faces: retributive and restitutive justice. The Commission’s mandate puts us firmly on the part of restitutive justice. This seeks to promote peace, healing and reconciliation This is the context that the Commission locates its work, and explains the need to regularly engage with the people, and show transparency in our actions.

On behalf of the Commission therefore, I wish to thank you for attending today’s briefing. My colleagues and I will now deal with any questions that you may have.