Human Rights Watch, the largest human rights organization based in the United States, reported on the June 20, 2007 decision by the Special Court of Sierra Leone to convict three accused men from the rebel Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), one of three warring factions during Sierra Leone’s 11-year civil war - which ended in 2002.
The country's high court handed down the first convictions by a UN-backed tribunal for the crime of recruiting and using child soldiers.
The judges found the three accused – Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu – guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone was established in 2002 to prosecute those "who bear the greatest responsibility" for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of international humanitarian law, along with several domestic offenses, committed since 1996. All nine defendants being prosecuted by the Special Court have been charged with the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
The trial phase is complete for cases involving individuals associated with the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) and AFRC. For accused associated with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), the defense began presentation of its case this May. The Special Court began the trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor on June 4 in The Hague.
The civil war served as the background for the 2006 movie, Blood Diamond. The film was shot on several locations in Africa such as South Africa's East Coast (Port Alfred), Kwa Zulu Natal and Cape Town. Unfortunately, none of the filming took place in Sierra Leone.
