Amnesty International Report 2002 - Sierra Leone

Covering events from January-December 2001

Republic of Sierra Leone
Head of state and government: Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
Capital: Freetown
Population: 4.6 million
Official language: English
Death penalty: retentionist
2001 treaty ratifications/signatures: UN Convention against Torture

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Continued attacks by rebel forces on Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea drove them back into rebel-held areas of Sierra Leone where they were killed, raped and harassed. Rebel fighters and government-assisted militia forces killed dozens of civilians in attacks in northern Sierra Leone. The Guinean armed forces indiscriminately bombarded border areas of Sierra Leone, killing civilians. Most high-ranking rebel leaders were released from detention, while other rebel prisoners remained held without charge or trial. At least 10 died in custody, reportedly from medical neglect. Efforts to establish mechanisms to fight impunity continued.

Background

The November 2000 Abuja cease-fire agreed by the government and the opposition Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was maintained within Sierra Leone and the security, political and humanitarian situation improved. By the end of the year a total of 17,500 troops of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) were successfully deployed throughout the country, including in RUF-held areas. They facilitated the disarming and demobilization of approximately 48,000 combatants including over 3,000 child combatants, the majority of whom were members of the RUF and the government-assisted militia, the Civil Defence Forces (CDF). United Kingdom (UK) troops, deployed in 2000 under a bilateral arrangement between the UK and the government in order to secure Freetown and its airport and to train the Sierra Leone Army, were reduced from 1,000 to 360 by the end of 2001. During the year the government and humanitarian agencies gained access to parts of the country previously controlled by the RUF, except for parts of Koinadugu district in Northern Province and parts of Kono and Kailahun districts in Eastern Province. By the end of the year, the government had declared all districts in the south, and several in the north and east, safe for return by civilians.

In the early part of the year there was continuing conflict along the border between Sierra Leone and Guinea, with intermittent attacks by RUF forces on refugee camps in Guinea and air bombardments by the Guinean armed forces on the RUF in Sierra Leone. Large numbers of civilians were displaced from districts in Northern Province to areas near Freetown. Fighting continued between the RUF and the CDF. A meeting chaired by the UN in May in Abuja, Nigeria, marked a renewed commitment to peace and the disarmament and demobilization process in Sierra Leone by the warring parties. In June and July further skirmishes between RUF and CDF forces disrupted the peace process temporarily. Along the border with Liberia, RUF forces continued to provide arms, ammunition and combatants to fight alongside the Liberian armed forces against Liberian armed opposition groups based in Guinea. In August an official process of consultation began between the governments of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, to address security concerns in the region. Meetings between the three countries, with the support of the Economic Community of West African States and the UN, continued to the end of the year.

Presidential elections intended to be held in November were postponed to May 2002. In October the RUF set up a political party, the Revolutionary United Front Party (RUF-P), and opened an office in Freetown.

By the end of the year the UNAMSIL human rights section had opened regional offices in Makeni, Magburaka, Kenema, and Port Loko. A high-level visit by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) brought greater attention and action to address the situation of refugees and people who had been internally displaced within the country.

By the end of 2001 over 80,000 Sierra Leonean refugees had returned from Guinea and Liberia. The majority had been driven out by attacks by the armed forces, the local civilian population and civil defence groups in Guinea. Some 60,000 returned with the assistance of UNHCR, the remainder spontaneously on foot. A significant number returned to areas previously under RUF control. Approximately 7,000 refugees returned from Liberia, owing to increasing insecurity there, when the border between the two countries reopened late in the year. Many were resettled in, or assisted to return to, areas deemed safe in the south and in some parts of the north and east. Some also returned to RUF-held areas, including the diamond districts of Kono and Kailahun.

Throughout the year several thousand Guinean and Liberian refugees fled to Sierra Leone to escape armed conflict in Liberia, or were abducted by the RUF in Guinea and brought to Sierra Leone. Some were registered and assisted by UNHCR, but thousands of others were believed to be in the border areas of Kailahun district and inaccessible to humanitarian agencies.

Abuses by the Revolutionary United Front

RUF forces continued to kill, torture and abduct civilians and returned refugees in the areas which remained under their control. They forcibly recruited civilians to fight or labour for them, and raped women and girls. Looting was widespread.

Scores of killings and abductions of civilians by the RUF occurred in March and April, and again in June and July when the CDF attacked RUF positions in Kono and Koinadugu districts. RUF fighters raided communities suspected of backing the CDF militias. Torture, including rape, also continued.

• According to reports, early in the year several girls and women in Koidu, in Kono district, were forced to become "wives" to a single RUF combatant, and women from a group of 80 refugees returning to Koinadugu district from Guinea were assigned to RUF combatants and raped.

Throughout the year civilians, mostly men, continued to be forcibly recruited.

• In April, 500 men in Jagbwema, in Eastern Province, were reportedly captured by the RUF for training as combatants.

In Koidu the RUF reportedly forced young men to mine diamonds for them. At least two people were alleged to have been beaten to death by RUF combatants, a woman for mining without permission and a man for allegedly swallowing diamonds in an attempt to hide them.

In several instances, the RUF were reported to have abducted Guinean women and children in attacks on Guinea and brought them to Sierra Leone. Following such abductions, the women were reportedly gang-raped, forced to work for RUF combatants, held in harsh conditions and deprived of food. In several cases UNHCR negotiated their release and they were returned to Guinea.

Violations by government forces

Throughout the year CDF forces continued intermittently to kill and torture captured and suspected rebels, and to recruit children into their fighting forces. They harassed civilians and humanitarian agency personnel.

• In June and July, a CDF militia known as the Donzos was reportedly responsible for deliberately burning and looting villages and killing and injuring civilians suspected of supporting the RUF in Kono and Koinadugu districts.

No action was taken by government to hold the CDF to account for violations.

Indiscriminate bombardment by Guinean security forces

During the first half of the year, in response to increased tensions within the region and cross-border incursions into Guinea by armed groups, including the RUF, the Guinean armed forces mounted aerial military operations in Sierra Leonean territory. They targeted Kambia district in Northern Province in particular, but also other areas of Northern Province such as Bombali and Koinadugu districts. The attacks from helicopter gun ships resulted in scores of civilian casualties, massive displacement of people and destruction of property. Guinean ground forces also crossed the border into Kambia district to attack RUF forces, coerced civilians to carry loot for them and forcibly recruited men into their fighting forces.

The attacks did not appear to have been targeted at RUF military bases with any degree of care or accuracy or with regard for civilian lives. Witnesses said that, while civilians suffered greatly, there were few RUF casualties and little damage to its bases or equipment.

• In January helicopter gun ships reportedly attacked Yelibuya in Kambia district resulting in at least 20 civilian casualties, both wounded and dead. At least 300 homes were destroyed.
• Kamakwie, Bombali district, was attacked on 26 January and at least 12 civilians were killed. Although a significant number of RUF combatants were present in Kamakwie, their base and personnel were untouched.
• In April civilians were severely injured in attacks by Guinean forces near the towns of Kassiri and Rokupr and the villages of Kychom, Rokon and Sino in Kambia district.

Military assistance to rebel forces and the diamond trade

The international community and the Sierra Leone government continued to take steps to prevent the trade in diamonds being used to finance military assistance to the RUF. In May the UN Security Council imposed a ban on the export of rough diamonds from Liberia, accused of trading in diamonds with the RUF and providing military assistance in return. A UN-approved diamond export certification system introduced by the Sierra Leone government in October 2000 continued to function. By not making a distinction between diamonds by origin, it failed to prevent the trade in diamonds from RUF areas. In July, the Sierra Leone government, the RUF and the UN agreed to a ban on diamond mining in the eastern Kono district but this was not implemented or monitored and proved ineffective. In October, a UN Panel of Experts reported that RUF diamonds were being traded through the government system and recommended better monitoring. Throughout the year, governments and the international diamond industry continued to work towards agreeing an international diamond certification system.

Release of political detainees

As part of the peace process, most senior RUF detainees were released during the year, with the exception of former RUF leader Foday Sankoh. Between 80 and 100 remained detained without charge or trial, some held since the renewal of conflict in May 2000. They included members of the West Side Boys, a group of renegade soldiers responsible for serious human rights abuses until their arrest in September 2000. There were reportedly 10 deaths in custody among this group as a result of harsh detention conditions and poor medical care.

Impunity

Some progress was made on mechanisms to combat impunity. However, by the end of 2001 there were still insufficient funds for the Special Court for Sierra Leone which the UN Security Council decided in August 2000 should try crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law. A lack of adequate resources could affect the number of cases which the court could try and therefore its ability to ensure a balance of cases which could be effectively investigated and prosecuted and therefore the perception of its independence and impartiality. Issues which remained unresolved included whether the court would have jurisdiction over crimes committed since the civil conflict began in 1991 or only from 1996, ensuring an independent prosecution policy was maintained, and its relationship with a planned Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Little attention was given to improving the domestic judicial system.

AI country reports/visits

Reports

• Guinea and Sierra Leone: No place of refuge (AI Index: AFR 05/006/2001)
• Sierra Leone: Renewed commitment needed to end impunity (AI Index: AFR/51/007/2001)

Visits

AI delegates visited Sierra Leone in April to carry out research, and to meet government officials and representatives of armed groups. A further visit in November to eastern Sierra Leone focused on the situation of refugees and internally displaced people.