Witness to Truth - Volume Three B (Chapter 6: The TRC and the Special Court for Sierra Leone)

The TRC and the Special Court for Sierra Leone

This chapter will relate the experiences of the Commission in working alongside the Special Court. It examines the contexts that gave rise to both organisations and tracks the course of developments between the two bodies as they operated contemporaneously. It analyses the nature of the relationship that emerged between the TRC and the Special Court and assesses the impact of this relationship on the Commission's operations and on the people of Sierra Leone. The chapter pays particular attention to the issue upon which the relationship ultimately faltered, namely the right of detainees held in the custody of the Special Court to appear before the Commission. It was around this issue that the differences in approach between the two post-conflict bodies crystallised. Finally, an attempt is made to evaluate the appropriateness of having two such bodies working simultaneously in the context of post-conflict Sierra Leone.