Liberian President Charles Ghankey Taylor was indicted by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone on Wednesday, June 4. The indictment charges Taylor with “bearing the greatest responsibility for war crimes, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law within the territory of Sierra Leone since 30 November 1996.”

The indictment was announced and a warrant for Taylor’s arrest was issued while Taylor was in Ghana for peace talks with Liberian rebels who have been fighting to topple Taylor’s regime for the past three years. At the conference Taylor announced that he would step down from the presidency at the end of the year, but did not make any mention of his indictment. "Some people believe that Taylor is the problem. I will remove myself from whatever process that continues to perpetuate conflict in Liberia," he said in Accra. "If it would bring peace, I will remove myself as president...Let a process be put in place that will ensure a smooth transition from war to peace."

Shortly after the charges were made public, Taylor fled the conference to return to Liberia. The chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, David Crane, said a warrant for the arrest of the Liberian president was served on Ghanaian authorities and sent to Interpol, but Taylor nonetheless flew home on one of Ghana’s official jets. Ghanaian diplomats believe the government decided not to arrest Taylor because their priority was to ensure the future of the Liberian peace talks. Mr. Crane clearly expressed his disappointment at the Ghanaian government's failure to arrest him, saying: "I regret that the international community has disappointed the people of Sierra Leone and West Africa. Instead of delivering a strong message about accountability, they provided weak excuses. Any nation that finds Taylor within its borders is legally bound to execute [the warrant]."

While prosecutor Crane carefully timed the announcement of Taylor’s indictment with his visit to Ghana in to bring legitimacy to the peace talks and to facilitate his arrest, the Organization of West African States, which organized the peace talks criticized Mr. Crane’s timing. The executive secretary, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, said that announcing the charges against Charles Taylor as he was about to open the peace talks had "put a damper on the negotiations” where President Taylor was making helpful offers "opening up tremendous opportunities" to end the Liberian conflict. However, Mr. Crane insisted that, “it is imperative that the attendees know they are dealing with an indicted war criminal. These negotiations can still move forward, but they must do so without the involvement of this indictee.”

Despite the criticism from the organizers of the peace talks, many human rights advocates hailed Taylor’s indictment as a positive step towards international justice. “Charles Taylor is one of the single greatest causes of spreading wars in West Africa," said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of the Africa division of Human Rights Watch. "His indictment is a tremendous step forward, but his arrest would be even better."

Related Chapters from Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know

Crimes Against Humanity
Genocide
Liberia
War Crimes, Categories of

Related Links:

West Africa: Taylor Indictment Advances Justice
Human Rights Watch, June 4, 2003

“Special Court Indicts Liberian President Charles Taylor”
IRIN news, June 4, 2003

Special Court for Sierra Leone

Liberia chaos as leader returns
BBC, June 5, 2003

Fighting nears Liberian capital
BBC, June 6, 2003


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