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On 22nd February 2005 Nirj Deva was co-sponsor of a cross-party
Resolution calling for the arrest and trial of former Liberian
dictator Charles Taylor on war crimes charges.
Deva's
initiative on Charles Taylor reaping rewards
Efforts to secure the arrest of Taylor and support for Special Court
of Sierra Leone pay off
Brussels,
30 March 2006 -- The trial of Charles Taylor, the former Liberian
president, will finally allow the war-torn country (Sierra Leone) to
get over the civil strife of the past, and bring 'the world's third
most wanted man' to justice, Nirj Deva MEP, majority group leader on
international development in the European Parliament, said today.
Mr Deva has been engaged in an ongoing effort to encourage Nigerian
President Olesegun Obasanjo to transfer Mr Taylor to the Special Court
for Sierra Leone so that he could be tried by the UN-backed war crimes
tribunal.
In February 2005, Mr Deva co-authored a European Parliament resolution
with fellow British Conservative MEP Charles Tannock, calling on the
Nigerian government to surrender Charles Taylor to the Special Court.
The Resolution was passed unanimously by the European Parliament. Mr
Deva was also instrumental in securing an €800,000 EU donation to
support keys aspects of the Court's operations.
The efforts of Mr Deva and his colleagues have been praised by Desmond
de Silva QC, the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court, who visited
Brussels last September at Mr Deva's invitation to address MEPs on the
Special Court about the importance of bringing Charles Taylor to
justice.
Mr De Silva said:
"The support of the international community has been vital to ensure
the transfer of Charles Taylor. The European Parliament resolution was
an important part of the sequence of events which resulted in
yesterday’s arrival of Charles Taylor into our custody here in Sierra
Leone.
"The Special Court functions on voluntary contributions. Now that we
have Charles Taylor in custody, we require the financial support of
the international community to conduct the trial of Taylor. Mr Deva
has been incredibly supportive in seeking funding for the Special
Court. For justice to prevail in West Africa further EU support is now
required to successfully conclude the mandate of the Special Court.”
Mr Deva said:
"President Obasanjo of Nigeria deserves much praise for surrendering
this brutal tyrant to the Special Court.
"I have been mobilising the full authority of the European Parliament
to make sure Taylor faces trial for the heinous crimes of which he is
accused.
"The international community will now be able to send forth the
message that leaders like Charles Taylor will be brought
to justice. There is no hiding place for them."
ENDS
For a copy of a speech delivered in the European Parliament on 24
February 2005, go to:
http://www.europarl.eu.int/omk/sipade3?PUBREF=-//EP//TEXT+CRE+20050224+ITEM-014+DOC+XML+V0//EN&L=EN&LEVEL=2&NAV=S&LSTDOC=Y&MODE-CRE=SEARCH&DETAIL=4-164&LSTDOC=N
The European Parliament resolution calling on Nigeria to surrender Mr
Taylor can be found by clicking
here.
MEP Calls For Arrest of "Evil" Former
Dictator
22nd February 2005
Nirj Deva,
Member of the European Parliament for South East England and
Coordinator of the European Parliament’s International Development
Committee will, in a session of Parliament on Thursday, call for the
arrest and trial of former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor.
In the European Parliament, Conservative MEP Nirj Deva has lead the
cries to try Mr Taylor for genocide and has tabled a cross-party
Resolution calling for his immediate extradition from Nigeria and
trial.
The former President of Liberia, Taylor has recently been indicted by
the Special Court of Sierra Leone for actively supporting a
Revolutionary group in the country who were directly responsible
widespread atrocities in Sierra Leone. According to Amnesty
International, crimes included the systematic killings of civilians,
amputations, rape and other forms of sexual violence, the use of child
soldiers, abductions, and forced labour.
The court has charged 17 counts of war crimes, crimes against
humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian
law.
Taylor is currently living in exile in Nigeria, who have allowed him
to remain in their country in exchange for the commencement of the
peace-process in Sierra Leone and Liberia. International law, however,
requires that those suspected of committing war crimes or crimes
against humanity must be investigated and the Nigerian authorities are
obliged to arrest Mr. Taylor and to either surrender him to the
Special Court of Sierra Leone, or open an investigation to determine
whether to open criminal or extradition proceedings in Nigerian courts
Speaking from Strasbourg, the MEP said:
“By passing my Resolution, the European Parliament has an opportunity
to show that wicked dictators will no longer be able to
indiscriminately start wars and slaughter innocent people without
retribution and justice knocking on their door.
“If Charles Taylor remains in Nigeria, it is doubtful that this
terrible man accused of a plethora of crimes will even face trial.
“Charles Taylor remains a threat to international peace and security
and continues to undermine efforts to support sustainable peace and
development in West Africa.
“After all the immense suffering they have endured the people of
Sierra Leone are entitled to finally see Charles Taylor brought to
justice.
“That is exactly what I will call for in the European Parliament on
Thursday.”
The full text of the Resolution to the European Parliament:
The European Parliament:
- having regard to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, established by
UN Security Council Resolution 1315 of 14 August 2000, with the aim of
putting to trial those accused of crimes against humanity and
violations of international law committed in Sierra Leone; (PSE 1st
indent)
- having regard to international law, particularly the Geneva
Conventions and the Additional Protocol II on war crimes; (PSE 2nd
indent)
- having regard to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement which was
concluded in Accra, Ghana, on 18 August 2003, with the aim of ending
more than 14 years of internal armed conflict in Liberia; (PSE 3rd
indent)
- having regard to the Cotonou agreement between the EU and ACP
countries, which include Nigeria and Liberia, and the commitment by
parties to the Agreement to peace, security and stability, respect for
human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law; (PSE 5th
indent)
A. Whereas Charles Taylor, former President of Liberia, ran an
authoritarian regime in Liberia from 1997 until civil war broke out; (PSE
A)
B. Whereas 14 years of violence and misrule in Liberia have resulted
in immense human suffering, particularly among civilians, as well as
gross human rights violations, massive displacement of populations,
and a breakdown of social and economic structures, (Greens D)
C. Whereas the conflict in Liberia has also contributed to severely
destabilise the whole West Africa sub-region, creating a humanitarian
crisis of tragic proportions, (Greens E)
D. Whereas on 7 March 2003, Charles Taylor was indicted by the
Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone on 17 counts of
crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, mutilation,
rape, sexual slavery and the recruitment of child soldiers; (PSE D)
E. Whereas Taylor continues to reside in Nigeria, citing head-of-state
immunity from prosecution, despite the fact that on 31 May 2004, the
Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone rejected Charles
Taylor's claim to immunity from prosecution; (PSE F mod., partly ALDE
F and EPP-ED J)
F. Whereas the Government of Nigeria was crucial in helping to bring
about the end of civil war in Liberia; whereas and Charles Taylor
accepted the offer of asylum from the Nigerian Government on 6 July
2003; (PSE B)
G. Whereas in October 2003 the United Nations Security Council
expressed its concern about Charles Taylor’s ongoing efforts from
exile to destabilize Liberia and West Africa, thus breaking the
previous agreement with Nigeria granting him asylum, under which he
committed himself to abstain from any involvement in Liberian
politics; (EPP-ED M mod, deletion of "Ghankay")
H. Whereas in August 2004, the United Nations Security Council imposed
a travel ban upon current Liberian officials for their alleged roles
in acting as couriers for Charles Taylor in Nigeria; (EPP-ED O mod.,
deletion of "Ghankay")
I. Whereas in September 2004, the Special Representative of the
Secretary General of the United Nations testified before the United
Nations Security Council that: “Charles Ghankay Taylor’s shadow still
looms over Liberia. Unless he is brought before the Special Court for
Sierra Leone, many ordinary Liberians will not be persuaded that the
peace process is sustainable.”; (EPP-ED P)
J. Whereas in addition to voluntary contributions in excess of USD 30
million by EU Member States to the creation and working of the Special
Court for Sierra Leone the European Union has itself supported the
Special Court for Sierra Leone in the amount of 800,000 Euros; (EPP-ED
G)
K. Whereas elections are currently scheduled for October 2005 in
Liberia and the outcome might be determined on the basis of fear of
Charles Taylor’s return rather than hope for the future; (EPP-ED Q
mod.)
L. Whereas peace and stability in the Mano River Union countries of
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea has proved indivisible, with a threat
to one damaging the chances for positive development in all; (EPP-ED
T)
M. Whereas Charles Taylor remains a threat to international peace and
security and undermines European efforts to support sustainable peace
and development in West Africa; (EPP-ED U mod.)
N. Whereas impunity for Taylor would defy international law, be an
affront to Taylor's innumerable victims and undermine the
establishment of a lasting peace in the region based on the rule of
law; (ALDE D)
O. Whereas the people of Sierra Leone are entitled to see justice done
in the case of Charles Taylor by a fair trial before the Special Court
for Sierra Leone; (EPP-ED V mod.)
P. Whereas international law clearly states that criminals of war have
to be judged at all times and that states are obliged to extradite
suspects of crimes of war; (PSE G)
Q. Whereas UNHCR's Executive Committee Note on the Exclusion Clauses
of the Geneva Conventions has clearly stated that 'if the protection
provided by refugee law were permitted to afford protection to
perpetrators of grave offences, the practice of international
protection would be in direct conflict with national and international
law, and would contradict the humanitarian and peaceful nature of the
concept of asylum'; (PSE H)
R. Whereas Nigeria has ratified the UN Refugee declaration that states
that criminals of war cannot be granted refugee status; (PSE I)
----
1. Calls upon the Government of Nigeria to act in the continued
interests of the Liberian peace process and in support of the Rule of
Law by surrendering Charles Ghankay Taylor forthwith to the
jurisdiction of the Special Court for Sierra Leone; (EPP-ED 1)
2. Calls upon the United Nations Security Council to consider this
issue as a matter of urgency; (EPP-ED 2)
3. Calls upon the UN, EU and Member States to build international
pressure in order to bring about Charles Taylor's extradition; (PSE 2)
4. Welcomes Liberia's transitional government decision to freeze the
assets of former president Charles Taylor and his associates, (Greens
2)
5. Calls on the EU to keep supporting the 2003 peace agreement between
Liberia's three warring factions and the upcoming presidential and
parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2005; (Greens 3 mod.)
6. Demands that all States in the region refrain from any action that
might contribute to instability in neighbouring countries; (Greens 5
mod.)
7. Instructs its President to forward the current resolution to the
Council, the Commission, governments of EU Member States, the Chief
Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the co-Presidents of
the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the African Union, the UN
Secretary-General, the Secretary General of ECOWAS and the governments
of Liberia and Nigeria. (ALL modified)
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