YouSaid · the spoken record

Hollis

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14
first
2012-10-09
most recent
2012-10-09
sittings or episodes
1
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un-security-council

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  1. “I wish again to thank the Security Council for this opportunity to brief its members about the Special Court. In preparing my briefing, I was reminded of resolution 1315 (2000). The prudence of that resolution has been made clear to me every time I engage the people of Sierra Leone. I thank the Council for its wisdom, including in adopting that resolution, and for its support for the Special Court.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source

  2. “Indicative of that challenge, this year, the Special Court has convicted five individuals of contempt for interfering with witnesses; those convictions are, of course, subject to appeal. As made clear by article 18 of its statute, the Residual Special Court shall be responsible for ensuring the security of witnesses and those put at risk by witness testimony. It shall also be responsible for the enforcement of the protection orders of the Special Court and any put in place by the Residual Special Court. In order to fulfil that mandate, it is critical that the Residual Court will have the resources necessary to protect witnesses and ensure that people who came forward, often at the risk of their well-being, will continue to receive the protection of the Court they have so well served.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source

  3. “For example, in their testimony, many witnesses named individuals who had committed horrific crimes; those witnesses continue to live among the individuals named and their supporters. I now turn to the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone. Some of the challenges it may face can be anticipated today. The Residual Special Court plans to have a relatively small footprint. That is a positive response to the challenge of balancing the requirements of its mandate with efficiency and financial stability. Such efficiency may be enhanced by sharing an administrative platform with other courts. As already emphasized, ensuring the security of witnesses and the enforcement of witness protection orders will be a continuing and significant challenge.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source

  4. “Our main challenges were to communicate and meet with some 800 potential witnesses in a safe environment and, in cooperation with the Registry's Witness and Victims Section, to ensure the security before, during and after the trial, of the more than 300 prosecution witnesses who testified. We have relied extensively on investigators seconded from the Sierra Leone police to enable us to contact our witnesses in a manner that protected their security. We have also had regular contact with our witnesses before and after trial, ensuring that we receive timely alerts of any security risk or harassment. Allow me to emphasize that the security of witnesses and the enforcement of witness protection orders were and remain significant challenges.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source

  5. “Those challenges were amplified by the uncertain nature of voluntary funding. We responded by using short-term contracts whenever possible, giving us flexibility in meeting our needs; by reducing permanent posts in an orderly manner as we reached prosecution milestones; and by relying heavily on experienced, talented professionals seconded to us by States. Those secondments proved to be an effective and financially desirable option. For example, we could not have conducted our investigations without the local knowledge and expertise of Sierra Leonean investigators loaned to us by the host Government. I will now address witness issues. Of course, without witnesses, no trials would be possible.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source

  6. “As with other prosecutors faced with a multitude of crimes committed across a wide chronological period and geographic area, we had the task of developing indictments that balanced two goals: first, arriving at a true reflection of the nature and scale of the crimes to which an accused could be linked and the full extent of his criminal conduct, and, secondly, bringing charges that could be expeditiously proved. To achieve that balance, we focused our indictments on representative crimes and on the scope of the criminal conduct of each accused person. I now turn to staffing challenges. The Office of the Prosecutor had the task of recruiting a sufficient number of staff to fulfil our exacting mandate and with retaining enough experienced staff to maintain the continuity of our work.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source

  7. “As President Fisher has stated, the Special Court has faced numerous challenges during its decade of operation. I will now highlight some of those challenges relating to the Office of the Prosecutor. The record will show that we have responded positively to them in ways that may be relevant for other courts and tribunals. Of the most demanding challenges before us, I would like to address three: indictment, staffing and witness issues. I will first address indictments. Charges are determined, first and foremost, by the evidence before a prosecutor.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source

  8. “Particular mention must be made of the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone as partners in establishing the Special Court. Together they created a statute that achieved two important goals. First, as I have already discussed, the statute, appropriately, focused our efforts on those who bear the greatest responsibility. Secondly, the statute ensured that the Special Court would build on the strong foundation put in place by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, both as to substantive and procedural law. The Special Court has indeed built on that foundation in carrying out its mandate. I encourage all tribunals and courts that have followed to build on that expanded foundation.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source

  9. “Many deserve credit for the Special Court's achievements, and I would like to express my gratitude to them. They include, in particular, the people of Sierra Leone, whose demand for justice - the Council will recall - resulted in the creation of the Court; the Security Council, which, through resolution 1315 (2000) and subsequent others, responded to that demand; the Secretary-General, whose work advanced the creation of the Special Court and whose continued support strengthened it; very importantly, the victims, survivors and those members of the perpetrator groups who showed the courage and commitment needed to give information and to testify, both for the prosecution and the defence; the Government and the people of Sierra Leone, for their continuing commitment to the Court and the support they have provided; the Member States that have faithfully served on the Special Court Management Committee; the 51 States, the United Nations, the European Commission and other organizations that have provided funding and other support for the Special Court; and civil society organizations in Sierra Leone, Liberia and worldwide, for their commitment to justice and support for the Court.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source

  10. “The Office of the Prosecutor has been an active participant in the Special Court's excellent outreach programme, which has been widely commended for its effectiveness. Through the programme we have succeeded in engaging the people of Sierra Leone in a judicial process carried out in their name, and have fostered a two-way conversation between the Prosecutor and the affected communities. The Office of the Prosecutor has also contributed significantly to international jurisprudence. We were the first to charge and prosecute the crimes of enlistment, recruitment and use of child soldiers, attacks on peacekeepers and forced marriage as a crime against humanity. The resulting jurisprudence can be relied on by other international as well as national courts.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source

  11. “Taylor's conviction on all charges, a result noted by the Security Council in resolution 2065 (2012). This is the first conviction of a former Head of State by an international criminal tribunal since the Nuremberg trials in 1946. On the basis of that verdict, Mr. Taylor was sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment. Mr. Taylor was convicted of the charges for two reasons. First, he was convicted of planning the attacks that culminated in the January 1999 invasion of Freetown and the mass crimes that resulted from those attacks. Secondly, he was convicted of aiding and abetting members of the Revolutionary United Front and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council in the commission of the charged crimes. Both the Office of the Prosecutor and Mr. Taylor have appealed the judgement and the sentence. We are proud of our other achievements as well.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source

  12. “Guided by the Special Court's statute, we focused our efforts on prosecuting those who bear the greatest responsibility. Consequently, we presented 13 indictments, charging senior leaders of the three main factions in the Sierra Leone conflict and Charles Taylor, the then President of Liberia. The first trials began in 2004. With the exception of the case against Mr. Taylor, all cases were completed through appeal by October 2009. Unfortunately, it was not until 2006 that Mr. Taylor was surrendered to the Special Court, three years after he was indicted. The Office of the Prosecutor expeditiously and effectively prosecuted Mr. Taylor. We amended the indictment against him, reducing the charges in order to present the case more speedily. We presented evidence that resulted in Mr.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source

  13. “In my view, the principal achievement of the Court, and its most important legacy, will be the fulfilment of our mandate to prosecute those who bear the greatest responsibility for the horrific crimes committed against the people of Sierra Leone. All the members of the Office of the Prosecutor, past and present, can be proud of their significant contribution to that accomplishment. The achievements of the Special Court are the product of the hard work and dedication of all the organs and members of the Special Court, who are to be commended for their untiring efforts. With the Council's permission, I will limit my comments to the achievements of the Office of the Prosecutor. The Office of the Prosecutor has acted expeditiously. We commenced operations in mid-2002 and presented the first indictments in March 2003.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source

  14. “Ms. Hollis: I echo the comments made by President Fisher and thank the Council for its decision to convene this briefing on the Special Court for Sierra Leone. As the Prosecutor of the Special Court, I am honoured to be given this opportunity to brief the Council. I will focus my remarks on the achievements of the Special Court and on those of the Office of the Prosecutor in particular. I will also discuss some of the challenges faced by the Office of the Prosecutor, our responses to those challenges and certain challenges the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone may face. I turn first to the achievements of the Special Court. President Fisher has mentioned some of its many successes.”

    2012-10-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6844 (2012) · source