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23 T. Jefferson L. Rev. 149 (2000-2001)
No Justice, No Peace: The Legalities and Realities of Amnesty in Sierra Leone

handle is hein.journals/tjeflr23 and id is 153 raw text is: NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE:
THE LEGALITIES AND REALITIES
OF AMNESTY IN SIERRA LEONE
Tyranny is nothing new in Sierra Leone or the rest of West
Africa. But it is now part and parcel of an increasing lawless-
ness that is far more significant than any coup, rebel incursion
or episodic experiment in democracy...We ignore this dying
region at our own risk.
-Robert Kaplan, The Coming Anarchy, 19941
I. INTRODUCTION
On July 7, 1999, the government of Sierra Leone and the
rebel army known as the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)
signed an agreement aimed at bringing peace to the small West
African nation after eight years of civil war.2 The war had left
thousands dead, thousands more wounded, and caused approxi-
mately one million people, nearly a quarter of the population, to
flee their homes.3 The peace agreement, known as the Lom6 Ac-
cord,4 promised to end the fighting and eventually allow Sierra
Leoneans to return home. While optimism remained cautious af-
ter its signing,' the Lom6 Accord had provided the most tangible
1. Robert Kaplan, The Coming Anarchy, THE ATLArnc MONTHLY, Feb. 1994 at
44.
2. Norimitsu Onishi, Pacts Reached in Congo and Sierra Leone, N.Y. TIMES, July
8, 1999 at A6.
3. Eleanor Bedford, U.S. COMMITTEE FOR REFUGEES, Sierra Leone's Path to
Peace: Key Issues at Year's End, Dec. 15, 1999 [hereinafter Bedford, Key Issues](on
file with the author); see also U.S. COMMITTEE FOR REFUGEES, WORLD REFUGEE
SURVEY 1999 84 (1999)[hereinafter USCR WRS 1999] (1998 estimates includes
480,000 refugees and 500,000 internally displaced). U.N. and health officials estimate
5,000 to 6,500 military and civilian deaths in 1999 see U.S. DEPT. OF STATE, 1999
CoUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGrrs PRACnCES (1999), available in <http://
vww.state.govlwwv/global/human-rightsl1999hrpreport>.
4. Peace Agreement Between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolu-
tionary United Front of Sierra Leone July 7, 1999 [hereinafter Lom6 Accord], avail-
able in <http://www.sierraleone.org/lomeaccord.html>. (The agreement was
negotiated and signed in Lom6, Togo.)
5. There were several potential problems with the Lom6 Accord and its imple-
mentation that will not be addressed in this note. Since signing, there have been
numerous reports of violations particularly by RUF. Human Rights Watch reports
that RUF continues to terrorize the civilian population in many areas, including rape
of young women and abduction and detention of humanitarian workers. Further,
disarmament and demobilization of combatants, which is obviously crucial, has suf-
fered numerous delays and difficulties. These issues and other potentially serious
impediments to implementation of Lom will not be discussed in depth in this note.
See Human Rights Watch, Memo On Recent Violations On The Lom6 Peace Accord,

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