For seven years, the Special Court for Sierra Leone has stood resolute as Freetown’s moral landmark. To passers-by, the Mongolian guards that watch over the city from their UN-marked tower posts are a reassuring sight. Inside the complex, the familiar courthouse building that was designed to represent the scales of justice reminds visitors of its purpose.
The Special Court was established through an agreement between the UN Security Council and the Government of Sierra Leone in 2002 and mandated to try those that bore ‘the greatest responsibility’ for the country’s decade-long civil war. Thirteen indictments later, the judicial process in Freetown is almost at an end. But transitional justice in a post-conflict country goes beyond prolonged prison sentences. It’s about transforming society and embedding faith in the rule of law.
