Charles Taylor to The Hague

A Security Council resolution passed unanimously on June 16 called on the Secretary-General Kofi Annan to assist with plans to move Taylor to The Hague to stand trial in a special chamber of the Sierra Leone tribunal.



The likelihood of a Taylor trial taking place in The Hague moved a step closer earlier in the week, when the United Kingdom agreed, in principle, to have him serve his sentence in Britain if convicted.



Taylor has been held in detention since March in Freetown, where the Special Court for Sierra Leone has charged him with 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including responsibility for murder, rape and the use of child soldiers. He has pleaded not guilty.



The court requested that the trial venue be moved to The Hague, where the court would make use the facilities of the International Criminal Court. They cited “concerns about the stability in the region”, where some countries, including Sierra Leone and Liberia, have only recently emerged from civil wars.



The Netherlands had agreed to host the trial, on condition that another country would provide a prison for Taylor, if he were convicted.



The UK offer still requires legislation to be passed.