Special Court for Sierra Leone
The Office of the Prosecutor

PRESS RELEASE
Freetown, Sierra Leone, 9 March 2004

Prosecutor Speaks at International Women's Day Event

Yesterday Special Court Prosecutor David M. Crane told a gathering to mark International Women's Day that his office is responding to Sierra Leonean women who expect justice for the horrific crimes committed against them during the conflict.

Mr. Crane said, "My investigators and I have listened to the women of Sierra Leone - their stories of suffering and their demand for justice." He congratulated the women of the country for standing up to insist that "these atrocities never again happen to any other women or girls in Sierra Leone."

Crimes against women are the core charges for almost all of the current eleven indictments issued by the Prosecutor's office, and include rape, sexual slavery, and mutilation. Mr. Crane said that in every trial at the Special Court, Sierra Leonean women will tell their painful stories.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone is an international war crimes tribunal jointly formed by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations. Its mandate is to bring to justice those individuals found to bear the greatest responsibility for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed during the conflict in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996.

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