The Special Court for Sierra Leone
Because of the importance of the mission with which the Special Court for Sierra Leone has been invested, the Center established a permanent monitoring program in Freetown in June 2004.We believe that only an ongoing presence and attendance at trials, day in and day out, will enable us to report on and evaluate the work of the Special Court in a comprehensive manner.This program, in cooperation with the Human Rights Center, U.C. Berkeley, and the International Center for Transitional Justice, monitors the trials and Special Court's Outreach and Witness Programs.
Our monitors have attended daily court sessions since the first trial began. Their weekly reports, in conjunction with interim and thematic reports, cover the initial phase of the trials. Our website is updated with their information on a regular basis. Apart from the commitment and dedication of the monitors, acknowledgments are also due to the International Center for Transitional Justice with whom we share information and cooperate on issues regarding the Special Court, to our partners at the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley, and to the Wang Family Foundation for their ongoing support of this project.
David Cohen, Director