AI Index: AFR 34/015/2003 (Public)

Liberia: Nigeria's offer of "asylum" to President Taylor flouts
international law


The offer by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo of "asylum" to President
Charles Taylor not only flouts international law but does nothing to
further a just and lasting peace in Liberia, Amnesty International said
today.

President Taylor has been indicted by the Special Court for Sierra
Leone for "bearing the greatest responsibility" for war crimes, crimes
against humanity and other serious violations of international humanitarian
law falling within the jurisdiction of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

"On 4 June, when the indictment against President Taylor was made
public by the court, the Government of Ghana failed to arrest him while he
was in Accra. Now the Government of Nigeria is also violating its
obligations under international law by promising that no legal action will
be taken against President Taylor if he leaves Liberia for Nigeria,"
Amnesty International said.

International law requires that those who are alleged to have
committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and other breaches of
international law must be brought to justice.

"Each state which is a party to the Geneva Conventions - - as is
Nigeria - - is under an obligation to bring to justice in its own courts
those who have committed or ordered grave breaches of the Conventions, to
extradite them to another country willing and able to do so or transfer
them to an international criminal court," the organization said. "There is
no exception: it applies to Nigeria and it applies to President Taylor."

"No one, regardless of their status - - including a head of state - -
has immunity for the most serious crimes under international law," Amnesty
International added.

"We are calling on President Obasanjo to fulfil Nigeria's obligations
under international law," Amnesty International said. "If President Taylor
enters Nigerian territory, he must be arrested."

The action first by the Government of Ghana and now of Nigeria runs
counter to the major progress made by the international community towards
ending impunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other grave
crimes, including by the establishment of the International Criminal Court
(the Statute of which has been ratified by both countries). The
Governments of Ghana and Nigeria have also ignored repeated requests by the
United Nations Security Council and Secretary-General to cooperate fully
with the Special Court.

"By closing ranks around President Taylor, governments of the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are perpetuating what
has been a major contributing factor to years of conflict in the region:
impunity for widespread and systematic violations of the most basic human
rights of civilians," Amnesty International said.

"The trade-off currently being played out between an end to the
Liberian conflict and immunity for President Taylor is unacceptable and
untenable," the organization stressed.

Any peace agreement for Liberia must include a mechanism for
establishing accountability for the human rights abuses committed by all
parties to the conflict if it is to be effective and sustainable. The
position taken in Lomé in 1999 when negotiating a peace agreement for
Sierra Leone - - that holding parties to the conflict accountable for
gross human rights abuses would forfeit a peace agreement - - not only
violated international law but was also ineffective in ensuring peace, as
became apparent in less than a year. The Special Court for Sierra Leone is
playing a major role in contributing towards reconciliation and sustained
peace in Sierra Leone.

"Rather than displaying contempt for international law and for the
Special Court for Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other ECOWAS states should show
unbending commitment to ensuring that the Liberian people - - who have
suffered so terribly - - see those responsible for crimes against them held
to account," Amnesty International urged



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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE

AI Index: AFR 34/015/2003 (Public)
News Service No: 162
7 July 2003

Presseerklärung aus unserer Londoner Zentrale, in der sich ai
zum "Asylangebot" Nigerias für den liberianischen Präsidenten Taylor
positioniert.

Nina Tesenfitz
Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
amnesty international
Sektion der Bundesrepublik Deutschland e.V.

visit:http://www.amnesty.de

amnesty international. Für die Menschenrechte.

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