• by Peter Boaz (washington)
• Wednesday, November 17, 2010
• Inter Press Service

International donors meeting in Dakar next week are expected to finance the prosecution of former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré nearly two decades after his removal from power, according to a coalition of rights organisations.

Legal proceedings against Habré - who is accused of thousands of political murders and brutal torture during his rule of Chad from 1982 to 1990 - have been delayed for nearly a decade since he was first indicted in Senegal in February 2000. Due to Senegal's insistence on full, up- front international financing for the trial, next week's meeting on Nov. 24 is expected to result in pledges to match the 8.59 million euro budget presented by the African Union and European Union. 'After so many years of tenacity and disappointments, Hissène Habré's victims can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel,' said Reed Brody, counsel for Human Rights Watch, who works with the victims. 'Senegal needs to get the proceedings under way before even more survivors die.' Legal quandaries have marred the trial for years. After Habré was ousted in 1990, he fled to Senegal. He was indicted 10 years later, but Senegalese courts threw out the case, arguing that they did not have universal jurisdiction. Victims of the ex-dictator then looked toward Belgium for prosecution. After a four-year investigation, a Belgian judge sought Habré's extradition in September 2005. On Jul. 2, 2006, however, the African Union mandated the Senegalese government to take the trial 'on behalf of Africa'. President Abdoulaye Wade agreed to hold the trial, on the condition that Senegal bear none of the financial burden.

The agreement was settled, and Senegal changed its penal code to include crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.

However, the government required an estimated 27 million euros for the trial to commence.

After lengthy negotiations with the AU and the EU, the budget was reduced to 8.59 million, which foresees a 20- month pretrial investigation and a five-month trial.

Belgium, Chad, the Netherlands, the United States, the AU and the EU have all expressed willingness to support the trial, along with other expected contributions.

The Senegalese government says pre-trial proceedings will begin once funding is complete. 'A fair trial for Habré in Senegal could be a milestone in the fight to hold the perpetrators of atrocities in Africa accountable for their crimes,' said Alioune Tine, president of the African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights (RADDHO).

However, prosecuting a former head of state for mass crimes in another country requires some special rules, warns a coalition of international human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch.

The organisations are calling on Senegal and the AU for the rapid conclusion of an agreement on witness and victim protection, immunity for 'insider' witnesses, and the broadcast of proceedings to Chad.

Ensuring the Chadian people access to the trial is one of the largest challenges to maximising the impact of Habré's prosecution. The groups note that the trial's budget includes a significant amount for outreach, press information, and trial monitoring activities.

'Holding Habré’s trial thousands of miles away from the victims and the country he ruled will require significant outreach to make sure that people in Chad know and understand what is happening and that the trial stimulates their own understanding of the past and the search for justice,' said Dobian Assingar, a Chadian activist with the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).

Hissène Habré, once termed 'Africa's Pinochet' by Human Rights Watch, is a former warlord who rose to national power in 1982. He was supported by the United States and France amidst fears that Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi would spread his influence by annexing northern Chad.

A 1992 truth commission report details Habré's reign, in which he oversaw up to 40,000 political killings and brutal tortures.

Senegal does not want to be involved in handling funds for the trial. The current financing outline has the contributions deposited in an AU-controlled bank account. A management committee, with representatives from Senegal, the AU, the EU, and leading donors, will supervise the distribution of funds.

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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