John Caulker, Executive Director of Forum of Conscience, said in Freetown: "The RUF has launched a direct attack on the peace process. In reaction, on 15 May we called for the establishment of an international war crimes tribunal. But this does not mean that there is no longer a role for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) once peace has returned to this country."

Neither an international war crimes tribunal nor the judicial system within Sierra Leone are likely to have the capacity to promptly and efficiently undertake a large number of prosecutions of combatants accused of human rights abuses. Also, many combatants are children who were abducted by the armed parties to the conflict. Judicial processes may not be appropriate in such cases. The TRC process can assist in addressing the sense of injustice which many may feel if there seems little prospect in the foreseeable future of prosecutions of those implicated in human rights abuses against relatives, friends or local communities.

Shehu Lahai, Executive Secretary of the National Forum for Human Rights, the largest coalition of human rights organisations in Sierra Leone, today endorsed the position articulated by Forum of Conscience and ARTICLE 19.

Andrew Puddephatt, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19, stated in London: "The TRC undoubtedly still has a key role to play in building a sustainable peace and preventing a return to the horrific human rights abuses we have witnessed over the past nine years. A credible and participatory TRC process will enable individuals to bear witness about their suffering and provide forums in which former combatants are required to account for their actions.

It will also promote understanding of the roots of the conflict in Sierra Leone."

ENDS Notes to Editors: 1. In February 2000, the Sierra Leone parliament passed legislation to establish the TRC, as provided for in Article 26 of the June 1999 Lome peace agreement.

For further information contact John Caulker at Forum of Conscience (Tel.

+232 22 228489. E-mail: johncaulker@hotmail.com) or Jon Lunn at ARTICLE 19 (Tel. +44 20 7278 9292. E-mail: africa@article19.org).

Katherine Huxtable Press Officer

ARTICLE 19 Lancaster House 33 Islington High Street London N1 9LH