Evaluating Transitional Justice: Accountability and Peacebuilding in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone

摘要

At first glance, the modern history of Sierra Leone is one of senseless tragedy. The country's eleven-year civil war (1991-2002) resulted in the death of an estimated 70,000 people and the displacement of 2.6 million, while the ebola epidemic has caused an estimated 4,000 deaths thus far. However, Sierra Leone's story is also one of striking exceptions, both in war and in peace. In war, the lack of ideological or ethnic motivation confounded scholars preoccupied with identity politics, while the wanton excess of brutal violence baffled those seeking to rationalise the aims of the main rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Furthermore, in peace, not only has violent conflict yet to recur, but most Sierra Leoneans seem inclined to 'forgive and forget' the wrongs wrought by the RUF and the government-backed Civil Defence Forces (CDF). In a world of recurrent intra-state conflict, Sierra Leone's demonstrated ability to reconcile, post-conflict, has been - in many ways - the most striking aspect of its modern history.