Case Studies Presentations PRESENTATION ON SIERRA LEONE Ms. Yasmin Sooka: How can a Commission ensure gender justice for both Victims and Perpetrators? At the end of a conflict, there is an expectation that societies will have to deal with the past if they are to build a new society in which the underlying causes of conflict are addressed and the rule of law is restored. Dealing with the past requires that issues of truth about the past conflict, justice and accountability, reparations and institutional reform are addressed. Transition to a new democracy offers unique opportunities to manage transformation. For women it is a particularly opportune moment as it provides a unique moment to address law reform and issues of equality at a legal, procedural and substantive level. The truth commission, if properly utilised and structured, can be that vehicle. Sierra Leone is a tiny country on the West African Coast, blessed by ample rainfall, fertile land and richly resourced by diamonds. At last call, the population numbered 5,5 million people. However on the UN index, it remains at the bottom of the index for poor countries and proper figures have not existed for the last ten years in respect of developmental indices given the conflict which raged there. Context-Civil War The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002) began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Truth Commissions: the Best Practices 41