63rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect (Geneva)
Joint Statement delivered by Sierra Leone during the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence
15 September 2026
Mr. President,
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of Friends of R2P. We thank the Special Rapporteur for his report.
This year marks two decades since the establishment of the Human Rights Council. It has become an important part of the efforts to prevent atrocity crimes and a vital contributor to accountability for the communities most affected by them.
Together, the Council's mechanisms - including Special Procedures, the Universal Periodic Review, and independent investigative mechanisms - form a continuum to document violations, preserve evidence, and lay the groundwork for justice at national and international levels. The Special Rapporteur's mandate has played a particularly vital role in how we understand accountability: not as a single moment, but as a continuous process encompassing truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. Where cycles of impunity endure, so too does the risk of renewed atrocities.
As we mark this anniversary, we recall the commitments undertaken at the 2005 World Summit to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and recognise that truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence can contribute significantly to the fulfilment of those commitments.
Special Rapporteur, as the Council marks twenty years, how can it better place guarantees of non-recurrence at the heart of its efforts to prevent atrocity crimes?
I thank you.