Special Court in Senegal Opens Trial against Former President of Chad (July 20, 2015) [1]
On July 20, 2015, a special court in Senegal opened the trial of Hissène Habré, the former President of Chad, for crimes against humanity. According to a news article [3], “On 22 August 2012, Senegal and the African Union (AU) signed an agreement establishing the Extraordinary African Chambers in the Senegalese justice system to try alleged perpetrators of international crimes committed in Chad between 1982 and 1990 – including genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture.” The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, called the trial “a milestone for justice in Africa” and noted “that his Office, which has actively supported accountability efforts in Senegal and Chad over the past few years, will also closely monitor the trial’s progress.”