A West African regional court on November 19th ruled that Senegal cannot by itself try exiled former Chadian dictator Hissene Habré for crimes against humanity. The court said a special tribunal could be created.

The prosecution should be carried out “according to international norms that in such situations allow the creation of ad-hoc or special jurisdictions to avoid impunity,” the Abuja-based Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) court said in a statement.

Habré has been blamed for the killing and torturing of thousands of people during his rule from 1982 to 1990. A truth commission report in 1992 accused Habre’s regime of committing some 40,000 political murders. But the former dictator, who has been living in exile in Senegal for a decade, has alleged that his rights are being violated by Dakar, which has been looking into the allegations against him.

The ruling came ahead of an international conference in Dakar where donors last week committed themselves to 8.59 million Euros to finance the prosecution of Habré by a Senegalese court. The amount covers a 20-month pre-trial investigation and a five-month trial.

The African Union in 2006 had mandated Senegal to prosecute and try Habré for crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture “on behalf of Africa”. But proceedings against him have been held up for years due to Senegal’s insistence on international funding.

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