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15 September 2000





The International Commission of Inquiry for Togo is making public today its mandate, methods of work and the measures it is taking to ensure the protection of all the persons cooperating with its investigations.
"We have decided to make this advance notice public to ensure the greatest degree of transparency and to inform the public in Togo and elsewhere about our objectives and the manner in which we are going to proceed, especially to ensure the safety and the protection of all persons – victims, witnesses, members of their families and others – wishing to cooperate in our investigations” stated Mr. Mahamat Hassan Abakar, the chairman of the Commission of inquiry. He added that "the protection of our sources and of our information is one of our main concerns and one of the conditions to the success of our mission. Another factor is the cooperation with the Government of Togo and the guarantees they will provide to facilitate our work".
Mr. Abakar also announced that the Commission will be in Geneva for a second series of working meetings from 18 to 22 September 2000. During these meetings, it will finalize its work plan and further elaborate its procedures, including those relating to the protection of witnesses. It will also begin to hear witnesses.
"We wish to meet the representatives of the Governments of Togo, Benin and Ghana in order to clarify and agree about the modalities of our inquiries in the field" added Mr. Abakar. Following these meetings and the outcome of its consultations, the Commission will decide on the next course of action.
The International Commission of Inquiry for Togo was formed on 7 June 2000 by the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity to investigate the allegations that hundreds of persons were extrajudicially executed in Togo in 1998. In addition to its chairman, Mr. Abakar, the Commission comprises Mr. Issaka Souna (Niger) and Mr. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro (Brazil).


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