UN Secretary General's Visit

Hello guys, it's Mo here again. How is everyone doing; I hope great. As for me, work is getting hectic but educational as well.

The past week brought about a roller coaster of emotions for me. My grandma was and is still ill which has been very stressful. Due to her age, any ailment (such as cold, back ache, chest pains etc) can be serious. She's the rock in my life and I love her dearly. Spending time with her is of utmost importance to me and everyday God keeps her with my family is a blessing and I look forward to many more years with her.

To see the daily struggle my immediate family goes through just to eat, pay bills and send my siblings to school is depressing. I help as much as I can (which isn't enough) and it's emotional to realize that I can't solve all the problems I see around me. I see the struggle and suffering in the eyes of people I come across on the street and I wish I can help everyone, but I can't and I hate that about myself. The only way I can gain some solace in the carnage around me is to help those that are less fortunate than myself, and I plan on doing that upon my return to the US.

On another note, the UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan paid a visit to the Special Court today. I was very excited to meet him and hear what he had to say about the Court and it's work in International Humanitarian Law. He toured the courtrooms, met with the Court's Registrar, Judges, Prosecutor, Principal Defender and he also toured the detention facility. His entourage was quite large and elaborate. He's very well protected.

I was excited about his trip but not the speech he gave. His speech from a legal stand point was somewhat inappropriate and disappointing. He referred to the accused (defendants) as criminals who killed, raped and amputated civilians, destroyed the economy of Sierra Leone and must now pay for their actions. From a legal stand point, his speech in my opinion, was inappropriate. I believe he should have been advised that the defendants stand accused of those crimes but none has been found guilty. Each accused is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. As a career diplomat and the UN Secretary General, he should be mindful of his words and their impact. Colleagues in the Defense Office voiced the same disappointment in his speech, and some even elude to the fact that if the UN Secretary General already believe the accused are all guilty, why have a trial, or would the trials even be fair. His speech assumes each defendant has already been found guilty which is not the case; and to make such a speech in the presence of the judges who are supposed to be impartial arbitrators is even more dissapointing and troubling.

As for work, it continues to be hectic, educational, emotional and rewarding. I continue to learn so much about the law and about myself. The hectic part of my job keeps my mind focused on my tasks, the educational part of my job gets me prepared for a career in this area of the law (human rights and international humanitarian law), the emotional part of my job keeps me grounded and its rewarding because I'm learning a lot about myself.

I live in a city where drinking water is scarce, electricity is almost non-existent, roads are bad, school isn't free to anyone (even grade, middle or high school), jobs are hard to come by and if you can find one, it doesn't pay enough to take care of bare necessities. For example, I haven't had government issued electricity for over a month; I have to buy petrol everyday at over $4 a gallon to run a generato for four hours a night so that I can do some work, charge my phone and use a fan to sleep, but I rather be nowhere else this summer than HOME. More than ever, I appreciate the life of luxury I live in the US and I thank God, my family, the US Government and all those who played a role in giving me that life.

More than ever, I am now sure how I want to use my legal education and the rest of my life to make a difference in the lives of others and in my own little way to society at large. I plan on using my law degree to speak for those that can't speak for themselves and those that can't fight for themselves. As a people, we all belong to one race-- and that's the human race. Human Rights in my opinion is not a government issued right, instead, it is a right from God to all humans which is to be protected and ensured by all governments. I would consider my life a success, if I can make a difference in a child's life and that child can say he/she is a better person because of me; because society will have one more contributing member.

Impunity for human right violation must cease. If the rights of all humans is to be ensured, the right of each human must be ensured. After each genocide or atrocity (WWI, WWII, The Armenian Massacre, Cambodia, Kosovo, Holocaust, Japan, Rwanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and now Darfur, just to name a few), the world has said no more; but each time such atrocities and genocide are repeated and often with impunity for the perpetrators. THIS MUST STOP. How many people have to die before the UN or the rest of the world can classify a conflict as genocide or war crimes? One life lost to an atrocity is one too many. The life of none is worth more than that of any, and until all of us recognize this fact, human right abuses will continue around the world.

I ask you all reading this blog to send me your comments, ideas and suggestions about your personal ideas on how the world and its leaders can ensure and protect the human rights of us all. Once again as always, I thank you all for your comments, ideas, support and suggestions and I hope to hear from you all.

Sincerely
Mo

Pictures: Attached are pictures of the UN Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan's visit and a picture of me and a collegue, Selwyn Nicol. As you can tell, it was a hot day today.