Secretary-General Appoints Prosecutor, Registrar to Special Court for Sierra Leone

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Brenda Hollis of the United States as Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and Binta Mansaray of Sierra Leone as Registrar of the Special Court.  The appointments are with effect from 16 February 2010.

Ms. Hollis succeeds Stephen Rapp, who resigned last year to become United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues.  The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Rapp’s invaluable contribution to the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Ms. Hollis was appointed in consultation with the Government of Sierra Leone.  She brings to the position extensive experience as a prosecutor at the national and international level.  She currently is a Senior Trial Attorney at the Special Court and is leading the prosecution in the trial of Charles Taylor, former President of Liberia.  Ms. Hollis previously worked in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and briefly assisted the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in organizational issues and the preparation of its first cases.

She holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Denver, United States, and an undergraduate degree from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, United States.

Ms. Mansaray succeeds Herman von Hebel, who is now at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.  The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. von Hebel’s service at the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

The appointment of Ms. Mansaray was made in consultation with the President of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.  Ms. Mansaray will bring particularly insightful experience as the Special Court for Sierra Leone downsizes and prepares for closure.  She has been serving as Acting Registrar since June 2009 and was Deputy Registrar of the Special Court from July 2007.  Prior to becoming Deputy Registrar, she was the Head of the Outreach Section of the Special Court for four years. 

She received a Master of Arts from Fordham University, United States, and a Bachelor of Arts from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.

The Secretary-General is confident that these two appointments will assist the Special Court in progressing towards the efficient and timely completion of its work.

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For information media • not an official record