Despite the detailed descriptions that Beah provided in terms of the people he killed and the violence he engaged in; he makes no references of personally engaging in sexual violence.  In fact, Beah makes little reference to witnessing rape throughout his memoir which is unusual considering the overwhelming evidence that systematic rape was used as a tool of war in Sierra Leone at the time.  Various international reports confirm that while Beah was a child soldier, rape was commonly used within armed conflicts. It is possible, however, that Beah downplayed discussions of rape due to external pressures that threaten persecution; on September 15, 2000, the government of Sierra Leone ratified the Rome Statute in the International Criminal Court (ICC) acknowledging systematic rape as amounting to a crime against humanity.  This is significant because Beah published his memoirs in 2007, and therefore was at risk of being charged with international war crimes by the United Nations (UN).  The 1999 Peace Agreement (Lomé Peace Agreement) in Sierra Leone was overseen by the UN and it was pronounced that amnesty would not be granted to anyone found guilty of serious violations to International Human Rights Law, including anything that amounts to Crimes Against Humanity. Therefore, Beah was at risk of international legal repercussions if he admitted to engaging in wartime rape and other forms of violence against women.