Although many war crimes suspects, including Sankoh, are already in custody in Sierra Leone, others have fled to Liberia and other West African countires. To resolve this problem, the Secretary-General recommended that the Council endow the court with the power to request the surrender of suspects in third States. The absence of a Chapter VII mandate will also prevent the court from extending its jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes now being perpetrated in neighboring Guinea. In September, militias armed and trained by President Charles Taylor of Liberia, the same leader who supported the RUF, began massacring civilians in yet another brutal campaign. To date, about 600 people have been killed and some 60,000 forcefully expelled from their homes.
Intelligence analysts fear that the region is headed towards full-blown war.
Although a UN tribunal with a Chapter VII mandate might have been able to prosecute these crimes, the Special Court will be limited only to atrocities committed within Sierra Leone. Another potential problem for the Special Court concerns its funding. Institutions created by the Security Council, such as the previous Tribunals, are funded by scaled assessments, in which each country's contribution is proportionate to its size and wealth. However, because it will not be directly established by the United Nations, the Sierra Leone court will be financed through voluntary contributions. In his report, the Secretary-General warned against voluntary contributions, arguing it would render the court neither viable nor sustainable, and recommended it be financed through assessed contributions.