[JURIST] The United Nations Security Council called for continued international financial support [press release and statement] of the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) [official website; JURIST news archive] Thursday. The 15-member group also welcomed the start of the trial against former Liberian President Charles Taylor [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] and applauded the court for handing out its first judgments [JURIST report] last week. The Security Council said an international effort was needed to ensure "remaining fugitive indictee" Johnny Paul Koroma [Trial Watch profile] is brought before the court. Authorities are still searching for Koroma, despite unsubstantiated reports of his death in 2003.

SCSL President George Gelaga-King briefed the Security Council on the court's financial situation on June 8. King asked for international financial support [press release, PDF], and warned that the court's available funds will be exhausted by November 2007. The court has been operating both in Freetown, Sierra Leone, as well as in The Hague, where Charles Taylor was transferred [JURIST report] for security reasons. Taylor's trial has already suffered multiple delays [JURIST report]. The UN News Service has more.