Senegal says it has moved a step closer to trying Chad's former leader Hissene Habre, appointing judges and passing an empowering bill.
Mr Habre has been living in exile in Senegal's capital under nominal house arrest since fleeing Chad in 1990.
Sometimes dubbed "Africa's Pinochet", he is accused of human rights abuses during his eight years in power.
Senegal has also appealed for financial help from international donors to conduct the trial.
The measures approved on Wednesday allow a 2007 law permitting the prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture to be applied to events in the past.
"We have witnessed a joint session of the parliament which gave us the legal basis to try President Habre," said Justice Minister Madicke Niang.
Mr Niang said Senegal needed 18bn CFA francs ($43m) to proceed with the trial.
"Donors have not given us anything yet," he said.
Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch said that Senegal now had "one of the world's strongest laws for prosecuting atrocities".
The group welcomed the new measures, though it noted that it was eight years since the African Union asked for Mr Habre to be tried, and more than eight years since he had first been indicted in Senegal.
Mr Habre was deposed in an uprising led by current President Idriss Deby, and denies knowledge of the alleged murder and torture of political opponents.
A commission of inquiry said his government was responsible for some 40,000 politically motivated murders and 200,000 cases of torture.
There have been a number of international efforts to bring him to justice, but Senegal has always refused to accept any extradition requests.
(BBC)
<< Back