Mr. Sahr Lahai Jusu, the financial secretary for Sierra Leone, was elected to the Court’s Committee on Budget and Finance during the eighth plenary session of the Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court, which was held on December 9 at the World Forum Centre in The Hague (the Netherlands). He will serve the term alongside Jasleen Chaona Chirembo (Malawi).

After Mr. Ibrahim Sorie Yillah was elected as a member (Vice Chair) of the Executive Board of the Court’s Trust Fund for Victims in 2021, and Justice Miatta Maria Samba was elected as a judge of the Court in 2020, Mr. Jusu is the third Sierra Leonean to be elected to a senior position at the ICC in three years.

His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio of the Republic of Sierra Leone declared the nomination, election, and/or appointment of Sierra Leoneans in the international system a top campaign pledge in 2018. The President Bio-led Government of Sierra Leone pledged itself to “activate and encourage citizens to work in regional and international entities,” which is represented in the “Strengthening External Relations for Integration” chapter of the country’s Medium-Term National Development Plan 2019–2023.

The Government of Sierra Leone expressed the opinion that Mr. Jusu’s competence, qualifications, and prior experience, among others, at various regional and multilateral financial institutions and as the Government’s primary adviser on economic and financial matters, make him valuable in advancing the principles, objectives, and values in its nomination of Mr. Jusu for the one seat allocated to the African States Parties on the election of the Committee on Budget and Finance.

His nomination and election are in keeping with Sierra Leone’s overall commitment to the ICC and the effective and efficient execution of its significant mandate. He possesses the necessary competence as required by the Committee.

The ICC submits financial, fiscal, and administrative papers to the Assembly of State Parties as part of its yearly budget review, which is examined by the Committee on Budget and Finance. In order to offer a suitable structure for the budgetary and financial assessment and monitoring of the resources of the ICC, it was established by consensus in 2002.

The Committee reviews the proposed program budget that the Court is seeking to fund in order to fulfill its prosecutorial, judicial, and organizational duties as well as its obligations to defendants and victims, and it provides recommendations. The State Parties then decide during the ASP on the final annual ICC budget. The Committee holds two annual meetings.

Mr. Jusu represents African borrowers on the IDA Committee on Resource Mobilization and Allocation of the World Bank.

Recent funding for 74 low-income countries totaling US$93 billion was announced by the committee in Japan.