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Commentators discuss model Naomi Campbell's appearance at the war crimes tribunal of ex-Liberia President Charles Taylor.

The president of Human Rights First that Ms Campbell's testimony at The Hague matters to future conflicts:

"We may never understand what makes a human being like Charles Taylor capable of planning and executing such brutality. But by targeting the enablers of atrocities, we can make it more difficult and expensive for would-be perpetrators to carry out their crimes, and we may thereby help prevent violence against civilians.
Ìý
"Though the British supermodel may not have intended to bring the issue of genocide's supply chain into the spotlight, if leaders can begin to address the underlying issues her testimony raises, she may help ensure that The Hague won't have to hold a future trial for genocide in southern Sudan."

dismay at the decision to ban photographers, saying the law should treat everyone equally:

"Ms Campbell has been granted special privileges that are usually only afforded to witnesses whose testimony will expose them to the risk of serious personal harm. That debases the reputation of the UN's international courts. After all, Ms Campbell's desire to avoid bad publicity is hardly analogous with the bravery of those Bosnian Muslims who risked their lives to testify against Slobodan Milosevic."

the ruling not to photograph the model hypocritical:

"There is a rich irony that a lady who has made a fortune out of being photographed, and indeed may not be much good at anything else, should have obtained an order preventing photographs being taken of her. But then that is how the minds of some superstars operate.
Ìý
"They crave publicity on their own terms - for their minor defects to be airbrushed out in carefully staged photographs (I am not referring to La Campbell here) and for their often quite minor achievements to be praised to the skies by sycophantic journalists. It has to be admitted that for much of the time the media collude in this charade.
Ìý
"But if you take a snap in public of these same preening stars which does not match up to their carefully cultivated image, they are likely to cut up nasty. Naomi Campbell has form in this respect."

that the photography ban is pointless:

"It is worth seeing is that these proceedings are televised, so we are going to see her testimony...
Ìý
"What we are not going to see this motorcade with police outriders tearing in and out of court. Quite what that achieves, I fail to understand...
Ìý
"These sorts of applications are for witnesses in war crimes trials who fear for their life and are therefore allowed to give evidence anonymously. Of course that is absolutely impossible now... A lot of this testimony has been fought out in the media already."

to the model as the "notorious Blackberry thrower" and suggests photographers' personal safety is more at risk than Ms Campbell's:

"After she punched a camera person for asking her about the case, you'd think it's the photographers that we all had to worry about."

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