SPECIAL COURT UPDATE: COURT PRESIDENT TO TRAVEL TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 FREETOWN 001042

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/2016
TAGS: KJUS PREL PGOV PHUM SL
SUBJECT: SPECIAL COURT UPDATE: COURT PRESIDENT TO TRAVEL TO
US

REF: FREETOWN 1028

Classified By: Ambassador Thomas N. Hull for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) President of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
Justice George Gelaga King informed the Ambassador December
22 that he planned to travel to New York to meet with the
Court's Management Committee on January 22. He also
requested Post's assistance to arrange meetings on January
23-24 at the Department with IO, S/WCI, AF, and L. In a
separate meeting with PolOff on December 21, Deputy Registrar
von Hebel said that donor financial support was increasing,
and that the President was taking a more assertive role in
Court management. Von Hebel criticized Registrar Munlo,s
leadership for low staff morale and retention. END SUMMARY.

-------------- -
COURT'S PRESIDENT WILL TRAVEL TO US IN JANUARY
-------------- -


2. (SBU) On December 22, the Ambassador met with President
of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) Justice George
Gelaga King. King told the Ambassador that he would travel
to New York and Washington in late January to meet with the
Court's Management Committee and Department officials. He
requested Post,s assistance to arrange meetings with IO,
S/WCI, AF, and L on January 23-24.

--------------
PRESIDENT'S RESPONSE TO CASSESE REPORT
--------------


3. (C) King said that he had not yet read the
recently-released Cassese report, but understood that there
were a number of recommendations that had already been
implemented. He noted the new rule that requires the
President to reside full-time in Sierra Leone and allows for
the incumbent to stand for re-election. He felt that his
presence in-country had helped to improve management of Court
issues. He also said that the Management Committee had
implemented new rules, which will speed up the legal process,
although he did not clarify what those were. His overall
assessment was that Cassese's "intervention" was successful.


4. (C) The Ambassador asked if King would meet with members
of Congress during his trip. King said that he would, but
said that he would need to establish new relationships as
many of the chairs of the committees had changed. The
Ambassador informed King that Ambassador-at-Large for War
Crimes Issues Williamson was planning to visit Sierra Leone
early in 2007. King said that he would welcome Ambassador
Williamson,s first visit to Sierra Leone.

--------------
TRIAL UPDATES
--------------


5. (C) King reported that the Court's judges would soon be
writing judgments for the AFRC and CDF cases, and that he had
instructed them to finish the judgments before any of them
departed for The Hague for the Charles Taylor trial. He
doubted that the Taylor trial would start as originally
scheduled in April, but could not see it slipping to a
September start date. The Ambassador said that the USG would
like to see the case move forward, and that there may be a
need for coordination of witnesses for the Taylor trial and
his son's trial in the U.S. King responded that this should
not be a problem.

--------------
REGISTRAR CONTROVERSY
--------------


6. (C) King told the Ambassador that Registrar Lovemore
Munlo would not accompany him to the U.S. in January. He
said that Deputy Registrar Herman von Hebel and new Special
Prosecutor Stephen Rapp would be along on the trip. He added
that there was some controversy regarding the Registrar
position and term length in office. According to King, he
was under the impression that Munlo had been appointed for
three years, but realized recently that it was for only 12
months. (Note: Munlo,s term is set to expire in February of
next year.)

--------------
SUBSTITUTE JUDGE

FREETOWN 00001042 002 OF 002


--------------


7. (C) King said that there would need to be an alternate
judge selected in case anything happened to one of the three
Taylor case judges or five appeals judges. The Ambassador
asked how this person's position would be funded, to which
King responded that there was enough financial support to
fund this position.

--------------
FUNDING AND LEGACY CONCERNS
--------------


8. (C) The Ambassador asked how the Court was progressing
with donor contributions. King said that countries were
starting to give contributions, and added that Deputy
Registrar Herman von Hebel had been instrumental in
convincing the Netherlands to pledge over three million
Euros. The Ambassador explained the difficulties the
Department currently faces while we are under a continuing
resolution. He told King that he could not say what the
implications would be for future funding for the Court, but
assured King of continuing USG support. King thanked the
Ambassador for the explanation and said that he would take it
up with Department officials when he travels to Washington.


9. (C) The Ambassador and King also discussed Court legacy
issues. The Ambassador said that although the Special Court
is a wonderful facility, it would be difficult for the GoSL
to maintain it. King said that this was a paramount
consideration, and that he had told President Kabbah that the
GoSL did not possess the capacity to run the facility and
would need to find a new tenant.


10. (C) The Ambassador concluded the meeting telling King
that the consular section would soon begin to process
non-immigrant visas for official travel that could possibly
save King's staff from having to travel to Conakry for visa
interviews. King responded that this would be helpful to his
staff who may need visas. King thanked the Ambassador for
his continuing support.

--------------
UPDATE FROM DEPUTY REGISTRAR
--------------


11. (C) In a separate meeting with Deputy Registrar Herman
von Hebel on December 21, von Hebel told PolOff that the
Court's Management Committee had instructed the Court to
develop budgets for FY 2007, 2008, and 2009 by March. He
said that he felt that the Court could turn the corner in 2-3
months and begin to show more progress by meeting milestones
as established by the completion strategy. He said that the
Court would have an operational plan by January and had
enough funds to operate through April or early May.


12. (C) Von Hebel also said that although President King is
taking a more assertive role in Court management, morale
remains low. He squarely blamed Registrar Munlo commenting
that Munlo,s micromanagement and distrust of staff had
alienated many people, and that this had directly led to
difficulties retaining staff. He admitted that his
relationship with Munlo had been strained from the beginning,
but felt that a change in leadership was necessary for the
Court to move forward. He also felt that if he or someone
else were named Registrar, the Management Committee would
name a Sierra Leonean as Deputy.


13. (C) Von Hebel said that on the Management Committee,
Ambassador Kanu supported keeping Munlo as Registrar and
would threaten to use the "race card" if other members tried
to get rid of Munlo. Von Hebel said that he had raised his
concerns about Munlo with President King. He said that he
felt that President King tacitly supported Munlo's removal.
PolOff asked if von Hebel planned to stay at the Court. Von
Hebel responded that he had other offers from the ICTY and
Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but was committed to
the Court.
HULL