SCSL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE REVIEWS COURTS OPERATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 FREETOWN 000143 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/01/2017 TAGS: KDEM KJUS PGOV PREL UNSC SL SUBJECT: SCSL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE REVIEWS COURTS OPERATIONS Classified By: Ambassador Thomas N. Hull for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) Management Committee (MC) traveled to Freetown February 18-22 to meet with SCSL staff to discuss the Court's Completion Strategy and budget, ongoing concerns about identifying adequate sources of voluntary contributions to sustain the Court, the status of preparations for the Charles Taylor trial in The Hague, personnel concerns, legacy issues, and best practices to maximize Court efficiency. The Committee emphasized the necessity of finalizing a three-year budget based on a comprehensive Completion Strategy that sets benchmarks for finishing the Court's work. The Committee also heard from staff regarding morale issues, particularly related to the leadership of the Registrar, and evaluated implementation of recommendations from the Cassese report. Recurring themes throughout the meetings included concerns about limited resources and the consequent adverse effect on Court operations, and the lack of communication amongst Court officials. Court officials presented a budget of nearly $37 million for 2007, the largest to date, stating that preparations for the Taylor trial in The Hague had increased costs significantly. END SUMMARY. MC RECEIVES UPDATE ON COURT OPERATIONS -------------- ¶2. (C) SCSL Management Committee members traveled to Freetown February 18 - 22 for meetings with Court officials on the Court's operations, finalizing a Completion Strategy and budget, reviewing morale issues related to the job performance of Registrar Lovemore Munlo, legacy and personnel issues, and preparations in The Hague for the June 4 commencement of the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor. The Committee also met with GOSL officials to discuss legacy issues and continuing GOSL support for the Court. PolOff participated as the USG representative. Court officials briefed the MC on the status of trials and ongoing preparations for the Taylor trial in The Hague. GOSL officials, including Vice President Berewa and Attorney General F.M. Carew, pledged their continuing support for the Court, but expressed reservations that the Government would have the capacity to maintain the facility once the Court completes its mandate. AG Carew acknowledged the utility of �A;the Court. He noted that many Sierra Leonean lawyers had received training while working at the Court, and the Court had helped restore peace and showed that impunity would not be tolerated. COMPLETION STRATEGY AND ACCOMPANYING BUDGET ARE A MUST -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) MC members stressed the importance of preparing a comprehensive notional three-year budget to complement the revised Completion Strategy to map out a clear timeline for finishing the Court's work. They said it was vital that there be clarity, and the Court should provide narration and graphs showing reductions in staffing and costs as the Court moves closer to completing its mandate. Court officials were receptive and assured the MC it would receive a completed budget document for CY 2007, 2008, and 2009 by the March 5 deadline. Court officials presented a budget of nearly $37 million for 2007, the largest to date and an increase of nearly $10 million over the previous year's budget. Court officials said this figure included all the recommendations from the Cassese report with budget implications. It also captured additional expenses incurred, fees and travel for Judge Cassese and additional funding to cover the expanded role and duties of SCSL President Gelaga King, who now resides in Freetown. Court officials said they had not had time to complete budgets for CY 2008 and 2009 and were unable to give estimated figures for those years. REGULAR FINANCIAL UPDATES NEEDED -------------- ¶4. (C) The Management Committee noted it had difficulty getting an adequate and accurate picture of the Court's finances and requested the Registrar provide a detailed financial chart and narrative the first week of each month that explicitly describes the Court's spending and budget projections. The Committee emphasized the need to show donors that the Court is winding down its operations and reducing costs and staffing. Registrar Munlo said financial reports had been provided bi-weekly in the past but had been discontinued. OTP BRIEFING -------------- FREETOWN 00000143 002 OF 003 ¶5. (C) During the meeting with the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP),Prosecutor Stephen Rapp reported his office had finalized the Charles Taylor prosecution team, but because the Taylor case was essentially three cases in one, he would need additional staff. He said pre-trial briefs and potential witness summaries were due on April 4, and there could be 60-70 live witnesses. He said his office had filed a motion to use video teleconferencing for some of the witnesses to reduce costs, and there would be a ruling soon. He also said his office would reduce staffing significantly in 2008 and 2009, but expressed concern his office would not be sufficiently staffed to handle appeals if guilty verdicts were returned in the CDF and AFRC trials. He also voiced concern about budget implications for long-term protection of witnesses and said one of the greatest challenges the Court will face will be judicial management of time. JUDGES VOICE CONCERNS -------------- ¶6. (C) The Court's judges expressed grave concern about lack of resources and staffing and accused the MC of holding up justice by being unresponsive to requests for additional resources. They complained they were at a disadvantage when writing judgments due to inexperienced staff and limited resources, and resented the fact they must continuously look over their shoulders to see if there is enough money to do their job. The Management Committee responded it had not been made aware of many of the judges, concerns until last September when it had approved additional resources for the judges, and much of what the judges were saying was news to them. They reminded the judges the Registrar bears the responsibility for allocation of resources. ¶7. (C) The judges also accused the MC of only allocating resources after Charles Taylor was apprehended, and as a result, the other detainees had not received fair treatment. They asked the MC to not interfere with the administration of justice by withholding resources. The MC responded it had no intention of interfering with the Court's work. ¶8. (C) The judges also felt the independent assessment conducted by Judge Antonio Cassese was too far reaching and had violated judicial independence. They were particularly unhappy with Cassese's assessments of ongoing cases, something they claimed was unprecedented and an obvious violation of judicial jurisprudence. The MC explained other tribunals had conducted independent evaluations, which had produced helpful recommendations. The MC thought this would be useful for the SCSL as well. The MC acknowledged that fiscal constraints caused by voluntary contributions put considerable strains on the Court, and after reviewing the timeframes for writing judgments proposed in the Completion Strategy submitted in August 2006, the MC realized that the Court clearly needed more resources, which it had approved. ¶9. (C) In a separate meeting with the Chamber II judges who will hear the Taylor case in The Hague, the judges raised concerns about the timing of an appointment of an alternate judge, the time that they will be allotted to move to The Hague, and their remuneration package while posted in The Hague. They argued that an alternate judge should be appointed in time to participate in every aspect of the trial, including all pre-trial activities. The MC assured them it was moving forward in a timely fashion on the appointment and would most likely make a selection by mid March. The judges also voiced concern about their salaries while they are posted in The Hague. They argued they will be hearing a very important case, but will be the worst paid judges in The Hague, and do not want to be humiliated. The MC explained they will receive their base salary, but not the Daily Living Allowance (DLA),which they receive in Freetown. The MC said it had given careful consideration to this issue and had actually discovered that by using the UN conversion rate for Euros to dollars, the judges, pay would be more than what they receive in Freetown. The MC promised to revisit the issue if for any reason the judges ended up receiving less pay. ¶10. (C) The judges also disagreed with President Gelaga King's decision to finish the CDF and AFRC judgments in Freetown before moving to The Hague. They argued that the Taylor trial would be pushed back if the judgments took longer to write than expected. They said they could both deliberate and run a trial if they were in The Hague. They also said they needed time to settle in The Hague, and a mid-May departure date would be too late for them to become acquainted with technical equipment and support staff, and develop a relationship with the ICC. OPERATIONS IN THE HAGUE FREETOWN 00000143 003 OF 003 -------------- ¶11. (C) In the meeting with the Working Group on the Charles Taylor trial, Deputy Registrar Herman von Hebel said Court Management currently had one coordinator on-site overseeing operations in The Hague. He said the Court had secured office space and a location for witnesses and was focusing on the Court's considerable Information Technology needs. According to von Hebel, witness issues loom large, particularly considering the numbers. Acquiring travel orders, passports, and visas will require considerable resources. He said visas would be handled through Accra, and the Court would identify a process of how to deal with high-profile witnesses. According to von Hebel, the Netherlands would assume financial responsibility for security for the judges and buildings in The Hague. ¶12. (C) The Personnel Office told the MC there would be 99 SCSL staff in the sub-office in The Hague, 17 of whom will be security personnel under the ICC MOU. The MC voiced concern about the staffing numbers, particularly since it seemed that the numbers had increased from previous estimates. PRINCIPAL DEFENDER REQUESTS MORE FUNDING -------------- ¶13. (C) Principal Defender Vincent Nmehielle told the MC that his office was still under-funded, and the office's expertise was not being effectively utilized by Defense counsel teams. He said it often appeared his office had been reduced to the role of managing finances, such as vetting bills submitted by defense counsels. During the meeting on the completion budget, Court officials said they had implemented Cassese's recommendation of full support to the Defence and had increased the Defense's operational funding for 2007 by $753,700, or 23 percent, as compared to the previous year's budget. REGISTRAR'S LEADERSHIP IS QUESTIONED -------------- ¶14. (C) The MC heard repeated complaints about Registrar Lovemore Munlo's leadership and was particularly appalled at his handling of the announcement to staff of the death of Sam Hinga Norman, one of the Court's more well-known detainees indicted for war crimes. Hinga Norman had been flown to Dakar for hip replacement surgery, and died on February 22 from complications following the surgery. Munlo provided no assurances to staff regarding their safety or guidance as to how the Court would handle this unforeseen crisis. ¶15. (C) In the meetings that both Munlo and Deputy Registrar von Hebel attended with the MC, the communication gap between them was marked. The MC also was surprised by information gleaned from their meetings that clearly showed the Registrar was not passing along pertinent information to the MC on pressing issues. Many staff told the MC there was little communication from the Registrar on how the Court would begin to reduce staffing levels, which heightened staff's apprehension levels. COMMENT -------------- ¶15. (C) The MC's visit exposed a number of glaring problems with Court operations, particularly in the offices of the Registrar, Principal Defender and Security. In this critical period, it is uncertain if Court officials will be able to meet the MC's request and put together a clear and concise notional three-year budget and accompanying Completion Strategy by March 5. The Court has yet to show how it will draw down operations, which will hinder securing additional voluntary contributions to sustain operations. Leadership issues continue to impair operations. The Registrar is unwilling to accept any responsibility for criticisms leveled at him in the Cassese report. It will be imperative for President King to assert his leadership to begin to address many of the issues confronting the Court. END COMMENT. HULL