UN/SIERRA LEONE SPECIAL COURT: MANAGEMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000607 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNSC KJUS KDEM PGOV SL XA SUBJECT: UN/SIERRA LEONE SPECIAL COURT: MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN MCNEE'S JULY 10 LETTER TO AMBASSADOR KHALILZAD SEEKING SUPPORT FOR THE SPECIAL COURT ¶1. USUN has received a letter dated July 10, 2007 (full text - para 2) from Canadian Ambassador John McNee, current Chairman of the Sierra Leone Special Court Management Committee, addressed to Ambassador Khalilzad seeking additional U.S. financial support for the Special Court. The Special Court's New York representative recently informed members of the Management Committee that as of June 30, the Court had approximately $10.6 million in its account, an amount sufficient to sustain ongoing Court operations in Freetown and The Hague only until mid-October. Court officials have repeatedly emphasized to USUN that they are depending on a U.S. contribution to cover Court costs, now averaging approximately $2.8 million per month, through the balance of 2007 (i.e., November and December 2007) and into early 2008 until additional contributions from other donor states are received. ¶2. Text of July 10, 2007 letter from Special Court Chairman McNee to Ambassador Khalilzad: Begin text: Excellency, I am writing to you in Canada's capabity as chair of the Management Committee of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, to draw your attention to several important developments at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. You will, of course, have noted the recent appearance of the President and Prosecutor befor the Security Council, and the subsequent adoption by the Council of a Presidential Statement supporting the Court's work (S/PRST/2007/23). You will also have seen the news from Freetown that the Judges of Trial Chamber II have delivered their verdict in the AFRC case. A verdict in the CDF case is also expected shortly. And the trial of the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, has begun in The Hague. These are all significant milestones in the Special Court's life. Such progress has only been possible thanks to the continued hard work and dedication of the staff of the Court. Their tireless efforts, particularly over the past few months when the Court has had the additional challenge of establishing parallel facilities in The Hague, deserve our most sincere appreciation. These past months have also been a time for re-evaluation. Last September, the Management Committee invited Judge Antonio Cassese to undertake an "independent review" of the Court, with the intention of identifying changes or improvements that might help the Court complete its work in Freetown more expeditiously and efficiently, and ensuring the Court was well prepared for the trial in The Hague. Judge Cassese's reports - the full tet of which can be found at - highlighted the "remarkable achievement" of the Court to date: not least the speed with which it established itself; the rapid detention of indictees; the way it has grappled with novel issues of international criminal law; the "exemplary" outreach programme; and the groundbreaking establishment of a Defense Office. However, the report also identified several areas needing attention if the Court was to continue that success. In particular, he criticized the funding arrangements of the Court, and noted that the voluntary funding arrangements for the SCSL had meant not only continued financial insecurity, but also a history of false economics (for instance, he observed that early decisions to provide judges with only limited support had reduced the Court's costs initially, but resulted in delays in trial proceedings and decision writing, and therefore to increased costs in the long term). One such false economy, and another of Judge Cassese's key criticisms, was the fact that the Court had a non-resident, part-time President. This, he said, had resulted in a lack of leadership, weak coordination mechanisms, and insufficient ownership, particularly by the judges, of the Completion Strategy. He also considered that the Defense Office was not providing the defense teams with the level of support that had originally been envisaged. Finally, although his remit was to focus principally on judicial operations, Judge Cassese made several recommendations concerning day-ti-day management issues at the Court, including the need for better strategic leadership, improved communication between the different sections, and better provision for staff training. USUN NEW Y 00000607 002 OF 002 I am pleased to say that the senior leadership of the Special Court moved swiftly to address the most important issues identified in Judge Cassese's report. Inter alia, there is now a full-time, resident President; amendments have been made to the rules of procedure to streamline the Court's proceedings; and several new posts have been provided to lend additional support to the judges. A review of the role of the Defense Office has also been undertaken. Meanwhile, management practices at the Court have changed, with better coordination between sections, clearer lines of communication and more information sharing. As a result the Court is on track to complete its work in line with the benchmarks set out in its Completion Strateby (the latest update). In this regardk i would like to pay particular tribute to the President, Judge George Gelaga King, and the Registrar, Herman von Hebel, who have both played pivotal leaderhsip roles over the past fews . The Management Committee has also changed its approach in the light of Judge Cassese's recommendation to "work out a tight and final plan for the completion of the Court's activities." Rather than continuing with the practices of approving annual budgets, we requested a number of unknowns at this stage, not the least of which is legacy issues, which will be an important strand of work for the Management Committee in the coming months. However, the Completion Budget provided to us by the Court (and approved by the Management Committee in June 2007),sets out for the first time in one document how the financing of the Court will look over the rest of its life. As you will see from the summary of the budget (S/2007/388),the Court is looking strategically at how it will meet the remaining milestones in the Completion Strategy, including managing the process of drawing down staff and resources as the Court gets into its appeals phase and the, finally, ceases operations in early 2006. (The full budget can be found at: www. sc-sl.org/documents/ budget/2007-2009.pdf. The Completion Budget gives us all welcome clarity. However, it also sets out the scale of the fundraising task ahead. The bottom line is that we need just under $90 million U.S. dollars more to cover the Court's costs over the end of its lifetime. And while that is a low figure by international standards, we are still struggling to raise the voluntary contributions necessary to cover the Court's monthly costs, let alone give it the financial security Judge Cassese put so much emphasis on in his report. The continued support of countries such as yours is vital. It means that we gave raised nearly $30 million of that $90 million. But, at this stage of the Court's life, when it has to pay for operations not only in Freetown but also in The Hague, that is unfortunately only enough money to keep the Court financially afloat until October 2007. So please consider whether your country could give more to the Special Court. Every donation, no matter now small, takes us closer to our $90 million fundraising target. Finally, let me take this opportunity on behalf of the entire Management Committee to express our thanks for the interest and support shown to the Special Court to date. With best regards, John McNee Ambassador and Permanent Representative End text. KHALILZAD