UN BRIEFS SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ON LEBANON

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000852 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM KJUS LE PREL SY SUBJECT: UN BRIEFS SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ON LEBANON TRIBUNAL REF: A. USUN 821 ¶B. USUN 789 ¶C. USUN 783 ¶D. USUN 780 ¶1. Summary: The UN is moving to appoint the principal officers of the Lebanon Tribunal during October and November. UN Legal Counsel told Security Council members that a mechanism has been set up to identify the Tribunal Prosecutor and Judges before the end of the year. He explained that the individual selected to serve as Prosecutor will also succeed Serge Brammertz as Chief of the Investigation Commission. In a separate development, the Secretary General circulated a letter (faxed IO) requesting contributions to fund the Tribunal. End Summary. ¶2. Under Secretary General for Legal Affairs Nicolas Michel convened a meeting, October 9, to brief Legal Advisers of Security Council members on progress in setting up the Lebanon Tribunal. He said that the Secretary General has named two judges to serve with his representative (Michel) as a panel for the selection of the Prosecutor and Judges. The Secretary General will send a letter soon to the Council SIPDIS notifying them of the composition of the panel. ¶3. The Selection Panel will convene in New York on October 22-23 to organize their work, make a recommendation for the Prosecutor position and establish a short list for judges. They are expected to reconvene from November 26 to 29 to interview candidates for judges on the short list and then recommend their selections to the Secretary General, ¶4. Michel noted that the practice with regard to the appointment of the UN Independent International Investigation Commissioner (UNIIIC) has been for the Secretary General to inform the Security Council. He recalled that the term of the current Commissioner, Serge Brammertz, will end on December 31, 2007 but the Commission's mandate extends until June 15, 2008. He said that in order to ensure an element of continuity in the Commission, Brammertz's successor must be appointed soon to enable them to work together before Brammertz departs Beirut. He indicated that, although the Prosecutor would not be able to function until the judges are in place, the Commissioner's role would facilitate his smooth transition to Prosecutor. Michel added that it would not be automatic that Commission staff would migrate to the Tribunal but that the Commission would want to retain good staff members to provide continuity. ¶5. In response to a question concerning appointment of the Prosecutor, Michel said that the Prosecutor-elect should be in place to begin working with Brammertz in November. Clear decisions, he said, will demonstrate that the process will not be derailed. Naming the Prosecutor-elect now will underscore that. ¶6. Although there was no new ground covered in the briefing, it was clearly an attempt by the UN Secretariat to bring all members of the Council into the process, which Michel said must be "open" and "non-politicized". KHALILZAD