SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON - TRANSITION FROM

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001017 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER EAID UNSC LE SUBJECT: SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON - TRANSITION FROM IIIC TO STL AND STL BUDGET ¶1. (U) Action request in paragraph eight. ¶2. (SBU) Summary: Under Secretary-General/Legal Counsel Patricia O'Brien and International Independent Investigation Commissioner Daniel Bellemare have agreed that Bellemare should seek a two-month extension (beyond its December 31, 2008 mandate expiration) from the UN Security Council for the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) in order to effect a phased transfer to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) which will then commence functioning on March 1, 2009 with Bellemare as Prosecutor. USD 51 million in contributions are currently available for year one operations. The STL Management Committee is reviewing a budget for the Tribunal of USD 51 million if proceedings move slowly to USD 61 million if proceedings move more rapidly. The additional USD 10 million still needs to be raised from donors. Pledges totaling USD 130 million for the Tribunal's second and third year of operations must be identified, including from the U.S., in order for the Secretary-General to consider the Tribunal "financially viable" and therefore declare it functioning. End summary. Transition from IIIC to STL -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Under Secretary-General/Legal Counsel Patricia O,Brien briefed P-3 experts November 3 that she and International Independent Investigation Commissioner Daniel Bellemare agreed earlier that day that the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) should request a two-month extension from the UN Security Council in order to effect a phased transition to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL),which would commence operations March 1. (Note: According to UNSCR 1815, IIIC's mandate expires December 31, 2008. End note.) During the two-month extension, IIIC staff would transfer to the Hague in phases with Bellemare being the last to transfer at the end of February. This plan is based on the fact that the STL Registrar Robin Vincent says it will be chaotic to have the full IIIC staff transfer in one group for a start date of January 1 and Bellemare,s preference to not transfer his whole staff in one group since that would likely slow down the investigation's momentum. The phased transfer will also result in budgetary savings since the STL start date will be March 1 and the UN's regular budget will continue funding IIIC until then. STL contributions received for year one operations -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The U.S. has provided a total of USD 14 million out of the USD 55 million in funds provided to date for the Tribunal,s first year of operations. The U.S. is the second largest donor after Lebanon (which has an obligation to provide 49 percent of the Tribunal,s budget (though it is unlikely to meet that obligation in year one since the GOL initially requested a smaller sum from the Lebanese Parliament based on an initially smaller Tribunal budget estimate and is resisting going back to the Parliament for another disbursement, according to the Lebanese DPR)). Of that USD 55 million contributed, approximately USD 51 million remains available for the first year,s budget (about USD 4 million was used for the task force and advance team work). Other states have contributed the following for year one: Austria - USD 120,000 Belgium - USD 270,270 Canada - USD 1,023,317 Czech Republic - USD 60,000 France - USD 2,209,862 Germany - USD 1,000,000 Hungary - USD 10,000 Italy - USD 886,080 (remaining balance of USD 1,000,000 will be deposited this month, according to Italian expert) Japan - USD 1,000,000 Kuwait - USD 5,000,000 Lebanon - USD 17,185,572 Netherlands - (rent of STL building, equivalent to USD 5,362,766 per year) Russia - USD 500,000 Sweden - USD 166,390 Turkey - USD 50,000 UK - USD 1,000,000 Regional states - USD 9,999,975 STL Management Committee Reviewing Budget -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The STL Management Committee is considering a budget that will reflect a range of USD 61 million (if indictments/trials/detentions move more quickly) to USD 51 million (if indictments/trials/detentions move more slowly). The proposal before the Management Committee is to authorize the STL Registrar to spend up to USD 51 million. Should proceedings move more quickly than currently anticipated, then the Registrar would return to the Management Committee for approval to spend from the supplemental USD 10 million in funding for specific contingency purposes. STL Registrar Vincent is currently reviewing the previously proposed budget of USD 67 million to bring it down to USD 61 million and then separate out USD 10 million in specific contingency expenditures. (Comment: Mission plans to express its support of the above budget proposal unless Department provides alternative instructions by November 7. End comment.) STL Registrar Vincent told the Committee OCTOBER 31 that, once the STL is operational, he plans to send a financial report to the committee every month and have a financial review after the first six months. ¶6. (SBU) Note: The supplemental USD 10 million in funding still needs to be raised. The Canadian and Dutch members of the Management Committee said OCTOBER 31 that their governments are looking for additional funds to provide to the STL for year one. In addition, the European Commission has expressed an interest in providing USD 2 million for year one, once a budget is finalized, according to the STL Liaison Officer. End note. UN Secretariat to send out fundraising letters seeking pledges for years two and three -------------- ¶7. (SBU) In order to declare the STL open for business in the spring, the Secretary-General, per Article 5 of the Agreement between the UN and the GOL on the establishment of the STL (Annex to UNSCR 1757),will need to confirm the financial viability of the Tribunal by assessing whether there are sufficient contributions on deposit to cover the first year,s budget and sufficient pledges from member states to cover the budget for years two and three. The STL Registrar Robin Vincent estimates that pledges for years two and three should total roughly USD 130 million. O'Brien told the Management Committee OCTOBER 31 that the UN Secretariat would shortly issue letters to all member states requesting funds and pledges for the STL. Action request -------------- ¶8. (SBU) As a leading supporter of the STL, the U.S. should indicate early on its anticipated pledge for years two and three. Mission requests Department notify it of the anticipated U.S. pledge amount as soon as possible. End action request. Khalilzad