LEBANON TRIBUNAL: MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE DISCUSSES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000171 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC SY LE SUBJECT: LEBANON TRIBUNAL: MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE DISCUSSES BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND STAFF COMPENSATION REF: A. STATE 1070 ¶B. USUN/IO EMAIL (WILCOX/REINEMEYER)--12/11/07 ¶C. USUN/IO EMAIL (WILCOX/REINEMEYER)--12/07/07 ¶D. USUN/IO EMAIL (WILCOX/REINEMEYER)--02/20/08 ¶E. USUN/IO EMAIL (WILCOX/REINEMEYER)--12/10/07 ¶F. USUN 1184 (2007) ¶G. USUN 1150 (2007) ¶1. BEGIN SUMMARY AND COMMENT: UN Office of Legal Affairs consultant Robin Vincent briefed the Management Committee for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on February 19 and 21 concerning proposals for refurbishing the future Tribunal building and for compensating Tribunal staff. Describing measures the UN is taking to get the Tribunal up and running quickly, Vincent said the UN is a finalizing a draft budget for the Tribunal's first year, reflecting, among other things, the assumption that the Tribunal would begin to operate in April 2008 to permit an overlap with the UN Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC). Personnel costs would account for approximately 70 percent of the Tribunal's budget, consistent with costs of other tribunals, he said. Based on extensive consultations with a team of technical experts from the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the Dutch government, Vincent estimated the basic cost of refurbishing the building at USD 15 million. The Management Committee requested a detailed breakdown of construction-related costs and will meet again next week with the aim of deciding as soon as possible on the construction and staff compensation proposals. Assuming that these costs are reasonable, USUN intends to support moving forward. The Committee also will formally adopt its Terms of Reference that the main donors agreed to on February 13. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. Terms and Conditions of Service for Staff -------------- ¶2. At a February 21 Management Committee meeting, Vincent reviewed four models for addressing the terms and conditions of service for staff that the UN has developed for the Management Committee's consideration (refs A-C). He stressed that personnel-related costs would form the major part of the Tribunal's budget (up to 70 percent),consistent with the costs of other international tribunals. In projecting staff costs, Vincent said the UN had been guided by the model of the Special Court for Sierra Leone but had made necessary adjustments to reflect the Tribunal's location in The Hague, including to provide staff benefits that meet Dutch social security requirements. To do so, Vincent proposed that the Tribunal join the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund, noting that doing so would increase staff costs by about 16 percent for the duration of the Tribunal's mandate but avoid administrative overhead expenses (that Vincent could not quantify). ¶3. The UN's current draft budget reflects the UN's preferred option ("Model III"),under which the Tribunal would appoint staff separately to duty stations in The Hague and Beirut, with conditions of service of all staff following the framework of the UN 100 series staff rules. Vincent explained that the model the UN prefers is designed to facilitate retention of UNIIIC personnel, saying that the UN expected that UNIIIC staff would fill two-thirds of the positions in the Prosecutor's Office. (Note: As instructed in ref A, USUN has advised other Committee members that USUN prefers the UN's recommended model, which the U.S. believes to be the package that will ensure the retention of key personnel already working for the UNIIIC but also maximize efficiency. Other members have indicated their support for that model too. End Note.) Vincent also indicated that the UN is continuing to talk to UNIIIC Commissioner Bellemare about the various options and expects to receive final input from him shortly for the draft budget. Staffing Levels -------------- ¶4. Vincent also discussed staffing levels, estimating that the Tribunal would need 301 personnel in its first year and up to 415-430 in its second and third years, when the UN expects the Tribunal's activities to be at their height. The figures reflect Vincent's discussions last fall with former UNIIIC Commissioner Serge Brammertz, who advised that the Tribunal would spend a large part of its first financial year (roughly April 2008-March 31, 2009) on investigatory work, with one-third of the staff of the Prosecutor's Office working in The Hague and two-thirds located in Beirut. Although filling positions will take time, Vincent explained USUN NEW Y 00000171 002 OF 003 that recruitment should be quicker than usual for new UN bodies because UNIIIC staff will be available. As a result, the draft budget assumes that 90 percent of the Tribunal's positions will be filled in the Tribunal's first year, which is 40 percent higher than the figure the UN normally uses when starting up a new operation. The current draft budget predicts that during the first year, only the Tribunal's President and one international pre-trial judge will be needed; the remaining trial judges would take office in the second year, and the five appeals judges would arrive in the third year. Planning Reflects Assumptions about Trials -------------- ¶5. Vincent also explained that planning is based on the premise that the Tribunal will try a maximum of 15 suspects and will need one trial chamber. If a second chamber is needed, costs would go up by approximately $8 million or more, but the Tribunal building is large enough to accommodate a second chamber, if necessary. Construction Costs -------------- ¶6. On February 19, Vincent briefed Committee members on the proposed costs of constructing a courtroom and holding cells and otherwise improving the Tribunal building (ref D). Vincent explained he had been working closely with the Dutch Government Building Agency (RGD) and a technical team from the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY), which includes architects, engineers, security, and information technology experts and is assisting the UN Office of Legal Affairs (OLA). Although the Management Committee still needs to choose between two construction packages, as Vincent had advised the main donors' group last fall (refs E-G),Vincent said the cheaper package, which had been estimated at USD 10 million, had increased to USD 15 million. The main reason for the increase is that the RGD has determined that the addition of a courtroom and holding cells will turn the building into a public space, meaning that what RGD originally had thought were optional fire safety improvements (costing USD 3.8 million) are now mandatory. Courtroom information technology infrastructure will cost USD 2.1 million. Vincent agreed to provide a detailed cost breakdown to the Management Committee next week, along with information on how the proposed improvements, particularly in the area of information technology, compare to what tribunals have spent on comparable work. Construction Timeline -------------- ¶7. Vincent also discussed the timeline for the construction, stressing the need for the Management Committee to reach decisions soon to avoid delays. To try to expedite the construction, Vincent said OLA plans to ask for the ICTY architect who supervised the construction of ICTY's courtrooms to work full-time for the Tribunal for three months. Assuming work begins in March, the courtroom and holding cells could be ready in January 2009, he said. (Note: Vincent did say, however, that the building has excellent conference-room facilities, which are suitable for holding pre-trial hearings. In any case, it is not clear whether the Tribunal will be ready to begin trials before January because UNIIIC Commissioner Daniel Bellemare has declined to specify when or whether he expects to have evidence sufficient to enable the Tribunal to issue indictments. End Note.) Vincent also clarified that offices in the building can be occupied with four weeks' notice so a security fence can be built and an interior security system put in place. Although the Dutch government will provide security for the perimeter, the Tribunal would be responsible for interior security and will seek security-related help from the ICTY, he said. ¶8. Once the Committee has decided on the construction package, an occupancy permit and a building permit must be obtained, which could take at least 13 weeks. RGD will have overall responsibility for the project and will need to develop designs and identify the construction company to perform the work. To expedite the process, RGD has advised that the project can be classified as "Secret," meaning that RGD can opt out of burdensome ECC procurement regulations and choose from a handful of firms with the appropriate clearances. When USUN noted that the proposed process did not envision competitive bidding, Vincent said he had been operating under the understanding that the Committee wanted USUN NEW Y 00000171 003 OF 003 the most expedient option, noting using competitive bidding could create delays and increase costs. Oversight -------------- ¶9. Vincent also discussed current proposals for overseeing the project. Vincent recommended that a Project Board, chaired by the Tribunal's Registrar and including representatives of the RGD and the technical experts from the ICTY who are already providing input, should be established to provide oversight. Under Vincent's proposal, the Management Committee would not sit on the Project Board, but the Registrar would report to the Committee. Management Committee members agreed to consider Vincent's proposal. ¶10. More broadly, Committee members also discussed the need to adopt a mechanism for providing financial oversight to the Tribunal. Vincent recommended that the Committee adopt the UN financial regulations and rules, as was done with the Sierra Leone Special Court. By doing so, the UN Office of Internal Oversight could conduct internal audits. Role for ICTY -------------- ¶11. To get the Tribunal up and running quickly, Vincent said OLA expected the Tribunal would need sustained administrative support from the ICTY. By the end of the week, Vincent hopes that OLA and ICTY will have a draft Memorandum of Understanding, laying out how the Tribunal will reimburse the ICTY for the architect's time and other services OLA has asked ICTY to provide. Vincent has sought cost estimates on what the ICTY would charge if the Management Committee decides that the ICTY should handle payroll, procurement, finance, and recruitment of national staff for the Tribunal. Management Committee members questioned whether the ICTY could provide assistance to the Tribunal without authorization from the Security Council and agreed that OLA needed to provide details on the proposal. KHALILZAD