LEBANON TRIBUNAL: MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000340 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2013 TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC SY LE SUBJECT: LEBANON TRIBUNAL: MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETS TO CONSIDER PENSION SCHEME OPTIONS, ALTERNATIVES TO BUILDING A NEW COURTROOM, AND TRANSPARENCY OF CONTRIBUTIONS REF: 4/4/08 WILCOX-REINEMEYER E-MAIL ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: USUN Legal Adviser Willson and USUN/MR participated in an April 9 meeting of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Management Committee to discuss how best to provide retirement, death and disability benefits to Tribunal employees, as required under Dutch law, including the possible inclusion of Tribunal employees in the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund; questions raised by the French (ref e-mail) regarding the possible use of International Tribunal for the Former YUGOSLAVIA (ICTY) and/or the International Criminal Court (ICC) courtrooms and holding cells, rather than spending 13.5 million USD to construct new facilities; and the view of some Committee members that recent requests by certain contributors to the Tribunal to remain anonymous raised concerns over issues of transparency and accountability of Tribunal operations. END SUMMARY. PENSION SCHEME OPTIONS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) As previously reported, organizations operating in the Netherlands, including the STL, must provide their employees with a number of social security benefits, including retirement, disability and death benefit coverage. In response to questions posed in prior Committee meetings by the principal donors, including the U.S., UN Office of Legal Affairs representative Jay Pozenel briefed Committee members April 9 on the feasability of including Tribunal personnel in the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund (JSPF),which would thereby provide Tribunal employees with retirement, disability and death benefits as required under Dutch law. Pozenel explained that the JSPF Executive Board first would have to approve such a request, based on its determination that, a) the STL was deemed to be an "intergovernmental organization;" and, b) the STL had adopted the UN common system of salaries and benefits. If the Executive Board so determined, the Board would recommend to the General Assembly that Tribunal employees be covered under the JSPF. The GA would then have to endorse the Executive Board's recommendation. ¶3. (SBU) Pozenel noted that the next meeting of the JSPF Executive Board was scheduled for July. If the Board approved inclusion of Tribunal personnel in the program, the GA could consider the Board's recommendation during the Main Session of the 63rd UNGA in the Fall of 2008. Even under the best of circumstances, Tribunal personnel would not be covered by the JSPF until January 1, 2009. Pozenel suggested it was more realistic to assume that the JSPF Executive Board would not grant its approval until July 2009, thereby delaying inclusion of JSPF staff under the Fund until January 1, 2010. ¶4. (SBU) Pozenel noted that under existing JSPF arrangements, it takes five years of continuous employment for UN personnel to become fully vested. If an employee were to leave in less than five years, that individual would receive as part of a "withdrawal settlement" all the contribution that he/she had made, but without interest and without the comparable funds set aside by the Tribunal on his/her behalf. Pozenel said one alternative to the JSPF was for the Tribunal to set up its own provident pension scheme, but this option would prove very costly. UK representative Simon Thomas asked whether another option might be for the Tribunal to outsource its payroll function, including pensions. Thomas said the key concern remained ensuring that UNIIIC investigators, now considered to be UN staff members and, hence, covered under the JSPF, would enjoy similar benefits once they transferred to the Tribunal as members of the Office of the Prosecutor. Committee members agreed to resume consideration of this issue when the Committee reconvenes on April 17, hopefully with cost estimates provided by the Secretariat regarding outsourcing as well as the financial implications of the Tribunal setting up its own pension fund. POSSIBLE USE OF ALTERNATE FACILITIES -------------- ¶5. (C) Committee members next discussed the concerns raised by the French delegation in a letter to Committee Chair Kathy Adams (UK) circulated April 4 (ref e-mail) regarding the possible use of ICTY or ICC courtrooms and holding cells rather than refurbishing the AVID Building being offered rent-free by the Dutch at a cost of 13.5 million USD. French Mission legal adviser Hubert Renie noted that with the recent request by UNIIIC Commissioner Bellemare for a six-month extension of the IIIC's mandate, it was unlikely the STL USUN NEW Y 00000340 002 OF 003 would need full-time courtroom space until the middle to latter half of 2009, if not later. With the ICTY already engaged in completion activities to finish its work by 2010, the Committee should request additional information regarding the feasability and likely costs of using ICTY facilities by the STL. Similar information should be obtained concerning the STL's possible use of ICC courtrooms. Dutch Mission legal adviser Brechje Schwachofer made clear that there were no Dutch national facilities available for use by the STL. She warned that housing the judges and Tribunal staff in one location and the court facilities in another raised security concerns, as well as additional cost considerations. Schwachofer reminded Committee members that it would take approximately one year to refurbish the AVID Building and construct a courtroom and holding cells, meaning that even if work were to begin the following day, the courtroom would not be ready until sometime in late March-early April 2009. ¶6. (C) USUN asked whether it would be possible to proceed with refurbishing the AVID Building except for construction of the courtroom and holding facilities. Schwachofer said it was possible to proceed with the project in separate phases, but doing so would raise the costs. Given the ongoing uncertainty over the construction of a courtroom and holding cells, she noted that Dutch officials temporarily had suspended work on improving external security of the building. If a decision were to be taken to locate the courtroom elsewhere, some of the added security precautions now envisioned for the AVID Building no longer would be necessary. Hence, the security upgrade will not proceed until the Management Committee reaches a clear decision on the way forward. ¶7. (C) OLA A/SYG Larry Johnson noted that two trials at the ICTY were scheduled to continue through May 2010. The Charles Taylor trial, now underway in ICC facilities under the auspices of the Sierra Leone Special Court, is expected to conclude by the end of 2009. However, some Special Court judges already were recommending that the Taylor appeal be conducted in The Hague, rather than Freetown. If that were to occur, Johnson said, this would preclude the use of ICC facilities by the STL. ¶8. (C) Committee members agreed to resume consideration of this matter at the next Committee meeting on April 17. OLA will provide estimated costs for the use of ICTY and ICC facilities, including holding cells. French Mission legal adviser Renie said he would report such information, once it became available, back to Paris for further instructions. TRANSPARENCY OF FUNDING -------------- ¶9. (SBU) OLA distributed a chart dated April 7 (copy faxed to IO/UNP on 4/10) showing current totals on amounts actually contributed by Member States (40.4 million USD) to the Tribunal and amounts pledged (17.1 million USD) for years 2 and 3. Committee Chair Adams noted that the contributions of several states were listed under the heading, "Regional States," since these countries did not want to be identified by name. USUN said the Committee should welcome the contributions from each and every Member State that was willing to provide funding for the STL. It remained the right and privilege of each contributing state to request that their donation be made anonymously. Such a request in no way diminished the integrity or reputation of the Tribunal and its work. Therefore, there was no reason not to respect the wishes of those states who requested that their names not be listed. French legal adviser Renie agreed with USUN that every effort should be made to respect the conditions under which individual contributions were made. ¶10. (SBU) Both Dutch legal adviser Schwachofer and UK representative Thomas voiced concern regarding the importance of transparency in the Tribunal's work. Schwachofer said anonymous donations will lead to questions, as was the case during OLA U/SYG Michel's recent press briefing on the STL. Schwachofer argued that it was in the best interests of the Tribunal to be as transparent as possible. Committee Chair Adams noted that while it might not be desirable to conceal the source of certain funds contributed to support the work of the Tribunal, there was no fundamental obligation for Member States to agree to disclose publicly their contributions. The wishes of individual Member States should be respected. NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING USUN NEW Y 00000340 003 OF 003 -------------- ¶11. (U) Committee members agreed to reconvene on April 17 to resume consideration of pension schemes for Tribunal employees and the possible use by the STL of ICTY and/or ICC courtrooms and holding cells. The Committee also will discuss judges' salaries in light of the General Assembly's adoption in March 2008 of a resolution setting new salary levels for ICTY, ICTR and ICJ judges, and the Committee will renew its consideration of a risk allowance for STL judges. Khalilzad