LEBANON TRIBUNAL: DUTCH PRESS FOR DECISION ON

S E C R E T USUN NEW YORK 000471 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2018 TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC SY LE SUBJECT: LEBANON TRIBUNAL: DUTCH PRESS FOR DECISION ON JUDGES' ACCOMMODATIONS REF: A. USUN 403 ¶B. USUN 381 ¶C. USUN 241 ¶D. USUN 224 ¶E. USUN 220 ¶F. USUN 109 ¶G. USUN 104 ¶H. USUN 71 ¶I. STATE 10709 Classified By: Minister Counselor for Legal Affairs, Carolyn L. Willson , for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (S) BEGIN SUMMARY: Dutch Mission Legal Adviser Brechje Schwachofer pressed members of the Management Committee for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) on May 22 to make a decision as soon as possible on how the judges' long-term accommodations in The Hague should be selected since the Dutch need five months to secure housing for the Lebanese judges. Schwachofer also reiterated that the Dutch do not want to host all of the judges on an emergency basis should their names leak before their long-term accommodations in the Netherlands become available. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (S) Dutch Mission Legal Adviser Brechje Schwachofer said the STL Management Committee needs to decide soon on how housing in The Hague should be selected for the Lebanese judges and asked for an update on the UN's discussions with Lebanese security officials on that issue (ref A). UN Assistant-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Larry Johnson said the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) had not yet raised the issue with their Lebanese counterparts, given recent events in Lebanese, but were sure the Lebanese security forces would not/not support the previous Dutch idea for soliciting the Lebanese judges' housing preferences (ref B). ¶3. (S) Calling the issue of securing the Lebanese judges "a shared responsibility," Schwachofer said the Dutch believe that the safest option would be for the Committee to choose apartments for the judges without informing the judges first. Although the Dutch would pay for construction and other upgrades to secure the housing, they would expect the STL to pay the rent on the apartments during the several months when the Dutch will be upgrading them, she said. Because the Dutch counter-terrorism authorities said they need five months to prepare secure housing for the Lebanese judges (up to two months to find and lease apartments and three months to upgrade them),the Committee must make a decision soon so the judges can meet next fall to draft rules of procedure and evidence, she said. Given time constraints, Schwachofer said the Dutch do not think the Committee needs to wait to make a decision until DSS has completed its consultations with the Lebanese. Instead, if the Committee agrees, Schwachofer said the Dutch would be prepared to secure apartments for the judges without consulting first with the judges. She added, however, that the Dutch hoped that DSS could give them general profiles on the Lebanese judges so the Dutch would know how what size apartments to lease for them. ¶4. (S) Schwachofer also said the Netherlands does not have good options for promoting emergency accommodations for the Lebanese judges should their names become public before their housing is ready. The Dutch witness protection program is the only available option, she said, but is not desirable because it would impose severe burdens on the judges. Although the Lebanese have indicated that, in the event an emergency relocation becomes necessary, all judges would be safest in the Netherlands, the Dutch do not share that assessment since the Netherlands is such a small country. In response to questions from other Committee members, Schwachofer did suggest, however, that if other countries agreed to host some of the judges, the Dutch might be able to accommodate a small number of them. ¶5. (S) On the margins of the meeting, Schwachofer said the Dutch had not estimated the costs of sustaining the Lebanese judges on an emergency basis if they need to be relocated before the first judges' meeting. To minimize the judges' travel, she hoped the judges would only have to meet once to discuss and approve the draft rules of procedure and evidence, which the UN Office of Legal Affairs is drafting. ¶6. (S) If the United States is able to host the Lebanese judges on an emergency basis should their names leak before the Dutch have secured housing for them in The Hague, USUN estimates that the United States would have to provide them with housing, per diem, security, and transportation to The Hague once secure housing is available. The UN's DSA rate is USD 347 per day for the first 30 days and USD 295 per day for the next 30 days. ¶7. (S) The Committee agreed to try to make a decision on how to select housing for the Lebanese judges' at its May 29 meeting. Wolff