LEBANON TRIBUNAL: COMMITTEE DISCUSSES JUDGES'

S E C R E T USUN NEW YORK 000485 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2018 TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC SY LE SUBJECT: LEBANON TRIBUNAL: COMMITTEE DISCUSSES JUDGES' ACCOMMODATIONS REF: A. USUN/IO EMAIL (WILCOX/REINEMEYER)-05/30/08 ¶B. USUN 471 ¶C. USUN/IO EMAIL (WILCOX/REINEMEYER)-06/02/08 ¶D. USUN 403 ¶E. USUN 381 ¶F. USUN 241 ¶G. USUN 224 ¶H. USUN 220 ¶I. USUN 109 ¶J. USUN 104 ¶K. USUN 71 ¶L. STATE 10709 Classified By: Minister Counselor for Legal Affairs, Carolyn L. Willson , for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (S) BEGIN SUMMARY: At its tenth meeting on May 29, the Management Committee for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) agreed in principle that a working group of the Committee would select apartments in The Hague for the Lebanese judges, based on preliminary recommendations that Dutch security officials would make. The Committee also agreed in principle that the STL budget would cover the cost of rent while the Dutch are upgrading the security of the apartments, which the Dutch expect to take three months, after which point the judges would pay rent for their own apartments. At the request of several members, the Chairman gave Committee members until close of business on Wednesday to consult with their capitals. If no members object, the Committee will proceed. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (S) On May 29, the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) briefed members of the STL Management Committee on its proposal for selecting accommodations in The Hague for the Lebanese judges (refs A, B). They proposed to provide Dutch security officials with general information concerning the family situations of the Lebanese judges so the Dutch can identify appropriate apartments for the Lebanese judges. The Dutch would then inform the Chairperson of the Management Committee of their preliminary selections. A working group of the Committee, comprising the Chairperson, representatives of DSS and the Office of Legal Affairs, and STL Registrar Vincent would then make the final decisions on the proposed apartments, after which the Management Committee and the Dutch would be informed. ¶3. (S) Committee members agreed in principle to DSS's proposal and agreed that the STL budget would cover rental costs during the three months the Dutch need to upgrade the apartments' security. The Dutch estimated that the total cost of renting the four judges' apartments for three months would be 50,000 Euros (approximately USD 78,000). The Committee also agreed that the STL budget would cover the security deposits for the apartments, but that the judges would need to reimburse the STL for that cost once they have moved into the apartments. ¶4. (S) Committee members also agreed they need to consider the question of remunerating the judges after they are relocated from Lebanon but before they assume full-time duties on the STL. (Note: The judges will be relocated immediately after they have their first meeting to discuss the draft rules of procedure and evidence but will not begin their full-time duties on the STL for some time thereafter. STL Registrar Vincent estimates that only two judges will work full-time during the STL's first year, one of whom will be the pre-trial judge and the other of whom will be the STL President. Under the STL Agreement annexed to resolution 1757 (2007),the pre-trial judge will be an international judge. End Note.) Lebanese DPR Caroline Ziade emphasized that the judges' Lebanese salaries are not sufficient to cover living costs in Europe and appealed for the Committee to reach a decision soon. STL Registrar Vincent said he did not recommend that the STL begin paying the Lebanese judges their salaries until they start working full-time for the STL but that instead the STL should pay them a subsistence allowance so they can live in The Hague. ¶5. (S) Vincent subsequently circulated his proposal for providing subsistence benefits to the Lebanese judges if they are relocated before they begin full-time duties on the STL (ref C). Vincent proposes to pay each judge the UN's Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) rate for The Hague (USD 391),as well as half of that rate for family members (USD 195.50),for 30 days, for an approximate total cost of USD 117,300 for all of the judges and their families. After 30 days, only the judges -- not their family members -- would receive the DSA, which would be reduced again after 60 days. The judges would not receive additional compensation for STL-related work during that period. ¶6. (S) The Committee will consider Vincent's proposal at its June 6 meeting. Khalilzad