ICTR/ICTY JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS BRIEF SECURITY

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001108

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ICTY PREL UNSC
SUBJECT: ICTR/ICTY JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS BRIEF SECURITY
COUNCIL

REF: USUN NEW YORK 577


1. Summary: The Security Council met December 3 for its
biannual briefing on the International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The President and Prosecutor of
each tribunal made statements, as did all Council members and
Representatives from Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia,
Kenya, and Rwanda. End Summary.


2. Judge Patrick Robinson, President of the ICTY, reported
that of the 161 accused indicted by the Tribunal, only one
awaits commencement of his trial which will start on December

17. Moreover, twenty-four accused are on trial in nine cases
with another thirteen have appeals pending. He described the
failure to arrest Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic as a "serious
hurdle," noting that their immediate arrest would avert a
residual trial function for the ICTY. He observed that staff
retention was becoming an increasingly urgent issue as
indicated in a recent survey of staff members which showed
that 70 percent were actively seeking employment elsewhere,
24 percent said they were exhausted by their current work
load and almost 50 percent said they felt they had to work
too fast. Robinson called on the Security Council for help
in two areas: providing an end of service grants for staff
that have completed their contracts and served ten years and
including the staff in the "regime of continuing contracts."
He urged the creation of a mechanism by which victims can
seek compensation for their injuries. Robinson concluded by
commenting that the ICTY was dedicated to strengthening the
national judicial systems in the former Yugoslavia as
demonstrated by its efforts to declassify all of the records
of the Tribunal.


3. Judge Dennis Byron, President of the ICTR, reported that
since the last report in June, the Tribunal had rendered five
judgments and had started ten new trials. He thanked the
States for their assistance, particularly Democratic Republic
of Congo and Uganda for their cooperation with the ICTR in
the arrest of Gregoire Ndahimana and Idelphonse Nizeyimana,
but lamented that eleven fugitives still remain at large,
including Felicien Kabuga. Byron said he hoped to complete
all trials before the Tribunal closes down so that the
residual mechanism can focus on management of the archives,
witness protection, and supervision of sentences. He closed
by observing that without tribunals such as the ICTR and ICTY
and their jurisprudence, there would be no International
Criminal Court.


4. Serge Brammertz, ICTY Prosecutor, presented his office's
twelfth report to the Security Council which focused on the
status of trials/appeals, capacity building efforts,
cooperation between his office and States, and plans to
downsize his office. He commended Serbia for its cooperation
with his office and welcomed Croatia's recent creation of an
Inter-Agency Task Force aimed at locating key military
documents. Brammertz also expressed his concern over the
possible departure of international personnel and support
staff from the Special Department for War Crimes in Bosnia.


5. Hassan Jallow, ICTR Prosecutor, updated the Council on
his office's activities over the past six months. He
criticized Kenya for not cooperating in the case against
Felicien Kabuga. He reported the successful management of
the 5th Colloquium of the Prosecutors of International
Criminal Tribunals in Kigali. Jallow noted the considerable
progress made by Rwanda in its law reform and described the
training his office provided in witness protection and
evidence recording.


6. Following the presentations, all of the Council Member
States delivered statements on the issue. Most Members
(Austria, Croatia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Costa
Rica, the United States, Uganda, and Burkina Faso) observed
that apprehending the remaining 13 fugitives (11 for ICTR and
2 for ICTY) was a top priority. Several Members (France,
Japan, China, and the United States) commended Rwanda for its
judicial reforms.


7. Most Members acknowledged the delays experienced by both
tribunals and urged them to redouble their efforts and to
stay on track as much as possible. Some (China, Libya,
Turkey, and Burkina Faso) recommended the tribunals refer
more cases to national jurisdictions as a possible solution.


8. Several States (France, the United Kingdom, and the


United States) criticized Kenya, urging it to comply with its
obligations and cooperate on the case of Felicien Kabuga.
The United Kingdom, Mexico and the United States urged full
cooperation from Croatia in obtaining crucial missing
military documents. Croatia commented that the rapid closure
of the tribunals should not be at the expense of fair trials
and critiqued the delay in the Karadzic case, likening it to
the Milosevic trial.


9. The Security Council then heard interventions from
Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kenya, and Rwanda.
Sweden, on behalf of the European Union, urged the tribunals
to downsize as soon as possible in line with the level of
trial activities. Bosnia noted that of the 13 accused
transferred to national jurisdictions, 10 had been sent to
Bosnia. Serbia reiterated its support for the ICTY and for
the search of the remaining two fugitives. Kenya defended
itself against the criticism it received regarding Felicien
Kabuga, commenting that Kenya had arrested/surrendered the
largest number of indicted and noting the creation of a joint
Kenya/ICTR taskforce charged with finding Kabuga. Rwanda
described the reforms it had undertaken since the last
briefing and criticized the recent decisions by the Trial and
Appeals Chamber against transferring cases to Rwanda.
RICE