SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON REGISTRAR RESIGNS

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000368 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PTER AORC AMGT UNSC LE SUBJECT: SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON REGISTRAR RESIGNS REF: IRWIN/MORRISON/HACKETT E-MAILS APRIL 2 2009 1.(SBU) SUMMARY: At the April 3 meeting of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Management Committee: (1) the Chair announced the resignation of the Tribunal's Registrar, Robin Vincent. (2) The Management Committee agreed that the Vice President of the Tribunal may assume full-time status beginning June 1, 2009. (3) Management Committee Members raised several questions concerning the Registrar's proposals to amend staff rules. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) The Chair announced that the Registrar of the Tribunal Robin Vincent had submitted a formal letter of resignation. She circulated the letter to Management Committee members. According to the letter, Vincent would like to end his assignment effective May 31. The Chair said that she planned to ask the Registrar to stay on two to four weeks beyond the May 31 date to ensure an orderly transition with the recently-selected Deputy Registrar who is not slated to commence his assignment until June 1. It was observed that, given the political sensitivity of STL operations, public disclosure of the Registrar's departure should be handled carefully so as not to raise undue speculation. The UN's Office of Legal Affairs representative indicated that the Secretariat would commence the search for candidates for the Registrar's position and that the process will follow that of the initial appointment, i.e. letters will be sent to all member states soliciting nominations with submission of names due in a month's time. The Canadian representative, suggested that the hiring processes for the STL be coordinated with the hiring process for the Special Court for Sierra Leone Registrar. ¶3. (SBU) At its April 3 meeting, the Management Committee agreed that the Vice President of the Tribunal may assume full-time status on June 1, 2009, earlier than originally anticipated. The U.S. joined consensus per ref e-mails. It was noted that the Vice President's appointment would enhance the STL's legitimacy and outweigh the extra-budgetary cost implications of USD 185,000, which could be adequately covered from the supplementary financial resources now at the Tribunal's disposal for year one operations. ¶4. (SBU) The Management Committee will approve through a silence procedure the Registrar's proposed amendment to the staff regulation to take into account the newly established UN Appeals Tribunal. USUN raised questions about the proposed changes to the Staff Rules per reftel, and the UK Chair also raised several questions. The Chair will forward these questions to the Registrar and will seek additional information on the justification for the changes. The Management Committee also agreed that it was appropriate for the Registrar to fill the Deputy Registrar position at the D2 level, given the candidate's experience and that the Management Committee had agreed to flexi-grade the position. Rice