FORMER YUGOSLAVIA AND RWANDA WAR CRIMES TRIBUNALS

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000577

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ICTY PREL UNSC
SUBJECT: FORMER YUGOSLAVIA AND RWANDA WAR CRIMES TRIBUNALS
REPORT TO THE SECURITY COUNCIL

REF: STATE 57281


1. SUMMARY: The Security Council met June 5 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 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, Serbia,
and Kenya. Some common themes included apprehending fugitive
indictees, moving forward with Completion Strategies, and
addressing residual issues. Each of the tribunals also
conveyed their requests for extending the contracts of some
of their judges. Croatia's Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader, made
Croatia's statement and said that Croatia is fully
cooperating with the ICTY's request for documents.
Ambassador DiCarlo delivered the U.S. statement using the
points contained in reftel. END SUMMARY.


2. Judge Patrick Robinson, President of the ICTY, outlined
his tribunal's schedule. Robinson conveyed that the trial of
Karadzic is scheduled to end in early 2012. On appeals
cases, he recalled that the ICTY and ICTR share the appellate
function. After conducting a detailed analysis, Robinson
said that he recommends the redeployment of eight trial
judges to the appeals chamber. If this redeployment is
approved by the Security Council, Robinson said all appeals
cases should be finished by the middle of 2013. Robinson
asked the Security Council for its support in extending the
contracts of some of the ICTY's appeals and trial judges and
for the ICTY's request for an additional ad litem judge.


3. Acknowledging that some of the ICTY's increased appeals
work is due to the failure of Rule 11bis transfer of cases
from the ICTR to national jurisdictions, Robinson found it
troubling that some European countries were unwilling to
accept such cases. He said that the issue is a critical one
that needs to be addressed by the international community.
Robinson also focused on the issue of staff retention. In
the last three months he said the ICTY has lost 82 staff
members. He called upon the Secretariat and the Security
Council to assist the ICTY in implementing strategies to
retain staff. In closing , Robinson quoted Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow and said, "Great is the art of beginning, but
greater is the art of ending".


4. Judge Dennis Bryon, President of the ICTR, began his
statement by saying that the Security Council's support
demonstrates its commitment to the proposition that "man's
inhumanity to man cannot be excused as an inevitable trait of
human nature". It is a choice, he said, for which every
perpetrator of atrocities can be and must be held
responsible. Bryon said that with the exception of the
Karemera trial, he is aiming for judgment delivery in all
trial cases during 2010. He also asked the Security Council
to approve his request to extend the mandate of all but two
currently serving trial judges until December 31, 2010.


5. On another note, Bryon resurrected the issue of the
inequality between permanent and ad litem judges concerning
certain entitlements. Referring to UNSC resolution 1855
(2008) which abandoned the requirement for a permanent judge
to be included on each bench, Byron said that ad litem judges
are now nearly identical in authority to the permanent judges
and are on equal terms regarding responsibility and case
load. Also concerned about staff retention, Bryon lobbied
for pension benefits for ad litem judges.


6. ICTY Prosecutor Serge Brammertz focused on the
cooperation of States. He said that such cooperation remains
critical to the successful completion of the ICTY's trials
and appeals work. Although he said that Serbia has made
additional progress in its cooperation with the ICTY,
Brammertz said that he hoped that Serbia's political
authorities will provide all necessary support for the ICTY's
work. He expressed his concern with regard to negative
statements by senior government officials about the ICTY's
judicial decisions. Unfortunately, Brammertz said, Croatia's
progress in providing documents to the ICTY has been limited
and emphasized that the large majority of military documents
have not been submitted. ICTR Prosecutor Hassan Jallow
conveyed that there continues to be intense activity at the
ICTR. Expressing frustration that Felicien Kabuga and four
other indictees are still at large, he appealed to the
Security Council to help locate them. Jallow also referred
to the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) cases that were
prosecuted in Kigali. He said the ICTR monitored these cases
via video and that the standards of fair trials were
observed.




7. Standout statements included China, the U.K. and Kenya.
China said that although it understands the reasons behind
why the Completion Strategy of both tribunals has been
delayed, it nonetheless called upon the tribunals to be more
productive and innovative in their approach. China also said
that the transfer of cases to national jurisdictions is an
important next step. The U.K., in reaction to the
President's request for the extension of judges and for
incentives to retain staff, said that it could support
non-monetary means to retain staff. Acknowledging that
there are legitimate reasons for the Completion Strategy to
be delayed, the U.K. said that it supports the tribunals'
request to extend some of their judges but conveyed that the
tribunals should do everything possible to minimize delays.
The U.K. also called on Croatia to provide the ICTY with the
missing documents in the Gotovina case. But for this one
case, the U.K. said that Croatia has demonstrated solid
cooperation with the ICTY. Kenya said that it has been an
active player in the international criminal justice system
and that it is committed to the ICTR's work. Referring to
Felicien Kabuga, Kenya said that he was, at one time, in
Kenya, but is no longer there.
RICE