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