REPORTS ON INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS FOR

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000987

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL UNGA UNGA
SUBJECT: REPORTS ON INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS FOR
RWANDA AND THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA


1. Summary: On October 8 the Presidents of the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) reported
to the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) on the progress of their
respective courts. Interventions followed from ten Member
States (Sweden on behalf of the E.U., Canada on behalf of
CANZ, Serbia, Norway, Croatia, Kenya, Rwanda, Albania,
Russian Federation, and Tanzania). End Summary.


2. Judge Dennis Byron, President of the ICTR, noted that
although 2009 marks the fifteen year anniversary of the
genocide in Rwanda, it also commemorates the fifteen year
anniversary of the establishment of the ICTR. Since then,
the ICTR has rendered final judgments on eight cases
involving eleven accused and he expects fourteen more trials
against twenty-four accused. Recently, two "high rank"
suspects were arrested and successfully brought before the
tribunal. Byron advocated for judge's pensions and for
assistance in dealing with attrition within the ICTR. He
expressed his concern over the transition from the ICTR, as
it begins to close down, to national jurisdictions saying
that the closure must not send the wrong signal to fugitives
at large. Byron exhorted national jurisdictions to ensure
that genocide suspects are unable to find sanctuary. He
closed by thanking Member States for their support over the
last fifteen years.


3. Judge Patrick Robinson, President of the ICTY, expressed
his gratitude to the General Assembly for its support. He
reported that three appeal judgments were rendered along with
three trial judgments with all but four trials set to
conclude by 2010. Radovan Karadzic will be tried by 2012.
Robinson lamented that two fugitives, Ratko Mladic and Goran
Hadzic, remain at large. He, too, said he was concerned with
retaining staff while ICTY wraps up its work since it is
increasingly difficult to find qualified staff, let alone
train them. He called for Member State support in finding a
solution. Robinson raised the issue of compensating victims
for their suffering and asked for Member State assistance,
stating that "justice is not only about punishing
perpetrators but also about restoring dignity to victims."

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INTERVENTIONS
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4. Ambassador Anders Liden of Sweden, on behalf of the E.U.,
commended the work of both tribunals and stated that they
"prove that international criminal law is an enforceable body
of law." He welcomed the ICTY's publication of a manual of
best practices for domestic and international courts.


5. Keith Morrill of Canada, representing Canada, New Zealand,
and Australia (CANZ),lauded the ICTR/ICTY and said the
lessons learned should be applied to courts on Sierra Leone,
Cambodia, and Lebanon. Canada offered its full support and
cooperation to the tribunals in their closing stages.


6. Ambassador Feodor Starcevic of Serbia pledged his full
commitment and cooperation to the ICTY as Serbia has in the
past such as access to archives, witness protection, and
waivers. He promised to exert all efforts to track down the
last two fugitives.


7. Norwegian Ambassador Morten Wetland urged Member States to
honor their obligations and to provide full support
(witnesses, financial and material support, and assistance in
enforcement of sentences). While he welcomed the recent
arrest of Idelphonse Nizeyimana, remaining fugitives need to
be apprehended. Finally, he urged the Security Council to
resolve the residual issues after the completion of terms of
the tribunals.


8. Ambassador Ranko Vilovic of Croatia stated that the arrest
and trial of the remaining ICTY fugitives was a priority and
that he regretted that Karadzic was only in the pre-trial
stage. While closure of the tribunals is legitimate, Croatia
does not want it done at the expense of fair trials. He
called for a strategy to manage residual issues.


9. Kenyan Ambassador Zachary Muburi-Muita said he was worried
about the enforcement of sentences by the ICTR and called on


Member States to help host persons convicted by the
tribunals. Muburi-Muita appreciated the training provided by
the E.U. on International Criminal Law and observed that both
tribunals have contributed immensely to the development of
International Criminal Law.


10. Rwandan Ambassador Eugene Gasana thanked the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Interpol for their efforts in
the recent arrests of two ICTR fugitives. Rwanda stated that
there should be no residual mechanism with trial capacity
past 2010, as fugitives should be tried in national courts,
countries where they were arrested, or in any member state
willing to try them. Gasana refuted suggestions that the
Rwandan justice system was below standards.


11. Albanian Ambassador Ferit Hoxha affirmed his country's
support to strengthen international criminal law and justice
and called on the Security Council to help the tribunals
prosecute the remaining fugitives. He called on states where
fugitives are suspected to reside to cooperate with the
tribunals.


12. Gennady Kuzmin of the Russian Federation noted the
considerable work accomplished by the tribunals but said the
tribunals should not replace national courts. He advised
that the tribunals should stick to their original time frames
and not "drag out" their work due to outstanding fugitives.
Kuzmin suggested bringing in national courts to take over the
remaining cases.


13. Tanzanian Ambassador Augustine Mahiga praised the ICTR
and the ICTY for fighting impunity and promoting rule of law.
He said Tanzania, as host of the ICTR, would continue its
duties until its completion. Mahiga urged Member States to
offer their detention facilities and to cooperate in the
search for remaining fugitives. He stated that Tanzania
should continue to host the ICTR archives as it would help
with capacity building and training.
Rice