VZCZCXYZ0009
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0458 1582139
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 072139Z JUN 07
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT IMMEDIATE 1062
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2034

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000458 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM LE PREL PTER UNSC
SUBJECT: LEBANON TRIBUNAL - UN PREPARES TO SET IT UP 
 
 
¶1.  Summary.  As June 10, the date of entry into force of the 
Lebanon Tribunal Agreement, approaches, the UN Secretariat is 
gearing up to put arrangements in place for its full 
implementation.  In a June 6 meeting, UN Office of Legal 
Affairs (OLA) officials described preparations for the 
Tribunal.  They focused on the importance of identifying a 
seat for the court as soon as possible and noted their 
ongoing consultations with the Government of Lebanon, the 
other party (with the UN) to the Agreement.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  USUN Legal Adviser and Political officer met June 6 with 
UN Assistant Secretary General for Legal Affairs, Larry 
Johnson and Legal Officer Mark Quarterman to discuss 
implementation of SC Res. 1757, which will bring the 
agreement establishing a Special Tribunal for Lebanon into 
force on June 10.  In anticipation, OLA has set up a task 
force and identified the "next steps".  Johnson mentioned 
that Robin Vincent, former Registrar of the Sierra Leone 
Special Court, has prepared a paper outlining the elements 
that will need to be addressed.  Among the most important are 
the seat, budget and selection of judges. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Tribunal Seat - Johnson said that first and 
foremost is the question of the seat of the Tribunal.  UN 
Legal Counsel, Nicolas Michel, has been discussing possible 
sites with the Lebanese Prime Minister's office.  The 
location will affect costs, staffing, security etc. 
Related factors will be security, availability of court room 
facilities and witness protection.  Johnson mentioned that 
due to Lebanon's proximity to Europe, OLA is considering 
whether a European capital would agree to host the Tribunal. 
He mentioned The Netherlands, Italy Switzerland, Austria, and 
Cyprus as possibilities.  Noting that some, but not all, 
Lebanese officials have raised objections to Cyprus as a 
potential location, Johnson said OLA awaits a formal 
indication from the GOL of which locations it does not think 
are appropriate to host the tribunal.  He stressed that no 
contact would be made with foreign governments until after 
June 10, and that once the UN had identified a site and 
talked to the host government, it would send an assessment 
mission to determine how much it would cost to base the 
tribunal in that city. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Budget - Asked about budget estimates, Johnson 
repeated that the costs would be driven by the location but 
that once a seat has been determined, it will not take long 
to produce a budget along the lines of the Sierra Leone Court 
model.  Next week, OLA plans to approach the UN Comptroller 
to discuss setting up a Trust Fund to receive voluntary 
contributions.  It will also be necessary to identify members 
of the Management Committee, which will follow budget and 
administrative matters.  The U.S. is a member of the Sierra 
Leone Special Court Management Committee and we expressed an 
interest in serving on this one as well.  Underscoring that 
the U.S. among other possible donors, would need estimates of 
start-up and ongoing costs for the tribunal as soon as 
possible in order to try to help identify contributions, USUN 
noted that for internal purposes we had looked to the budget 
of the Sierra Leone Court as a guide.  Johnson said OLA could 
not endorse any budget estimates until it had decided on a 
seat for the tribunal, but he and Quarterman agreed that the 
cost of the Sierra Leone Court adjusted for the likelihood 
that the court will be based in Europe (vice Africa) is the 
best guide we currently have. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Judges - OLA is consulting with the Lebanese on the 
process and timing of the appointment of judges.  Ambassador 
Wolff stressed, in a separate conversation with Legal Counsel 
Michel, the importance of calibrating the timing of UN and 
Lebanese appointment of judges.  Agreeing, Michel said that 
he would be speaking to Justice Minister Rizk on this issue. 
On the basis of these contacts, the UN anticipates that the 
appointment of Lebanese judges can be achieved in a timely 
fashion.  OLA recognizes that security constraints may affect 
the transparency of the selection process. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Johnson noted that the report on efforts to 
establish the Tribunal, requested by Resolution 1757, is due 
at the end of August 30th and indicated OLA will make an all 
out effort in the coming weeks to address the key issues. 
Comment.  USUN will continue to work closely with the UN 
Legal Office on arrangements for the Tribunal.  It is clear 
that OLA considers this an important achievement and is 
committed to its complete implementation.  End Comment. 
KHALILZAD