VZCZCXRO9039
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBZ RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUCNDT #1150 3451513
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111513Z DEC 07
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3306
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001150 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC SY LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON:  DUTCH SEEK IMMEDIATE DECISION ON BUILDING 
 
REF: A. USUN 1138 
     ¶B. WILCOX/REINEMEYER EMAILS--12/10/07 
 
¶1.  (SBU) BEGIN SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUEST:  At the third 
meeting UN Legal Counsel Nicolas Michel hosted for major 
donors and potential donors to the Special Tribunal for 
Lebanon ("Tribunal") on December 10 (reftel), Dutch PermRep 
Majoor asked representatives of Lebanon, France, UK, Germany, 
and the United States to agree immediately to the terms under 
which the Dutch government would provide a building for the 
Tribunal.  While they welcomed the Dutch proposal, Germany 
and the UK said they did not have instructions to agree, and 
Michel asked participants to advise him by noon on December 
11 whether the UN can write the Dutch, on behalf of the 
donors to the Tribunal, to accept the Dutch offer.  USUN 
seeks instructions to respond positively.  END SUMMARY AND 
ACTION REQUEST. 
 
¶2.   (SBU) Under what the Dutch call their "best offer," the 
Dutch have offered the Tribunal use of a building that the 
Dutch Intelligence and Security Service will vacate at the 
end of the year (ref B).  The Dutch would pay the full rent 
for the building (3.4 million Euros per year) for a maximum 
of six years, as well as the cost of external security for 
the building.  Implicit in acceptance of this donation would 
be the Tribunal's agreement to pay the cost of preparing the 
building for use for the trial.  Dutch PermRep Majoor 
explained that the Dutch need donors' immediate agreement to 
their proposal so their Cabinet can bless it, as well as the 
draft Headquarters Agreement, at a December 21 meeting. 
 
¶3.    (SBU) The UN has inspected the building twice and has 
determined that it is in good condition and suitable in all 
aspects, although it lacks a courtroom and holding cells (ref 
B).  Under the Dutch proposal, the Tribunal would have to pay 
for any adjustments to the facilities, including the costs of 
building a courtroom and holding cells, and would cost either 
USD 10 million or USD 16.4 million.  The Tribunal also would 
cover all operating costs, which would cost USD 1 million per 
year.  The UN confirmed that the cost figures would be in 
addition to the USD 35 million in set-up and other costs 
projected for the first year of the Tribunal's operations. 
The UN said the annual operating costs compare favorably with 
the operational costs of the International Criminal Tribunal 
for Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Court. 
The building has 17,500 square meters of usable space, as 
opposed to the ICTY, which has 19,883 square meters of usable 
space.  The ICTY pays 2.65 million Euros in rent for its 
facility per year. 
 
¶4.    (SBU) The UN said donors do not have to make an 
immediate decision between the two packages for upgrading the 
facility, though they would need to do so soon.  The minimum 
proposal, which would include constructing the courtroom and 
holding cells, increased security measures (one perimeter 
fence and security for the holding cells), and limited other 
modifications to the building (including installing 
shatterproof film on some of the windows), would cost USD 10 
million.  Alternatively, the Tribunal could pay 16.4 million 
for a package that would cover additional upgrades to raise 
the standard of the building to that of a new building, 
including replacing all lighting and fire safety equipment 
and office improvements.  Under either option, the estimated 
costs would be non-recurrent capital costs to be met in the 
Tribunal,s first year of operation. 
 
¶5.    (SBU) Assuming the donors agree on December 11 to 
accept the Dutch offer, the UN advised that office space 
would likely be available for occupancy in the second quarter 
of 2008.  Courtrooms and holding cells would be available for 
use at the end of the third quarter of 2008.  The building is 
located in Leidschendam, 15 minutes by train from the center 
of The Hague and 15-20 minutes by car from the UN Detention 
Facility at Schevengingen and the Bronovo Hospital.  The 
building is approximately 15 years old. 
Khalilzad