VZCZCXRO5917
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBZ RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUCNDT #1184/01 3531710
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 191710Z DEC 07
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3364
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 001184 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC SY LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON TRIBUNAL: EXPERTS FROM KEY AND LIKELY 
DONORS MEET TO DISCUSS NEXT STEPS 
 
REF: A. USUN 1150 
 
     ¶B. USUN(WILCOX)-IO/UNP(REINEMEYER) E-MAILS--12/10/07 
     ¶C. USUN 1138 
     ¶D. USUN(WILCOX)-IO/UNP(REINEMEYER) E-MAIL-12/7/07 
     ¶E. USUN 1059 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: Following up on recent conversations held at 
ambassadorial level among major and likely donors to the 
Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) (see reftels), experts 
from USUN, France, Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands, as 
well as Lebanese PermRep Salam and representatives of the UN 
Office of Legal Affairs (OLA), met December 12 to discuss 
actions that will be needed to operationalize the STL and to 
establish a Management Committee in New York to oversee the 
Tribunal's work.  As instructed (ref b), USUN/Legal and 
USUN/MR joined other donor delegations in "supporting in 
principle" the arrangements under which the Dutch Government 
will provide a building for use by the Tribunal (ref a). 
Based on that endorsement, the UN has sent a letter to the 
Dutch Government accepting the Dutch offer.  However, no 
decision was taken as yet on whether to authorize 
refurbishment of the building based on a "basic package" of 
USD 10 million, or whether to support an "upgraded package" 
costing $16.4 million (ref a).  USUN/MR indicated that 
further itemization and clarification of expenses associated 
with each approach were needed before any decision could be 
taken. 
 
¶2.  SUMMARY (Continued):  Donor experts also reviewed in 
detail proposed terms of reference for a Management Committee 
comprising representatives of the Government of Lebanon, the 
Government of the Netherlands, and Member States which are 
"important contributors" to the STL.  At this stage, the 
United States, France, Germany, and the UK would be the other 
members , along with a representative of the SYG.  Agreement 
was reached on most issues in the draft ToR, which were based 
on similar terms of reference governing the Sierra Leone 
Special Court Management Committee, except decision-making 
(USUN sought consensus, France and the UK advocated 
"consensus, to every extent possible").  At USUN's 
suggestion, language still to be developed for inclusion in 
the ToR will attempt to hold the judges and other Court 
personnel accountable to the Management Committee for 
ensuring Court efficiency.   Other meeting participants also 
accepted another USUN proposal calling for the Management 
Committee to ensure that the Special Tribunal is making 
optimal use of resources contributed by donor states in an 
"efficient, effective and accountable" manner.  Experts also 
began initial consideration of proposed conditions of service 
for Tribunal judges and staff, but reached no conclusions. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
"Agreement in Principle" on 
Use of Dutch Building 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3.  UN Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) Special Assistant Mark 
Quarterman, who chaired the discussion, asked meeting 
participants to approve the use of the AIVD Building in 
Leidscherdam being offered by the Dutch as the proposed site 
of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Quarterman said it was 
imperative the UN communicate approval of the Dutch offer to 
officials in The Hague so that GON officials can seek the 
endorsement of the Dutch cabinet at a December 21 meeting. 
USUN joined other delegations in "agreeing in principle" to 
the Dutch offer, subject to the provision of detailed 
information concerning the projected costs associated with 
refurbishment of the Dutch Interior Ministry building for use 
by the Tribunal.  Quarterman read a draft letter that the SYG 
would send to the Dutch, accepting the offer in principle, 
after consultations with the major donors to the Tribunal. 
USUN clarified that no authorization was being given as yet 
concerning which option for building reconstruction should be 
pursued -- the "basic package" approach costing approximately 
$10 million for construction of a courtroom, holding cells, 
security upgrade, and other modifications, or an "upgraded 
package" costing $16.4 million that would remodel the 
building as though it were new. 
 
Proposed Terms of Reference 
for Management Committee 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Meeting participants next turned their attention to the 
proposed terms of reference (ToR) for the STL Management 
Committee, which would oversee the work of the Tribunal. 
Quarterman said the ToR were modeled on those governing the 
work of the Sierra Leone Special Court Management Committee. 
(Note: The U.S. is a member of the SLSC MC.  End note.) 
Agreement was reached on setting an overall limit of ten 
 
USUN NEW Y 00001184  002 OF 002 
 
 
members on the Committee, similar to the Sierra Leone model. 
Provision also was made to replace any member who might 
withdraw from the Committee, as long as the proposed 
replacement satisfies the criteria of being an "important 
contributor" to the STL. 
 
¶5.  Participants did not reach consensus on proposed 
decision-making by the Management Committee.  USUN argued 
that all decisions should be taken solely on the basis of 
consensus, while France and the UK sought to clarify the 
consensus approach by adding the phrase, "to every extent 
possible," as was used in the ToR for the Sierra Leone 
Management Committee.  USUN noted that it would be 
unacceptable for U.S. officials to permit others to decide 
how funds voluntarily contributed by the USG should be spent. 
 In that regard, a consensus approach was mandatory.  The 
British and French acknowledged the U.S. concerns, but warned 
that requiring consensus decisions in the Committee could 
result in stalemate if one or more members disagreed with the 
others as to a particular policy or course of action to be 
pursued.  The matter was left unresolved, pending further 
discussion at the next donors' meeting. 
 
¶6.  Other participants reacted favorably to two USUN 
proposals for the inclusion of additional Management 
Committee functions - one that would hold the judges and 
other Court personnel accountable to the Management Committee 
for ensuring Court efficiency; and the other would task the 
Management Committee with ensuring that the Special Tribunal 
was making optimal use of resources contributed by donor 
states in an "efficient, effective and accountable" manner. 
Final endorsement of these and other suggested amendments to 
the draft ToR is anticipated when donors reconvene for their 
next meeting. 
 
¶7.  Experts also began initial consideration of proposed 
terms of reference for the judges and other personnel needed 
to manage the work of the Tribunal.  OLA consultant Robin 
Vincent, who once served as Registrar for the Sierra Leone 
Special Court and who would appear to be a likely candidate 
to be selected as the Registrar for the Special Tribunal, 
described in more detail the four compensation models he had 
previewed at the December 5 donors' meeting (refs C): one 
that would provide a basic salary and lump sum amount without 
most benefits ("Sierra Leone" model); a second that would 
treat staff in The Hague and Beirut differently ("hybrid" 
model); a third that would provide all staff with the same 
entitlements, but treat those serving in The Hague 
differently from those in Beirut (family vs non-family duty 
stations); and a fourth that treated all staff as being based 
in The Hague, enjoying the same entitlements, with those 
working in Beirut considered to be on travel status.  Vincent 
noted that Dutch domestic laws required that 13 separate 
social security requirements be met, either through 
participation in the Dutch social security scheme, or through 
a comparable program to be established by the Tribunal. 
USUN, joined by representatives from Germany and the UK, 
requested additional time to study the compensation proposals 
before taking any decisions. 
 
¶8.  OLA U/SYG Michel has requested that donor state experts 
meet December 18 to continue consideration of pending issues, 
with a view to finalize as many decisions as possible.  Donor 
ambassadors also are scheduled to meet on December 18, 
following the experts meeting. 
 
Khalilzad