VZCZCXRO7239
OO RUEHMA RUEHPA RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0132/01 0441634
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131634Z FEB 08
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3719
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0994
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE PRIORITY 8987

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000132 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNSC KJUS KDEM PGOV SL XA
SUBJECT: UN/SIERRA LEONE SPECIAL COURT: MANAGEMENT 
COMMITTEE PREPARES FOR FEBRUARY 14-22 TRIP TO FREETOWN AND 
THE HAGUE 
 
REF: A. USUN 113 
     ¶B. STATE 11738 
     ¶C. 1/23/08 USUN-S/WCI E-MAIL 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  S/WCI Deputy Milbert Shin and USUN/MR 
represented the U.S. at a February 7 meeting of the Sierra 
Leone Special Court Management Committee that focused on 
issues expected to be addressed during the Committee's 
upcoming February 14-22 trip to The Hague and Freetown.  Shin 
and USUN/MR underscored the importance of conveying a strong 
Committee message to senior Court officials that donor 
resources are not limitless, and that every effort must be 
made to ensure the Court completes its remaining tasks on 
time, consistent with the benchmark dates identified in the 
recently circulated revised Court completion strategy.  While 
in Freetown, Committee members will participate in a February 
20-21 conference on residual issues.  END SUMMARY. 
 
REVISED COMPLETION STRATEGY 
AND BUDGET 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Management Committee members, including the U.S., 
spent the morning of February 7 discussing the Special 
Court's revised completion strategy and budget (copies 
e-mailed to S/WCI, L, AF, IO, Embassy Freetown and Embassy 
The Hague on 1/28 and 2/1, respectively).  Shin, who will 
participate in the Committee trip to The Hague and Freetown, 
and USUN/MR joined others in raising concerns over the 
reliability of the projected completion dates for the ongoing 
trials and appeals - information that, if not accurate or 
realistic, will only signal further delays and the consequent 
need for additional contributions from donor states. 
Referencing comments made by Court Prosecutor Stephen Rapp 
when he met with Committee members in New York on January 22 
(ref c), Dutch representative Brechje Schwachofer noted that 
the projected completion date of May 2008 for the RUF trial 
as reflected in the revised completion strategy was not 
realistic.  Schwachofer said that Rapp had indicated the 
defense team in the RUF case still intended to call more than 
100 witnesses.  Consequently, the trial phase of the case 
would not be completed until July or August, perhaps later. 
 
¶3.  (U) The problem with such inaccurate estimates, USUN/MR 
noted, was that donors, including the U.S., were basing their 
contributions on the expectation that the Court was nearing 
the end of its work.  Every missed deadline undermined the 
Court's credibility, and made it more difficult to secure 
additional funding, especially given donor fatigue and 
increased demands for support from both the Lebanon and 
Cambodia tribunals.  USUN/MR said it was essential that the 
Special Court identify realistic benchmarks which could be 
met or surpassed to reassure donors that meaningful progress 
was being achieved. 
 
¶4.  (U) Special Court New York representative Anthony Triola 
estimated that in view of recent pledges to the Court made by 
the UK (3 million BPS), Canada (5 million Canadian dollars), 
Germany (1.5 million Euros), Ireland (600,000 Euros), and 
France (500,000 Euros), the Special Court would have 
sufficient funds to sustain its work for an additional 7-8 
months, through August-September 2008.  If the U.S. 
contributes an amount similar to what was provided in recent 
years (i.e., $13 million), the Court should have enough funds 
to carry its work through the rest of 2008, perhaps into 
early 2009.  The revised Court budget projects expenses of 
$36.1 million for 2008, $23.4 million for 2009, and 
approximately $8.7 million for 2010, by which time the trial 
and appeal phases of all the cases should be completed. 
 
CONCERN OVER ONGOING 
TENSIONS AMONG SENIOR 
COURT OFFICIALS AND 
STAFF MORALE 
--------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Members of the Management Committee also discussed 
the contentious working relationship that reportedly still 
exists between Court President King, on the one hand, and 
Court Registrar von Hebel and Deputy Registrar Mansarray, on 
the other.  Committee Chair Hugh Adsett (Canada) referenced a 
February 6 letter (copy e-mailed 2/7 to S/WCI, IO, AF, L, 
Emb. Freetown, Emb. The Hague) he had received on behalf from 
President King indicating that new procedures have been 
instituted at the Special Court to facilitate interaction and 
communication between the Court principals.  In response to a 
question posed by USUN/MR, Sierra Leone Ambassador Kanu, who 
traveled to Freetown in January, reported that the situation 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000132  002 OF 002 
 
 
at the Court seemed to have improved.  In particular, Kanu 
cited improved cooperation between King and Deputy Registrar 
Mansarray (Note: Mansarray is Amb. Kanu's sister-in-law.  End 
note).  Committee members agreed that it was essential the 
Court principals resolve remaining differences and unite to 
complete the Court's mandate.  Improvements in the working 
relationship among the Court leaders would help to improve 
overall morale among Court staff - a problem that has been 
plaguing Court operations for months.  Committee members 
proposed that this issue be re-visited following the 
Committee's upcoming trip to Sierra Leone. 
 
RESIDUAL ISSUES 
CONFERENCE 
--------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) While in Freetown, Management Committee members will 
participate in a February 20-21 Conference on Residual Issues 
that will be faced by the Special Court as well as by the 
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 
(ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda 
(ICTR).  The conference, being funded by the Canadian 
Government, will use as the basis for the discussion a paper 
entitled, "Options for Addressing Residual Functions After 
Physical Closure" of the Sierra Leone Special Court (copy 
e-mailed 2/5/08 to S/WCI, IO, AF, L, Emb. Freetown, Emb. The 
Hague) prepared by law professors at the University of 
Western Ontario in Canada.  In addition to Committee members, 
other conference attendees likely will include 
representatives from more than twenty other nations. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) COMMENT: The constant challenge of securing 
sufficient Court financing has, for the moment, been 
temporarily addressed through the provision of enough pledges 
to fund Court operations through the summer of 2008. 
However, continued slippage in the completion benchmarks set 
forth in the most recent revised Court strategy, particularly 
through ongoing Court inefficiency, only will exacerbate 
ongoing fund-raising efforts, and require the continued 
diversion of resources to support the Court rather than to 
rebuild Sierra Leone's infrastructure and economy.  End 
comment. 
 
WOLFF