VZCZCXRO5268
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHTRO RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUCNDT #0171/01 0532100
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 222100Z FEB 08
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3790
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000171 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC SY LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON TRIBUNAL:  MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE DISCUSSES 
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND STAFF COMPENSATION 
 
REF: A. STATE 1070 
     ¶B. USUN/IO EMAIL (WILCOX/REINEMEYER)--12/11/07 
     ¶C. USUN/IO EMAIL (WILCOX/REINEMEYER)--12/07/07 
     ¶D. USUN/IO EMAIL (WILCOX/REINEMEYER)--02/20/08 
     ¶E. USUN/IO EMAIL (WILCOX/REINEMEYER)--12/10/07 
     ¶F. USUN 1184 (2007) 
     ¶G. USUN 1150 (2007) 
 
¶1.  BEGIN SUMMARY AND COMMENT:  UN Office of Legal Affairs 
consultant Robin Vincent briefed the Management Committee for 
the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on February 19 and 21 
concerning proposals for refurbishing the future Tribunal 
building and for compensating Tribunal staff.  Describing 
measures the UN is taking to get the Tribunal up and running 
quickly, Vincent said the UN is a finalizing a draft budget 
for the Tribunal's first year, reflecting, among other 
things, the assumption that the Tribunal would begin to 
operate in April 2008 to permit an overlap with the UN 
Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC).  Personnel 
costs would account for approximately 70 percent of the 
Tribunal's budget, consistent with costs of other tribunals, 
he said.  Based on extensive consultations with a team of 
technical experts from the International Criminal Tribunal 
for Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the Dutch government, Vincent 
estimated the basic cost of refurbishing the building at USD 
15 million.   The Management Committee requested a detailed 
breakdown of construction-related costs and will meet again 
next week with the aim of deciding as soon as possible on the 
construction and staff compensation proposals.  Assuming that 
these costs are reasonable, USUN intends to support moving 
forward.  The Committee also will formally adopt its Terms of 
Reference that the main donors agreed to on February 13.  END 
SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
Terms and Conditions of Service for Staff 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  At a February 21 Management Committee meeting, Vincent 
reviewed four models for addressing the terms and conditions 
of service for staff that the UN has developed for the 
Management Committee's consideration (refs A-C).  He stressed 
that personnel-related costs would form the major part of the 
Tribunal's budget (up to 70 percent), consistent with the 
costs of other international tribunals.  In projecting staff 
costs, Vincent said the UN had been guided by the model of 
the Special Court for Sierra Leone but had made necessary 
adjustments to reflect the Tribunal's location in The Hague, 
including to provide staff benefits that meet Dutch social 
security requirements.  To do so, Vincent proposed that the 
Tribunal join the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund, noting that 
doing so would increase staff costs by about 16 percent for 
the duration of the Tribunal's mandate but avoid 
administrative overhead expenses (that Vincent could not 
quantify). 
 
¶3.  The UN's current draft budget reflects the UN's preferred 
option ("Model III"), under which the Tribunal would appoint 
staff separately to duty stations in The Hague and Beirut, 
with conditions of service of all staff following the 
framework of the UN 100 series staff rules.  Vincent 
explained that the model the UN prefers is designed to 
facilitate retention of UNIIIC personnel, saying that the UN 
expected that UNIIIC staff would fill two-thirds of the 
positions in the Prosecutor's Office.  (Note:  As instructed 
in ref A, USUN has advised other Committee members that USUN 
prefers the UN's recommended model, which the U.S. believes 
to be the package that will ensure the retention of key 
personnel already working for the UNIIIC but also maximize 
efficiency.  Other members have indicated their support for 
that model too.  End Note.)  Vincent also indicated that the 
UN is continuing to talk to UNIIIC Commissioner Bellemare 
about the various options and expects to receive final input 
from him shortly for the draft budget. 
 
Staffing Levels 
--------------- 
 
¶4.  Vincent also discussed staffing levels, estimating that 
the Tribunal would need 301 personnel in its first year and 
up to 415-430 in its second and third years, when the UN 
expects the Tribunal's activities to be at their height.  The 
figures reflect Vincent's discussions last fall with former 
UNIIIC Commissioner Serge Brammertz, who advised that the 
Tribunal would spend a large part of its first financial year 
(roughly April 2008-March 31, 2009) on investigatory work, 
with one-third of the staff of the Prosecutor's Office 
working in The Hague and two-thirds located in Beirut. 
Although filling positions will take time, Vincent explained 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000171  002 OF 003 
 
 
that recruitment should be quicker than usual for new UN 
bodies because UNIIIC staff will be available.  As a result, 
the draft budget assumes that 90 percent of the Tribunal's 
positions will be filled in the Tribunal's first year, which 
is 40 percent higher than the figure the UN normally uses 
when starting up a new operation.  The current draft budget 
predicts that during the first year, only the Tribunal's 
President and one international pre-trial judge will be 
needed; the remaining trial judges would take office in the 
second year, and the five appeals judges would arrive in the 
third year. 
 
Planning Reflects Assumptions about Trials 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  Vincent also explained that planning is based on the 
premise that the Tribunal will try a maximum of 15 suspects 
and will need one trial chamber.  If a second chamber is 
needed, costs would go up by approximately $8 million or 
more, but the Tribunal building is large enough to 
accommodate a second chamber, if necessary. 
 
Construction Costs 
------------------ 
 
¶6.  On February 19, Vincent briefed Committee members on the 
proposed costs of constructing a courtroom and holding cells 
and otherwise improving the Tribunal building (ref D). 
Vincent explained he had been working closely with the Dutch 
Government Building Agency (RGD) and a technical team from 
the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY), 
which includes architects, engineers, security, and 
information technology experts and is assisting the UN Office 
of Legal Affairs (OLA).   Although the Management Committee 
still needs to choose between two construction packages, as 
Vincent had advised the main donors' group last fall (refs 
E-G), Vincent said the cheaper package, which had been 
estimated at USD 10 million, had increased to USD 15 million. 
 The main reason for the increase is that the RGD has 
determined that the addition of a courtroom and holding cells 
will turn the building into a public space, meaning that what 
RGD originally had thought were optional fire safety 
improvements (costing USD 3.8 million) are now mandatory. 
Courtroom information technology infrastructure will cost USD 
2.1 million.  Vincent agreed to provide a detailed cost 
breakdown to the Management Committee next week, along with 
information on how the proposed improvements, particularly in 
the area of information technology, compare to what tribunals 
have spent on comparable work. 
 
Construction Timeline 
--------------------- 
 
¶7.  Vincent also discussed the timeline for the construction, 
stressing the need for the Management Committee to reach 
decisions soon to avoid delays.  To try to expedite the 
construction, Vincent said OLA plans to ask for the ICTY 
architect who supervised the construction of ICTY's 
courtrooms to work full-time for the Tribunal for three 
months. Assuming work begins in March, the courtroom and 
holding cells could be ready in January 2009, he said. 
(Note:  Vincent did say, however, that the building has 
excellent conference-room facilities, which are suitable for 
holding pre-trial hearings.  In any case, it is not clear 
whether the Tribunal will be ready to begin trials before 
January because UNIIIC Commissioner Daniel Bellemare has 
declined to specify when or whether he expects to have 
evidence sufficient to enable the Tribunal to issue 
indictments.  End Note.)  Vincent also clarified that offices 
in the building can be occupied with four weeks' notice so a 
security fence can be built and an interior security system 
put in place.  Although the Dutch government will provide 
security for the perimeter, the Tribunal would be responsible 
for interior security and will seek security-related help 
from the ICTY, he said. 
 
¶8.  Once the Committee has decided on the construction 
package, an occupancy permit and a building permit must be 
obtained, which could take at least 13 weeks.  RGD will have 
overall responsibility for the project and will need to 
develop designs and identify the construction company to 
perform the work.  To expedite the process, RGD has advised 
that the project can be classified as "Secret," meaning that 
RGD can opt out of burdensome ECC procurement regulations and 
choose from a handful of firms with the appropriate 
clearances.  When USUN noted that the proposed process did 
not envision competitive bidding, Vincent said he had been 
operating under the understanding that the Committee wanted 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000171  003 OF 003 
 
 
the most expedient option, noting using competitive bidding 
could create delays and increase costs. 
 
Oversight 
--------- 
 
¶9.  Vincent also discussed current proposals for overseeing 
the project.  Vincent recommended that a Project Board, 
chaired by the Tribunal's Registrar and including 
representatives of the RGD and the technical experts from the 
ICTY who are already providing input, should be established 
to provide oversight.  Under Vincent's proposal, the 
Management Committee would not sit on the Project Board, but 
the Registrar would report to the Committee.  Management 
Committee members agreed to consider Vincent's proposal. 
 
¶10.  More broadly, Committee members also discussed the need 
to adopt a mechanism for providing financial oversight to the 
Tribunal.  Vincent recommended that the Committee adopt the 
UN financial regulations and rules, as was done with the 
Sierra Leone Special Court.  By doing so, the UN Office of 
Internal Oversight could conduct internal audits. 
 
Role for ICTY 
------------- 
 
¶11.  To get the Tribunal up and running quickly, Vincent said 
OLA expected the Tribunal would need sustained administrative 
support from the ICTY.  By the end of the week, Vincent hopes 
that OLA and ICTY will have a draft Memorandum of 
Understanding, laying out how the Tribunal will reimburse the 
ICTY for the architect's time and other services OLA has 
asked ICTY to provide.  Vincent has sought cost estimates on 
what the ICTY would charge if the Management Committee 
decides that the ICTY should handle payroll, procurement, 
finance, and recruitment of national staff for the Tribunal. 
Management Committee members questioned whether the ICTY 
could provide assistance to the Tribunal without 
authorization from the Security Council and agreed that OLA 
needed to provide details on the proposal. 
 
KHALILZAD