VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #1108/01 3431449
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091449Z DEC 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7777
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 0016
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI 0366
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0806
RUEHVJ/AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO 1302
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0656

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001108 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ICTY PREL UNSC
SUBJECT: ICTR/ICTY JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS BRIEF SECURITY 
COUNCIL 
 
REF: USUN NEW YORK 577 
 
 ¶1.  Summary:  The Security Council met December 3 for its 
biannual briefing on the International Criminal Tribunal for 
the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal 
Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The President and Prosecutor of 
each tribunal made statements, as did all Council members and 
Representatives from Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, 
Kenya, and Rwanda.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  Judge Patrick Robinson, President of the ICTY, reported 
that of the 161 accused indicted by the Tribunal, only one 
awaits commencement of his trial which will start on December 
¶17.  Moreover, twenty-four accused are on trial in nine cases 
with another thirteen have appeals pending.  He described the 
failure to arrest Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic as a "serious 
hurdle," noting that their immediate arrest would avert a 
residual trial function for the ICTY.  He observed that staff 
retention was becoming an increasingly urgent issue as 
indicated in a recent survey of staff members which showed 
that 70 percent were actively seeking employment elsewhere, 
24 percent said they were exhausted by their current work 
load and almost 50 percent said they felt they had to work 
too fast.  Robinson called on the Security Council for help 
in two areas: providing an end of service grants for staff 
that have completed their contracts and served ten years and 
including the staff in the "regime of continuing contracts." 
He urged the creation of a mechanism by which victims can 
seek compensation for their injuries.  Robinson concluded by 
commenting that the ICTY was dedicated to strengthening the 
national judicial systems in the former Yugoslavia as 
demonstrated by its efforts to declassify all of the records 
of the Tribunal. 
 
¶3.  Judge Dennis Byron, President of the ICTR, reported that 
since the last report in June, the Tribunal had rendered five 
judgments and had started ten new trials.  He thanked the 
States for their assistance, particularly Democratic Republic 
of Congo and Uganda for their cooperation with the ICTR in 
the arrest of Gregoire Ndahimana and Idelphonse Nizeyimana, 
but lamented that eleven fugitives still remain at large, 
including Felicien Kabuga.  Byron said he hoped to complete 
all trials before the Tribunal closes down so that the 
residual mechanism can focus on management of the archives, 
witness protection, and supervision of sentences.  He closed 
by observing that without tribunals such as the ICTR and ICTY 
and their jurisprudence, there would be no International 
Criminal Court. 
 
¶4.  Serge Brammertz, ICTY Prosecutor, presented his office's 
twelfth report to the Security Council which focused on the 
status of trials/appeals, capacity building efforts, 
cooperation between his office and States, and plans to 
downsize his office.  He commended Serbia for its cooperation 
with his office and welcomed Croatia's recent creation of an 
Inter-Agency Task Force aimed at locating key military 
documents.  Brammertz also expressed his concern over the 
possible departure of international personnel and support 
staff from the Special Department for War Crimes in Bosnia. 
 
¶5.  Hassan Jallow, ICTR Prosecutor, updated the Council on 
his office's activities over the past six months.  He 
criticized Kenya for not cooperating in the case against 
Felicien Kabuga.  He reported the successful management of 
the 5th Colloquium of the Prosecutors of International 
Criminal Tribunals in Kigali.  Jallow noted the considerable 
progress made by Rwanda in its law reform and described the 
training his office provided in witness protection and 
evidence recording. 
 
¶6.  Following the presentations, all of the Council Member 
States delivered statements on the issue.  Most Members 
(Austria, Croatia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Costa 
Rica, the United States, Uganda, and Burkina Faso) observed 
that apprehending the remaining 13 fugitives (11 for ICTR and 
2 for ICTY) was a top priority.  Several Members (France, 
Japan, China, and the United States) commended Rwanda for its 
judicial reforms. 
 
¶7.  Most Members acknowledged the delays experienced by both 
tribunals and urged them to redouble their efforts and to 
stay on track as much as possible.  Some (China, Libya, 
Turkey, and Burkina Faso) recommended the tribunals refer 
more cases to national jurisdictions as a possible solution. 
 
¶8.  Several States (France, the United Kingdom, and the 
 
 
United States) criticized Kenya, urging it to comply with its 
obligations and cooperate on the case of Felicien Kabuga. 
The United Kingdom, Mexico and the United States urged full 
cooperation from Croatia in obtaining crucial missing 
military documents.  Croatia commented that the rapid closure 
of the tribunals should not be at the expense of fair trials 
and critiqued the delay in the Karadzic case, likening it to 
the Milosevic trial. 
 
¶9.  The Security Council then heard interventions from 
Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kenya, and Rwanda. 
Sweden, on behalf of the European Union, urged the tribunals 
to downsize as soon as possible in line with the level of 
trial activities.  Bosnia noted that of the 13 accused 
transferred to national jurisdictions, 10 had been sent to 
Bosnia.  Serbia reiterated its support for the ICTY and for 
the search of the remaining two fugitives.  Kenya defended 
itself against the criticism it received regarding Felicien 
Kabuga, commenting that Kenya had arrested/surrendered the 
largest number of indicted and noting the creation of a joint 
Kenya/ICTR taskforce charged with finding Kabuga.  Rwanda 
described the reforms it had undertaken since the last 
briefing and criticized the recent decisions by the Trial and 
Appeals Chamber against transferring cases to Rwanda. 
RICE