05 November 2003
Minikes: U.S. Supports Completion Strategy for War Crimes Tribunal
Says ICTY plays important role in moving Balkans towards Euro-Atlantic integration
The United States strongly supports the Completion Strategy for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), under which all war crimes investigations would be completed by 2004, all first instance trials by 2008, and all work by the end of 2010, said U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE Stephan Minikes.
Speaking to the OSCE Permanent Council November 4 during a visit by ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, Minikes said the tribunal "continues to play a very important role helping Southeast Europe move beyond the problems of the past and towards Euro-Atlantic integration."
Because of the Completion Strategy set out in UN Security Council Resolution 1503 [see UNSC press release below], "the Tribunal is where the most senior leaders, suspected of being most responsible for serious war crimes, should be tried," while cases involving other war crimes indictees should be tried by domestic courts, Minikes said.
For this reason, the United States was "surprised" to learn that the ICTY Prosecutor is pursuing "14 new or additional indictments covering 30 individuals," which Minikes called an "approach that complicates and puts at risk the timeline set out in the Completion Strategy."
"We appreciate the invaluable assistance that the Tribunal has provided in helping to bring peace and stability to the region, and believe that our efforts now should be focused on ensuring that only those most responsible face justice in The Hague," he said.
Minikes also urged OSCE member states to provide assistance that will help ensure that domestic courts in the Balkans are able to render justice to war criminals.
Following is the text of Minikes remarks:
(begin text)
United States Mission to the OSCE
STATEMENT ON THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
As delivered by Ambassador Stephan M. Minikes
to the Permanent Council, Vienna
November 4, 2003
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We would like to welcome Chief Prosecutor Del Ponte to the Permanent Council today. We believe the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia continues to play a very important role helping Southeast Europe move beyond the problems of the past and towards Euro-Atlantic integration.
Bringing persons indicted for war crimes to justice, in particular those most responsible for the devastation of the Balkans over the last ten years, is an important part of promoting ethnic reconciliation and establishing the rule of law. It is also a necessary element of ensuring regional stability and normalization of regional relations.
It is hard to imagine a Balkans at peace with such notorious indictees as Karadzic, Mladic, and Gotovina, at large, and we support the Prosecutor's efforts to bring these and other high level indictees to justice. We also continue to urge authorities in the region to do their part to cooperate fully with the Tribunal, including taking steps, per their UN and Dayton [peace accord] obligations, to detain and transfer persons indicted for war crimes to The Hague, or bring about their surrender.
The United States has also taken a number of steps to increase the pressure on fugitive indictees and their supporters. On May 29, President Bush signed an Executive Order that included in its provisions the freezing of assets and the restriction of travel of indictees and their supporters. UNSCR 1503 calls on UN members to enact travel and financial restrictions. We welcome the decision of the European Commission to also enact travel restrictions and we urge other nations and groups of nations to restrict the travel and to freeze the assets of indicted war criminals and those who support their evasion of justice.
The United States has actively supported the work of the Tribunal since its inception. The Security Council established the Tribunal to bring to justice persons allegedly responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law, to render justice to the victims, which are too often forgotten, to deter further crimes, and to contribute to the restoration of peace by promoting reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia.
The Tribunal has played an important role in furtherance of these goals, while the countries in the region worked to rebuild after years of war and armed conflict.
We strongly support the Tribunal's Completion Strategy, submitted to the Security Council last June, in which the Tribunal set out a plan to complete all investigations by the end of 2004, all first instance trials by the end of 2008, and to complete all work in 2010. We also strongly supported UNSCR 1503, in which the Security Council called upon the Tribunal to take all possible measures to comply with its completion strategy.
We, together with the international community, have worked closely with the countries of the region to help create the local capacity by which the rule of law is a transparent, dependable, and functional reality. We are working to help root out corruption, to ensure necessary legislation is in place, and to provide resources to authorities in the region to ensure accountability and deliver justice.
A focus of this assistance has also been to ensure that domestic courts, once unable to render justice to war criminals, are capable of doing so. We were pleased to be able to announce at the October 30 Donors' Conference in The Hague that we would provide $5 million this year to establish a new War Crimes Chamber in the state court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by a similar contribution in the first half of next year. In keeping with UNSCR 1503, we urge other states to provide financial assistance or in-kind contributions to help ensure the success of the new Chamber and to focus assistance on building domestic capacity throughout the region.
Enabling domestic courts to try persons indicted for war crimes, including those transferred from The Hague, is an important step forward for a region that has seen too much conflict. The Tribunal is where the most senior leaders, suspected of being most responsible for serious war crimes, should be tried, but it is important for the region, with help from the international community, to adjudicate the rest.
Because of the clear support of the International Community for the Tribunal's own Completion Strategy, we were surprised by the Prosecutor's presentation to the Security Council last month. By pursuing 14 new or additional indictments covering 30 individuals, it appears the Prosecutor has indicated an approach that complicates and puts at risk the timeline set out in the Completion Strategy.
We would like to reiterate the clear position expressed by the Security Council - that the Tribunal plan appropriately in order to meet its Completion Strategy. We appreciate the invaluable assistance that the Tribunal has provided in helping to bring peace and stability to the region, and believe that our efforts now should be focused on ensuring that only those most responsible face justice in The Hague. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
(end text)
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(begin UNSC press release)
U.N. Security Council Press Release
28/08/2003
4817th Meeting* (AM)
SECURITY COUNCIL SPLITS PROSECUTORIAL DUTIES FOR RWANDA, YUGOSLAVIA TRIBUNALS, UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTING RESOLUTION 1503 (2003)
The Security Council this morning decided to split the prosecutorial duties for the criminal tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, which to date had been the responsibility of a single official, currently Carla Del Ponte.
Acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council, through the unanimous adoption of resolution 1503 (2003), amended Article 15 of the Rwanda Tribunal's Statute and replaced it with the provision set out in Annex I to the resolution, which creates a new position of Prosecutor and describes the process of appointment.
The Secretary-General has already informed the Council of his intention to nominate and, thus, maintain Ms. Del Ponte as Prosecutor of the Yugoslavia Tribunal, with his nominee for the Rwanda Tribunal to follow in due course.
In the interim, Rwanda duties will be assumed by the current Deputy Prosecutor.
Outlining the timetable for the completion of the courts' work, the Council called on the Tribunals to take all possible measures to complete investigations by the end of 2004, to complete all trial activities (at first instance) by the end of 2008, and to complete all work in 2010 (the Completion Strategies).
The Council also called on all States, especially Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and on the Republika Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina, to intensity cooperation with and render all necessary assistance to the Yugoslavia Tribunal.
It called on all at-large indictees to that Court to surrender to it.
Similarly, it called on all States, especially Rwanda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the Congo to intensify cooperation with and render all necessary assistance to the Rwanda Tribunal, and it called on all at-large indictees to surrender to that Court.
In a 28 July letter to the Council (document S/2003/766), the Secretary General indicated that, as the two Tribunals move towards implementing their respective completion strategies, it was "essential, in the interests of efficiency and effectiveness" that each have its own Prosecutor, able to devote his or her entire attention to the conduct of the outstanding investigations and prosecutions.
The meeting began at 10:14 a.m. and adjourned at 10:18 a.m.
The full text of resolution 1503 (2003) reads as follows:
"The Security Council,
"Recalling its resolutions 827 (1993) of 25 May 1993, 955 (1994) of 8 November 1994, 978 (1995) of 27 February 1995, 1165 (1998) of 30 April 1998, 1166 (1998) of 13 May 1998, 1329 (2000) of 30 November 2000, 1411 (2002) of 17 May 2002, 1431 (2002) of 14 August 2002, and 1481 (2003) of 19 May 2003,
"Noting the letter from the Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council dated 28 July 2003 (S/2003/766),
"Commending the important work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in contributing to lasting peace and security in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and the progress made since their inception,
"Noting that an essential prerequisite to achieving the objectives of the ICTY and ICTR Completion Strategies is full cooperation by all States, especially in apprehending all remaining at-large persons indicted by the ICTY and the ICTR,
"Welcoming steps taken by States in the Balkans and the Great Lakes region of Africa to improve cooperation and apprehend at-large persons indicted by the ICTY and ICTR, but noting with concern that certain States are still not offering full cooperation,
"Urging Member States to consider imposing measures against individuals and groups or organizations assisting indictees at large to continue to evade justice, including measures designed to restrict the travel and freeze the assets of such individuals, groups, or organizations,
"Recalling and reaffirming in the strongest terms the statement of 23 July 2002 made by the President of the Security Council (S/PRST/2002/21), which endorsed the ICTY's strategy for completing investigations by the end of 2004, all trial activities at first instance by the end of 2008, and all of its work in 2010 (ICTY Completion Strategy) (S/2002/678), by concentrating on the prosecution and trial of the most senior leaders suspected of being most responsible for crimes within the ICTY's jurisdiction and transferring cases involving those who may not bear this level of responsibility to competent national jurisdictions, as appropriate, as well as the strengthening of the capacity of such jurisdictions,
"Urging the ICTR to formalize a detailed strategy, modelled on the ICTY Completion Strategy, to transfer cases involving intermediate- and lower-rank accused to competent national jurisdictions, as appropriate, including Rwanda, in order to allow the ICTR to achieve its objective of completing investigations by the end of 2004, all trial activities at first instance by the end of 2008, and all of its work in 2010 (ICTR Completion Strategy),
"Noting that the above-mentioned Completion Strategies in no way alter the obligation of Rwanda and the countries of the former Yugoslavia to investigate those accused whose cases would not be tried by the ICTR or ICTY and take appropriate action with respect to indictment and prosecution, while bearing in mind the primacy of the ICTY and ICTR over national courts,
"Noting that the strengthening of national judicial systems is crucially important to the rule of law in general and to the implementation of the ICTY and ICTR Completion Strategies in particular,
"Noting that an essential prerequisite to achieving the objectives of the ICTY Completion Strategy is the expeditious establishment under the auspices of the High Representative and early functioning of a special chamber within the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the "War Crimes Chamber") and the subsequent referral by the ICTY of cases of lower- or intermediate-rank accused to the Chamber,
"Convinced that the ICTY and the ICTR can most efficiently and expeditiously meet their respective responsibilities if each has its own Prosecutor,
"Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
"1. Calls on the international community to assist national jurisdictions, as part of the completion strategy, in improving their capacity to prosecute cases transferred from the ICTY and the ICTR and encourages the ICTY and ICTR Presidents, Prosecutors, and Registrars to develop and improve their outreach programmes;
"2. Calls on all States, especially Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and on the Republika Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina, to intensify cooperation with and render all necessary assistance to the ICTY, particularly to bring Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, as well as Ante Gotovina and all other indictees to the ICTY and calls on these and all other at-large indictees of the ICTY to surrender to the ICTY;
"3. Calls on all States, especially Rwanda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the Congo, to intensify cooperation with and render all necessary assistance to the ICTR, including on investigations of the Rwandan Patriotic Army and efforts to bring Felicien Kabuga and all other such indictees to the ICTR and calls on this and all other at-large indictees of the ICTR to surrender to the ICTR;
"4. Calls on all States to cooperate with the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO-Interpol) in apprehending and transferring persons indicted by the ICTY and the ICTR;
"5. Calls on the donor community to support the work of the High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina in creating a special chamber, within the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to adjudicate allegations of serious violations of international humanitarian law;
"6. Requests the Presidents of the ICTY and the ICTR and their Prosecutors, in their annual reports to the Council, to explain their plans to implement the ICTY and ICTR Completion Strategies;
"7. Calls on the ICTY and the ICTR to take all possible measures to complete investigations by the end of 2004, to complete all trial activities at first instance by the end of 2008, and to complete all work in 2010 (the Completion Strategies);
"8. Decides to amend Article 15 of the Statute of the International Tribunal for Rwanda and to replace that Article with the provision set out in Annex I to this resolution, and requests the Secretary-General to nominate a person to be the Prosecutor of the ICTR;
"9. Welcomes the intention expressed by the Secretary-General in his letter dated 28 July 2003, to submit to the Security Council the name of Mrs. Carla Del Ponte as nominee for Prosecutor for the ICTY;
"10.Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
"Annex I
"Article 15
"The Prosecutor
"1. The Prosecutor shall be responsible for the investigation and prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of Rwanda and Rwandan citizens responsible for such violations committed in the territory of neighbouring States, between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994.
"2. The Prosecutor shall act independently as a separate organ of the International Tribunal for Rwanda. He or she shall not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any other source.
"3. The Office of the Prosecutor shall be composed of a Prosecutor and such other qualified staff as may be required.
"4. The Prosecutor shall be appointed by the Security Council on nomination by the Secretary-General. He or she shall be of high moral character and possess the highest level of competence and experience in the conduct of investigations and prosecutions of criminal cases. The Prosecutor shall serve for a four-year term and be eligible for reappointment. The terms and conditions of service of the Prosecutor shall be those of an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.
"5. The staff of the Office of the Prosecutor shall be appointed by the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Prosecutor."
* The 4816th Meeting of 27 August was closed.
(end text)
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=November&x=20031105155114ruevecert8.971804e-02&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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