Rwanda: Security Council approves list of judicial nominees to war crimes tribunal

The United Nations Security Council today approved a list of 23 judges nominated for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

The list of nominees, which will be forwarded to the UN General Assembly, includes Mansoor Ahman of Pakistan, Teimuraz Bakradze of Georgia, Kocou Aresene Capo-Chichi of Benin, Frederick Mwela Choba of Zambia, Pavel Dolene of Slovenia, Sergei Aleckseievich Egorov of the Russian Federation and Robert Fremr of Czech Republic.

Other nominees include Asoka de Zoysa Gunawardana of Sri Lanka, Mehmet Guney of Turkey, Michel Mahouve of Cameroon, Winston Churchill Matanzima Maqutu of Lesotho, Eric Mose of Norway, Arlette Ramaroson of Madagascar, Jai Ram Reddy of Fiji, William Hussoin Sekule of Tanzania, Emile Francis Short of Ghana and Francis M. Ssekandi of Uganda.

Cheick Traore of Mali, Xenofon Ulianovschi of Moldova, Andresia Vaz of Senegal, Ines Monica Weinberg de Roca of Argentina, Mohammed Ibrahim Werfalli of Libya, and Lloyd George Williams of Saint Kitts and Nevis were also among those nominated for the Tribunal.

The Council created the Tribunal, located in Arusha, Tanzania, in November 1994 to prosecute people responsible for genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of Rwanda throughout that year.

The Tribunal is also empowered to deal with the prosecution of Rwandan citizens responsible for genocide and other such violations of international law committed in neighbouring States over the same period.