Nominations of short-term judges for UN's Rwanda Tribunal sent to Security Council

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has submitted to the Security Council 35 nominations for short-term judges to serve on the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

In a letter released at UN Headquarters in New York today, the Secretary-General informs the members of the Security Council that he will forward the list of nominations, along with curricula vitae, for the 35 ad litem judges received from UN Member States and observers.

In late March, the Council extended until 15 April the deadline for nominating short-term judges to the Tribunal after the number of candidates nominated for the posts - then 26 - fell short of the minimum of 36 the Council is required to transmit to the UN General Assembly for final selection.

In his letter to the Council, the Secretary-General also notes that the list of candidates he has received remains short of the minimum number of 36 required by the Tribunal's Statute.

The Council created the ICTR, 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 between 1 January and 31 December 1994. The Tribunal may also 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.