General Assembly approves 18 short-term judges to help Rwanda Tribunal

The United Nations General Assembly has elected 18 short-term judges to help expedite the work of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

The new judges, elected yesterday in two separate ballots from a list of 23 candidates, will serve for four-year terms and can be called on to help with trial work. The Security Council established the pool of temporary or ad litem judges last year in the hopes that the additional manpower will allow the Tribunal to complete its work by 2008, rather than 2017, the original tentative date.

The judges elected yesterday include Aydin Sefa Akay of Turkey, Florence Rita Arrey of Cameroon, Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Robert Fremr of the Czech Republic, Taghreed Hikmat of Jordan, Karin Hokborg of Sweden, Vagn Joensen of Denmark, Gberdao Gustave Kam of Burkina Faso, and Tan Sri Dato 'Hj. Mohd. Azmi Dato 'Hj. Kamaruddin of Malaysia.

Flavia Lattanzi of Italy, Kenneth Machin of the United Kingdom, Joseph Edward Chiondo Masanche of Tanzania, Lee Gacuiga Muthoga of Kenya, Seon Ki Park of the Republic of Korea, Mparany Mamy Richard Rajohnson of Madagascar, Emile Francis Short of Ghana, Albertus Henricus Joannes Swart of the Netherlands and Aura Emerita Guerra de Villalaz of Panama round out the pool of new judges.

The Council created the Rwanda 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 between 1 January and 31 December 1994.

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