Annan meets with prosecutor of UN war crimes tribunals

Secretary-General Kofi Annan met today with the prosecutor for the United Nations war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda amid renewed discussions in the Security Council that the post would be more effective if there was one for each court.

Carla Del Ponte currently serves as Prosecutor for both the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which was set up by the Council in 1993 and is based in The Hague, as well as the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which was established the next year and is headquartered in Arusha, Tanzania.

Speaking to reporters prior to meeting with Ms. Del Ponte this morning at UN Headquarters in New York, the Secretary-General noted that there has been some discussion in the Council as to whether the tribunals would not be more effective if each had a separate prosecutor and stressed that the decision to create a new post would be made by the 15-nation body.

“You know, since the inception, one prosecutor has been managing both Tribunals, and there is a sense that as we approach the end, and both Tribunals are being asked to come up with a completion strategy to be able to finish their work, and close down the courts, it may be necessary to have two Prosecutors to tackle that essential part of their work,” Mr. Annan said.

“I’ll make my views known but the Council will take the decision,” he added.