Secretary-General pays tribute to outgoing registrar of UN-backed Lebanon tribunal

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that he regrets that the Registrar of the United Nations-backed tribunal set up to try the perpetrators of political killings in Lebanon is stepping down, but congratulated him on his appointment as the head of an organization focusing on transitional justice.

David Tolbert’s resignation from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will be effective on 1 March, and he will return to the United States to assume his new position as President of the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ).

The Tribunal, which began its operations last March, was set up following a probe by an independent international commission after an earlier UN mission found that Lebanon’s own inquiry into the massive car bombing that killed Rafiq Hariri and 22 others in 2005 was seriously flawed.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, the Secretary-General expressed his deep gratitude for the work of Mr. Tolbert, who took up his duties at the Tribunal last August.

“During Mr. Tolbert’s tenure as the Registrar, the Special Tribunal has made excellent progress, and the Registry is an efficient and fully functioning office which is ready to support the judicial activities of the Special Tribunal,” the statement said.

“His achievements include ensuring that the administrative infrastructure is in place to support future judicial activities, including key measures such as for witness protection and court management,” it added.

Further, the Secretary-General noted that Mr. Tolbert has steered the Tribunal’s 2010 budget through and raised a significant amount of the needed funding, and said that he will appoint an acting Registrar to ensure the court’s continued smooth functioning.