Portugal today became the thirteenth European country to agree to enforce a sentence imposed by the United Nations war crimes tribunal that was set up to deal with the worst crimes committed during the Balkan wars in the 1990s.

A former prime minister of Kosovo and a senior commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the conflict in the province, each facing trial at the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the worst crimes of the Balkan wars of the 1990s, have been granted temporary release from jail during the court’s annual winter recess.

A former senior officer in the Bosnian Serb army facing trial at the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the worst crimes of the Balkan wars of the 1990s has been granted temporary release from jail so he can attend a memorial service for his father.

The Security Council today approved the appointment of Serge Brammertz, currently leading the independent probe of the 2005 killing of a former Lebanese prime minister, as the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for a four-year term starting on 1 January.