VZCZCXRO0138
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHTRO RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUCNDT #0153/01 0462332
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 152332Z FEB 08
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3761
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000153
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC SY LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON TRIBUNAL: SYG ESTABLISHES MANAGEMENT
COMMITTEE
REF: A. STATE 14847
B. USUN 1150 (2007)
C. STATE 10709
D. IO/USUN EMAIL (SILVERBERG/WOLFF)-02/12/08
E. STATE 14281
F. USUN 117
G. USUN 103
1. (U) BEGIN SUMMARY: The UN marked another milestone in
its efforts to bring the Special Tribunal for Lebanon into
operation February 13, with the Secretary-General's February
13 statement confirming his "belief in the irreversibility of
the establishment of the Tribunal." He also announced that
he had established the Management Committee for the Special
Tribunal and received indications that expected contributions
to the Tribunal would meet the budgetary requirements for the
establishment and first 12 months of operation of the
Tribunal (para 7). In another positive development, the
panel for selecting the Tribunal Registrar unanimously
recommended Robin Vincent (UK) on February 14, and the SYG is
expected to appoint Vincent shortly. END SUMMARY.
2. (SBU) Earlier on February 13, the main donors to the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon (France, Germany, Lebanon, the
Netherlands, UK, and U.S.) agreed on the Terms of Reference
for the Management Committee at a meeting hosted by UN Legal
Counsel Nicolas Michel, after which Michel announced that the
SYG had authorized him to establish the Committee and the UK
agreed to chair the Committee. Without naming names, Michel
also announced that the UN had received confirmations that
several states would be making significant contributions to
the Tribunal (ref A), and the UK and Germany said they would
be depositing their contributions soon. (Note: OLA advised
USUN on February 14 that Saudi Arabia had deposited a
contribution of $5 million with the UN. End Note.)
3. (SBU) The Management Committee's experts are expected to
meet early next week to discuss the two proposed construction
packages for the Tribunal building (ref B). The Committee
must decide whether to authorize a "basic package" of USD 10
million to cover the costs of constructing a courtroom and
holding cells, as well as to carry out minor security
upgrades to the building or whether to support an "upgraded
package" costing $16.4 million that would include office
renovations and other upgrades to bring the building up to
2008 standards. The UN advises that the additional upgrades
in the more expensive package are not required to meet
building codes.
4. (SBU) Management Committee experts also will review and
decide upon proposed conditions of service for judges and
Tribunal staff, and authorize the establishment of a bank
account controlled by the Tribunal and overseen by the
Committee to which contributions currently in the UN Trust
Fund will be transferred (ref C). OLA plans to present
Committee members with proposals concerning how best to
facilitate the meeting of Tribunal judges, once they have
been appointed, so they can begin work on rules of evidence
and procedure.
5. (SBU) Before the donors' meeting, France, Germany, the
Netherlands, the UK, and the U.S. signed a side understanding
committing to achieve consensus on all decisions before the
Committee and vote accordingly (refs D-G).
6. (SBU) USUN/MR, representing the main donors, participated
with Michel and former ICTY Registrar Dorothee Nihgh de
Sampayo Garrido on a panel tasked with reviewing applicants
for the Tribunal Registrar's position. On February 14, the
selection panel agreed unanimously to recommend that the SYG
appoint Robin Vincent (UK). Vincent served from 2002 to 2005
as Registrar of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The SYG
is expected to announce his selection shortly.
7. BEGIN TEXT:
Statement Attributable to the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
SIPDIS
The Secretary-General today established the Management
Committee of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. This
Committee, which will inter alia, provide advice and policy
direction on all non-judicial aspects of the operations of
the Special Tribunal and review and approve its annual
budget, is composed of the main donors to the Tribunal. The
Secretary-General believes that this step, along with other
SIPDIS
steps announced in December of last year - the selection of
the judges, the appointment of the Prosecutor, the
USUN NEW Y 00000153 002 OF 002
finalization of a headquarters agreement with the Government
of the Netherlands enabling the Tribunal to be based in that
country, and agreement on a building near The Hague to house
the Tribunal - are decisive landmarks in the process of
making the Special Tribunal a reality.
The Secretary-General also wishes to announce that he has
today received indications that expected contributions to the
Special Tribunal will meet the budgetary requirements for the
establishment and first twelve months of operations of the
Tribunal. This will assist greatly in the effort by the
Secretariat to establish the Special Tribunal in a timely
SIPDIS
manner as requested by the Security Council in resolution
1757 (2007). This development, as well as the others
previously set out, confirms the Secretary-General's belief
in the irreversibility of the establishment of the Tribunal.
New York
13 February 2008
END TEXT.
WOLFF