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DE RUEHC #9977 3452345
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O 102338Z DEC 08
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TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000
INFO UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHVB/AMEMBASSY ZAGREB IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHVJ/AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM IMMEDIATE 0000
UNCLAS STATE 129977
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: UNSC PREL ICTY ICTR KAWC ZF ZL RW
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE FOR 12/12 UNSC ICTY/ICTR DEBATE
1. The Department requests that USUN draw on the following
points for use during the Security Council's December 12
consultations on the Completion Strategies for the
International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia
and Rwanda (ICTY and ICTR).
2. Begin Points:
The United States would like to thank the Prosecutors and
Presidents for their briefings and for their continued work
to fight impunity. We would also like to commend the
tribunals, judges and staff for their diligence and their
dedication to the tribunals, work . We welcome the new ICTY
President Robinson and note our appreciation for the
continuing work of ICTR President Byron and Prosecutors
Jallow and Brammertz.
The United States recognizes the many accomplishments of the
tribunals and we acknowledge, in particular, the recent
arrests of Radovan Karadzic Stojan Zupljanin and the
commencement of proceedings in their cases. We urge the
tribunals to continue to implement their completion
strategies so that the courts can fulfill their ultimate
mandate of bringing justice to those responsible for crimes
in the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda . We expect that the
chambers will endeavor to bring the cases and trials
currently in progress to resolution as soon as possible. We
regret the continued focus on increased judicial pensions
which the United States and others oppose. It is very
important that issues such as this do not overshadow or
interfere with the efficient administration of justice.
We note the difficulties that the ICTR faces in transferring
the cases of indictees to national jurisdictions, and we urge
the international community to reaffirm its commitment to
strengthening the domestic judicial capacity of Rwanda and
the countries of the former Yugoslavia. The U.S. commends
the domestic prosecutorial and judicial efforts to ensure
accountability for crimes committed in the Balkan wars, which
is critical to the long-term stability of the region.
We want to stress once again that the fugitive indictees must
be brought to justice. We cannot allow individuals who have
been indicted by the ICTY and ICTR to enjoy impunity simply
because they outlast the tribunals. It must be clear to them
and to those who support them that such a strategy will not
succeed. Accordingly, the United States urges the
international community to work diligently toward securing
the arrests of the 15 individuals indicted by ICTY and ICTR
who remain at large.
The United States calls on all States to fulfill their legal
obligations to cooperate fully with the Tribunals. We are
encouraged by recent cooperation between the ICTR and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo in tracking fugitives but
more is needed. These fugitives destabilize and breed
conflict in eastern Congo. The Congolese government should
continue to seek to apprehend these fugitives, with the
assistance of the UN agencies as appropriate. We are
troubled, however, by the lack of urgency in the Kenyan
government to act on reports that ICTR fugitive and alleged
genocide financier Felicien Kabuga continues to have links to
Kenya. The United States urges Kenya to act immediately on
the Tribunal's recommendations and take additional steps to
deny Kabuga access to his networks of support.
Concerning the ICTY, we applaud Serbia for the arrest and
transfer of Radovan Karadzic. The remaining ICTY fugitives,
Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, must also be apprehended, so
we call on the Serbian authorities to do everything in their
power to locate and arrest these individuals. A resolution
of their cases is critical for stability and reconciliation
in the Balkans. We also wish to stress the importance of all
countries fully cooperating with the ICTY, and we note our
concern over Prosecutor Brammetz's report that the
prosecution has not received key documents for the Gotovina
trial, despite some encouraging steps taken by the Croatian
government. We urge the authorities in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia to continue to work closely
with the ICTY and for their governments to fulfill all of
their responsibilities relative to the Tribunal. In
addition, we urge the national authorities in the region to
work closely with each other so as to enhance information
sharing, to facilitate the transfer of war crimes
proceedings between states as appropriate, and to consider
revisions to laws so as to allow extradition of nationals
charged with war crimes.
The United States thanks the Belgian delegation for its work
as chair of the Working Group on Criminal Tribunals over the
past year. We look forward to working with the new Council
members to complete the task of establishing a residual
mechanism that ensures that no war criminal from these
conflicts enjoys impunity, and that ensures the tribunals'
legacy while allowing for their efficient and successful
closure.
We again thank the Presidents, Prosecutors, Registrars,
and their staffs for their good work and for their efforts to
end impunity for these crimes.
End Points
RICE