UN Legal Counsel Meets Leaders In Lebanon As Part Of Support For Hariri Probe
New York, Jan 27 2006 8:00PM
The senior United Nations legal official met today in Lebanon with top leaders as part of a visit aimed at helping them
identify the nature and scope of the international assistance needed to create a tribunal to try those charged with the
killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others.
The Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Nicolas Michel, spoke with the President, Parliament Speaker, Prime
Minister and Foreign Minister, according to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
He said Mr. Michel “also had a substantive working session chaired by the Minister of Justice, Charles Rizk, which
included the Prosecutor General and other senior members of the Lebanese judiciary.”
Mr. Michel “expressed his great appreciation for the positive and constructive atmosphere of all discussions,” the
spokesman said, adding that the Legal Counsel “was encouraged by the broad commitment demonstrated to move ahead in the
coming days and weeks.”
The visit follows up on Security Council resolution 1644, which acknowledged “the Lebanese Government’s request that
those eventually charged with involvement in this terrorist attack be tried by a tribunal of an international character”
and asked the Secretary-General to provide assistance towards that end.
Adopted last month, that text also expanded the mandate of the UN International Independent Investigation Commission
(IIIC) charged with looking into the assassination of Mr. Hariri, who was killed in a 14 February 2004 blast that also
took the lives of 22 others. The Commission, now headed by Serge Brammertz, will support Lebanese probes into other
terrorist attacks perpetrated in the country since 1 October 2004.
ENDS