Statement by Legal Adviser Colin McIntyre at the UN
Security Council meeting on the International Residual Mechanism
for Criminal Tribunals.
Let me begin by thanking President Gatti Santana and Prosecutor
Brammertz for their latest reports and for their briefings to the
Council today.
I also express our gratitude to the staff of the International
Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals for their continued
dedication to international criminal justice. Let me also welcome
the distinguished representatives of Serbia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Rwanda and Croatia to today's Council meeting.
Mr President, I would like to make three points today.
First, we note the important work which the Mechanism continues
to perform in the exercise of its residual functions. This
includes the recent completion of the review proceedings in the
Ntakirutimana case and the referral of the contempt case
concerning Mr Ngirabatware to national authorities.
The completion of the final searches for the names of missing
persons also represents an important milestone in the work of the
Mechanism.
We further welcome the smooth handover of functions to the
Rwandan authorities following the recent closure of the Kigali
field office.
Second, we welcome the cooperation by many Member States and
commend the Office of the Prosecutor's work to support the
transfer of investigative files to Croatia and Serbia.
We echo the Office of the Prosecutor's call for all relevant
authorities to rededicate themselves to ensuring effective
cooperation.
We call once again on Serbia to engage constructively with the
Mechanism and to ensure the arrest and transfer of Petar Jojic
and Vjerica Radeta to the Mechanism.
Third, we welcome the Mechanism's ongoing work to realise the
Security Council's vision of a small, temporary and efficient
institution.
We look forward to receiving the upcoming reports from the
Secretary-General on the future approach to archives and on
options for the transfer of other functions including the
supervision of sentence enforcement and the provision of
assistance to national jurisdictions on prosecutions.
These reports will play an important role in shaping the future
of the Mechanism. In parallel, we are pleased that the President
has re-convened the Mechanism's cross-organ working group in
order to undertake work on future planning in this regard.
To conclude, Mr President, the UK remains a steadfast supporter
of the Mechanism's work and of its role in delivering justice.
