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Ralph Zacklin, the United Nations
Assistant Secretary General for Legal Affairs (right) with ICTR Chief
Prosecutor, Hassan Jallow on Monday. (Photo by Venance Chapaulinge) |
Top un official gives full marks to ICTR
By Hirondelle News Agency
The United Nations Assistant Secretary General
for Legal Affairs, Ralph Zacklin, on Monday expressed satisfaction with the
achievements of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) over the
past 11-years.
Zacklin made the comments at the end of a three-day visit to of the tribunal. He
last visited the tribunal ten years ago.
"The work of the tribunal has accelerated considerably (...) it is going ahead
at a full speed", said the UN official while standing next to the spokesman of
the ICTR, Roland Amoussouga.
He recognised that the tribunal, the same as its sister tribunal in The Hague (ICTY),
had not met all expectations in the past, but put it all down to "teething
problems".
"It is not easy to establish them and bring them up to speed. The ICTR now seems
to be a well-
functioning tribunal, very good leadership in all three of its three major
organs".
The ICTR has in the past been accused of dragging its feet in bringing suspects
to trial, but things have improved ever since the end of its mandate - only
three years away in 2008 - appeared in the horizon.
More than half of the 24 sentences so far passed by the ICTR took place in the
last two and a half years.
Twenty five people, most of them government and military officials, are
currently on trial while another 17 are yet to be brought before the tribunal,
tucked away in Arusha.
Zacklin was one of those who pioneered the idea of having the headquarters of
the tribunal brought to Arusha and was instrumental in drafting various reports
on the genocide in Rwanda.
The UN office of legal affairs also has the delicate task of drawing up
agreements with member states willing to host prisoners.
Talks are currently going on with Rwanda for the possible transfer of cases and
convicted persons to Rwanda, a move that has been energetically opposed by both
suspects and their lawyers.
Not withstanding the opposition to the transfers, Ralph Zacklin revealed that
the talks were well advanced with Rwanda and that both parties were now
polishing the final agreement.
"The government of Rwanda now has our very last set of comments. As soon as we
get their response I think we will be in a position to give the green light to
the ICTR to go ahead and sign the agreement", he said.
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