US LEGAL EXPERT APPOINTED AS REGISTRAR OF UN-BACKED TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON KILLINGS

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed David Tolbert of the United States as the Registrar of the United Nations-backed tribunal set up to try the perpetrators of recent political killings in Lebanon, including the February 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

Mr. Tolbert will succeed Robin Vincent at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, an independent body based in The Hague, Netherlands.

"The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Vincent's assistance in the establishment and commencement of the Tribunal's work," UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters.

Mr. Tolbert, who will take up his duties on 26 August, has served in a number of senior capacities with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which is responsible for trying those responsible for the worst crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s.

He also served as the Secretary-General's Special Expert on UN Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials.

The President of the Tribunal, which began its operations in early March, is Antonio Cassese of Italy. Daniel Bellemare, a Canadian prosecutor and former head of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) into the murders, serves as the court's Prosecutor.
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