THREE NEW JUDGES SWORN IN BEFORE UN’S BALKANS WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL

Three new permanent judges were sworn in today before the United Nations war crimes tribunal that was set up to try people accused of committing the worst offences during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s.

Guy Delvoie of Belgium, Howard Morrison of the United Kingdom and Sir Burton Hall of the Bahamas were sworn in at a ceremony in The Hague, where the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is based, after being appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier this year.

The three judges will serve either until the end of 2010 or sooner if the cases to which they are assigned are completed, according to a press release issued by the ICTY. Under a completion strategy mapped out with the Security Council, the tribunal aims to finish all trials at first instance by the end of this year and then start downsizing next year.

The ICTY has 16 permanent judges and 12 "ad litem" judges, who are appointed to sit on specific trials.

The new judges, who have all had lengthy legal careers, succeed Christine Van Den Wyngaert, Lord Iain Bonomy and Mohamed Shahabuddeen, who have resigned.

Judge Delvoie, 62, served most recently as the President of the Brussels Court of Appeal, and has worked also as a legal professor.

A former defence counsel at the ICTY, Judge Morrison, 60, has also worked as a judge or magistrate in several countries.

Judge Hall, 61, was elected by the UN General Assembly as an ad litem judge at the ICTY in 2005 and has been Chief Justice of the Bahamas since 2001.

The Tribunal has concluded proceedings against 120 accused, out of 161 indicted. Proceedings are ongoing for 41 accused, but two suspects – Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladi and the ethnic Serb politician Goran Hadži– are still at large.
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UN TRIBUNAL REVERSES CONTEMPT OF COURT CONVICTION OF FORMER KOSOVO MINISTER

UN TRIBUNAL REVERSES CONTEMPT OF COURT CONVICTION OF FORMER KOSOVO MINISTER
New York, Jul 23 2009 2:00PM
The United Nations war crimes tribunal set up in the wake of the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s today overturned the conviction of Kosovo's ex-minister of culture, youth and sports for contempt of court for trying to intimidate a trial witness, but upheld the conviction on the same charge of one of his political advisers.

The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (<"http://www.icty.org/sid/10193">ICTY) ruled that it was reversing the conviction of Astrit Haraqija, who was sentenced last December to five months' imprisonment, but affirming the conviction and sentence for Bajrush Morina, who was given three months in jail.

Mr. Haraqija and Mr. Morina had both appealed their contempt of court convictions for intimidating a protected witness in the trial of the former Kosovo Albanian military leader Ramush Haradinaj and others. Prosecutors had also appealed, asking for the sentences to be increased.

The ICTY appeals chamber found that the trial chamber had given too much weight to untested evidence, largely based on "double or even triple hearsay," when it concluded that Mr. Haraqija had influence over Mr. Morina and had instructed him to commit the crime of contempt. But it rejected Mr. Morina's grounds of appeal.

The two men had been on provisional release since earlier this year, having already served the duration of the sentences imposed by the trial chamber.

In 2008, the ICTY, which is based in The Hague, acquitted Mr. Haradinaj and his co-accused Idriz Balaj of charges they were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kosovo 10 years earlier. Another co-accused, Lahi Brahimaj, was sentenced to six years' jail for the cruel treatment and torture of two persons.
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Darfur survivors welcome ICC arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir

Today the judges at the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Omar Bashir, the President of Sudan, on charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Darfur. It is the first time that such a step has been taken against a sitting head of state.

As the ICC judges announced their decision in the Hague, Darfuri survivors were gathered in capital cities across Europe to remember their murdered loved ones and destroyed communities. In London, they gathered for a commemoration outside the Sudanese Embassy from midday to 2.00pm, reading out the names of over a thousand victims and holding a minute’s silence at 1.00pm, the moment the ICC’s decision was announced in the Hague. When the news came through that the ICC had issued the arrest warrant, the crowd erupted with joy.

“Today, for the first time, I feel that just maybe, the people responsible for the murder of my father， Issa，and my brother，Ishag，will eventually be held to account for their actions,” said Darfuri survivor Ibrahim Issa Korkor, responding to the news. “There can never be peace in Darfur without justice. Today is a massive step towards both.”

“Khartoum would like its friends and business partners to think that today’s arrest warrant is a western conspiracy against the Sudanese President and Sudanese state,” says Khatir ohammed, General Secretary of the Darfur Union. “I assure you it’s not. It’s the result of testimony from ountless survivors such as myself, who have seen their families mercilessly killed by Government aircraft, troops and militias. It’s the result of testimony from soldiers and Janjaweed fighters now explaining how they were recruited, paid, armed and directed by the Government to kill their fellow citizens. We ask all governments doing business with Khartoum to stop turning a blind eye to these crimes. Do you want to be tainted by association? Use your influence with Khartoum to bring an end to the violence and injustice in Darfur, and the Sudanese people will thank you.”

“Today’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir is a landmark step towards ending the impunity of war crimes suspects everywhere. It shows that no-one – even a sitting head of state – is above international law,” says Dr James Smith, Chief Executive of the Aegis Trust. "This warrant should be used to urge Sudanese leaders to change policy - to stop commiting atrocities. If the UN Security Council gives in to threats from Khartoum and suspends the ICC proceedings without a change of policy in Sudan it sends a message that to avoid justice, war criminals need only threaten more atrocities."

A new report just released by Aegis, ‘The Enforcement of International Criminal Law’ (http://www.aegistrust.org/images/PDFs/enforcement_of_international_criminal_law.pdf), addresses ways in which the international community could strengthen prospects for the enforcement of arrest warrants against suspects such as Omar al-Bashir.

A film just released by Aegis, ‘Darfur Destroyed’ (http://www.aegistrust.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=801&Itemid=88

- VNR available on request), features perpetrators of atrocities in Darfur implicating the Sudanese Government – including Omar al-Bashir personally.

Darfur Destroyed: Sudan's Perpetrators Break Silence

Darfur Destroyed: Sudan's perpetrators break silence from Aegis Trust on Vimeo.

CONTINUING AFRICA TOUR, BAN HOLDS TALKS WITH TANZANIAN PRESIDENT

CONTINUING AFRICA TOUR, BAN HOLDS TALKS WITH TANZANIAN PRESIDENT
New York, Feb 26 2009 4:00PM

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon began an official visit to Tanzania today, meeting with President Jakaya Kikwete with whom he discussed a range of issues, from the country's upcoming elections and regional crises to the global economic meltdown.

The two also talked about the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which is based in the Tanzanian city of Arusha and is expected to complete its work next year, as well as the situations in Burundi, Zimbabwe, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Mr. Ban and President Kikwete also spoke about climate change and its impact on food security in Tanzania, as well as the public health situation in the country and the Government's efforts to stamp out HIV/AIDS.

In a separate meeting chaired by President Kikwete, the Secretary-General met with former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, who briefed him on the Nairobi talks aimed at bringing peace to war-torn DRC, which Mr. Mkapa co-chairs with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.

They discussed the reintegration of fighters from the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) into the Congolese armed forces, the prospects for UN assistance in supporting military integration, and the question of temporary amnesty.

Also today, Mr. Ban delivered a lecture to the local diplomatic corps, the academic community and representatives of the media, in which he called on African leaders to move forward on education, efforts to battle climate change and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

He also emphasized the need to put an end to violence throughout the continent – including in Darfur, DRC and Somalia.

Mr. Ban arrived in Tanzania from South Africa, the first stop on his current tour which will also take him to DRC, Rwanda and Egypt.
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