ASSEMBLY ELECTS NINE JUDGES TO INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR RWANDA TO SERVE UNTIL MAY 2003, IN FIVE ROUNDS OF BALLOTING

3 November 1998

Press Release
GA/9495

ASSEMBLY ELECTS NINE JUDGES TO INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR RWANDA TO SERVE UNTIL MAY 2003, IN FIVE ROUNDS OF BALLOTING

19981103 Six to Replace Judges Whose Term Expire May 1999, Three Others Will Begin Duties Without Delay on Newly Established Third Trial Chamber

The General Assembly elected nine judges to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in five rounds of voting today. Elected to the Tribunal were Pavel Dolenc (Slovenia), Mehmet Güney (Turkey), Laïty Kama (Senegal), Dionysios Kondylis (Greece), Erik Mose (Norway), Yakov Ostrovsky (Russian Federation), Navanethem Pillay (South Africa) and William Sekule (United Republic of Tanzania) and Lloyd George Williams (Jamaica and Saint Kitts and Nevis).

The nine newly elected judges shall serve a term of office of four years to end on 24 May 2003. Six of them will replace the judges of the two acting Trial Chambers of the Tribunal, whose term of office expires on 24 May 1999. Their four-year term is to commence on 25 May 1999. Three others are to perform their duties in the third Trial Chamber, which was established by the Security Council this year to try, without delay, the large number of accused currently awaiting trial. As an exceptional measure taken to expedite the Tribunal's work, the three judges elected to the third Trial Chamber will be designated by the Secretary-General, in consultation with the President of the Tribunal, to commence work as soon as possible.

The judges were elected from a list of 18 candidates earlier established by the Security Council, taking into account the adequate representation of the principal legal systems of the world. Other candidates for election were: Eugénie Liliane Arivony (Madagascar), Salifou Fomba (Mali), Willy C. Gaa (Philippines), Asoka de Z. Gunawardena (Sri Lanka), Aka Edoukou Jean-Baptiste Kablan (Côte d'Ivoire), Bouba Mahamane (Niger), Cheick Dimkinsedo Ouédraogo (Burkina Faso), Indira Rana (Nepal) and Tilahun Teshome (Ethiopia).

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The Tribunal was established by the Security Council on 8 November 1994 to prosecute persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of Rwanda between 1 January and 31 December 1994. Located in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, the Tribunal is now composed of three Trial Chambers, an Appeals Chamber, a Prosecutor and a Registry.

The Observer for the Holy See and the representative of Mexico spoke before the balloting.

The General Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 4 November, to discuss designating the year 2001 the "United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations".

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this morning to elect nine judges to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Of those nine, six judges will replace judges who have served since 1995 on the two original Trial Chambers of the Tribunal when their terms expire on 24 May 1999, the Secretary-General states in a memorandum to the Assembly (document A/53/443). The other three will be elected to serve on a third Trial Chamber, established in April by Security Council 1165 (1998) to allow the Tribunal to better expedite its work.

The terms of all judges elected today will expire on 24 May 2003. While the six elected to the existing Trial Chambers will assume their post on 25 May 1995, the other three will commence their terms of office as soon as possible following the elections in order that the new third Trial Chamber might begin function at the earliest possible date. The three latter judges will be designated by the Secretary-General, in consultation with the President of the International Tribunal. The Tribunal was established by the Security Council on 8 November 1994 to prosecute persons accused of genocide or other violations of international humanitarian law committed in Rwanda or neighbouring territories during 1994. The seat of the Tribunal is at Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania.

The election process for Tribunal judges begins with an invitation by the Secretary-General to Member States and non-member observers of the United Nations to submit up to two candidates for the Tribunal within 30 days of his request. The Secretary-General then forwards the nominations received to the Security Council, which establishes "short lists" by secret ballot, taking into account adequate representation of the principal legal systems of the world.

The list of candidates, which consists of not fewer than 18 names and not more than 27, is then sent to the General Assembly for final decision. On 30 September, the Security Council adopted resolution 1200 (1998), established a short list of 18 candidates, which has been forwarded by the Council President to the Assembly President (document A/53/442).

The list of the candidates is as follows: Eugénie Liliane Arivony (Madagascar), Pavel Dolenc (Slovenia), Salifou Fomba (Mali), Willy C. Gaa (Philippines), Asoka de Z. Gunawardena (Sri Lanka), Mehmet Güney (Turkey), Aka Edoukou Jean-Baptiste Kablan (Côte d'Ivoire), Laïty Kama (Senegal), Dionysios Kondylis (Greece), Bouba Mahamane (Niger), Erik Mose (Norway), Yakov Ostrovsky (Russian Federation), Cheick Dimkinsedo Ouédraogo (Burkina Faso), Navanethem Pillay (South Africa), Indira Rana (Nepal), William Sekule (United Republic of Tanzania), Tilahun Teshome (Ethiopia), and Lloyd George Williams (Jamaica and Saint Kitts and Nevis). The

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curricula vitae of those candidates are contained in a note by the Secretary-General (document A/53/444, Corr.1 and Add.1).

The General Assembly will elect the nine judges who receive an absolute majority of the votes of States Members and the non-member observer States. The consistent practice of the United Nations has been to interpret the words "absolute majority" as meaning a majority of all electors in the General Assembly, including all 185 Member States and two non-member observer States. Accordingly, 94 votes constitute an absolute majority for the purpose of the present election. The election will take place in accordance with Article 12 of the Statute of the International Tribunal for Rwanda, applying rules of procedure for the elections of judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice.

Following the practice in the election of judges of the International Court of Justice, the electors will indicate the candidates for whom they wish to vote by placing crosses against their names on the ballot papers. Each elector may vote in the first ballot for no more than nine candidates. If in the first ballot the number of candidates obtaining an absolute majority is less than nine, a second ballot will be held, and balloting will continue in the same meeting until nine candidates have obtained an absolute majority.

In any second or subsequent balloting, each elector may vote for no more than nine candidates less the number of candidates who have already obtained absolute majorities. Any second and subsequent balloting shall be unrestricted. Votes may accordingly be cast in any subsequent ballot for any eligible candidate who has not yet obtained an absolute majority. If in the first ballot more than the required number of candidates obtain an absolute majority of votes, a second ballot will be held on all candidates, and balloting will continue until no more than the required number of candidates obtains an absolute majority. In any such case, each elector may vote, both in the first and in any subsequent ballot, for nine candidates.

Statements

MANUEL TELLO (Mexico) said that once again his delegation would not participate in the election of judges to serve in the International Tribunal for Rwanda. Mexico had held that, in establishing the Tribunal, the Security Council went beyond its powers, since the United Nations Charter did not give that body the authority to create jurisdictional organs of that nature.

Mexico remained convinced that once operational, the International Criminal Court, which followed the rules of international law, would render unnecessary the creation of new special tribunals. That position notwithstanding, Mexico would continue to pay its assessed financial contribution to the Tribunal, strictly abiding by the decisions that the Assembly had adopted on the matter.

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RENATO RAFFAELE MARTINO, Observer for the Holy See, said he welcomed the provisions of the Statute of the Tribunal, as amended in April, which acknowledged the Holy See's active participation in the establishment of the court and in the election of its judges, as a non-Member State, maintaining a Permanent Observer Mission in the United Nations. However, in consideration of its specific nature and objectives as a sovereign international entity, and according to the recognized practice in similar cases, the Holy See had decided to abstain from casting its vote on individual candidates of Judges to the Tribunal.

He said he wished to emphasize the norms set in the Statute of the Tribunal concerning the qualification of judges; namely that they "shall be persons of high moral character, impartiality and integrity". It was the hope of the Holy See that through more efficient and expeditious action of the Tribunal, the healing process in Rwanda would continue and that reconciliation and peace would be achieved.

Election of Judges

The results of the first round of balloting were as follows:

Number of ballot papers: 173 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 173 Abstentions: 1 Number of Members voting: 172 Required majority: 94

Number of Votes Obtained:

Eugénie Liliane Arivony (Madagascar) 69 Pavel Dolenc (Slovenia) 102 Salifou Fomba (Mali) 61 Willy C. Gaa (Philippines) 66 Asoka de Zoysa Gunawardena (Sri Lanka) 77 Mehmet Güney (Turkey) 109 Aka Edoukou Jean-Baptiste Kablan (Côte d'Ivoire) 75 Laïty Kama (Senegal) 125 Dionysios Kondylis (Greece) 112 Bouba Mahamane (Niger) 40 Erik Mose (Norway) 97 Yakov Ostrovsky (Russian Federation) 98 Cheick Dimkinsedo Ouédraogo (Burkina Faso) 50 Navanethem Pillay (South Africa) 129 Indira Rana (Nepal) 53 William Sekule (United Republic of Tanzania) 100 Tilahun Teshome (Ethiopia) 34 Lloyd George Williams (Jamaica and Saint Kitts and Nevis) 79

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After the first round of voting, eight candidates obtained the absolute majority. The following candidates were elected: Pavel Dolenc (Slovenia), Mehmet Güney (Turkey), Laïty Kama (Senegal), Dionysios Kondylis (Greece), Erik Mose (Norway), Yakov Ostrovsky (Russian Federation), Navanethem Pillay (South Africa) and William Sekule (United Republic of Tanzania).

Since one post remained to be filled, the Assembly proceeded to the second round of balloting.

The results of the second round of balloting were as follows:

Number of ballot papers: 174 Number of invalid ballots: 3 Number of valid ballots: 171 Abstentions: 1 Number of Members voting: 170 Required majority: 94

Number of Votes Obtained:

Eugénie Liliane Arivony (Madagascar) 15 Salifou Fomba (Mali) 8 Willy C. Gaa (Philippines) 21 Asoka de Zoysa Gunawardena (Sri Lanka) 38 Aka Edoukou Jean-Baptiste Kablan (Côte d'Ivoire) 23 Bouba Mahamane (Niger) 4 Cheick Dimkinsedo Ouédraogo (Burkina Faso) 6 Indira Rana (Nepal) 2 Tilahun Teshome (Ethiopia) 1 Lloyd George Williams (Jamaica and Saint Kitts and Nevis) 52

Since no candidate acquired the required absolute majority of votes, the Assembly proceeded to the third round of balloting.

The representatives of Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Niger, Mali and Nepal then informed the Assembly that, to facilitate the process of election, their delegations wished to withdraw their candidates from the list.

The names of those candidates were then removed from the list.

The results of the third round of balloting were as follows:

Number of ballot papers: 164 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 164 Abstentions: 1 Number of Members voting: 163 Required majority: 94

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Number of Votes Obtained:

Eugénie Liliane Arivony (Madagascar) 13 Willy C. Gaa (Philippines) 17 Asoka de Z. Gunawardena (Sri Lanka) 35 Aka Edoukou Jean-Baptiste Kablan (Côte d'Ivoire) 34 Lloyd George Williams (Jamaica and Saint Kitts and Nevis) 64

Since no candidate acquired the required absolute majority of votes, the Assembly proceeded to the fourth round of balloting.

The representative of Madagascar then informed the Assembly that his delegation was withdrawing its candidate from the election. That candidacy was then removed from the list.

The meeting was then recessed at 1:25 pm, and it resumed at 3:10 pm.

The results of the fourth round of balloting were as follows:

Number of ballot papers: 166 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 166 Abstentions: 1 Number of Members voting: 165 Required majority: 94

Number of Votes Obtained:

Willy C. Gaa (Philippines) 10 Asoka de Zoysa Gunawardena (Sri Lanka) 31 Aka Edoukou Jean-Baptiste Kablan (Côte d'Ivoire) 37 Lloyd George Williams (Jamaica and Saint Kitts and Nevis) 87

Since no candidate received an absolute majority of votes, the Assembly proceeded to hold the fifth round of balloting.

The representatives of the Philippines and Sri Lanka then informed the Assembly that, to facilitate the voting, they were withdrawing their candidates from the election. Those candidacies were then removed from the list.

The results of the fifth round of balloting were as follows:

Number of ballot papers: 167 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 167 Abstentions: 2 Number of Members voting: 165

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Required majority: 94

Number of Votes Obtained:

Aka Edoukou Jean-Baptiste Kablan (Côte d'Ivoire) 46 Lloyd George Williams (Jamaica and Saint Kitts and Nevis) 119

Having obtained an absolute majority, Lloyd George Williams (Jamaica and Saint Kitts and Nevis) was elected the ninth judge for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

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