GENERAL ASSEMBLY ENDORSES RECOMMENDATION TO EXTEND TERM OF OFFICE FOR RWANDA TRIBUNAL JUDGE

24 May 1999

Press Release
GA/9557

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ENDORSES RECOMMENDATION TO EXTEND TERM OF OFFICE FOR RWANDA TRIBUNAL JUDGE

19990524 Action Allows Judge Aspergen to Finish Rutaganda and Musema Cases; Acting Assembly President Marks Solidarity with Non-Self-Governing Territories

The General Assembly this afternoon endorsed the recommendation of the Secretary-General that Judge Lennart Aspegren's term on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda be extended until the completion of the Prosecutor vs. Georges Anderson Rutaganda and the Prosecutor vs. Alfred Musema cases -- if possible before 31 January 2000.

Regarding the programme budget implications, the Assembly was informed that the budgetary costs of the extension was estimated to be $261,800. It was envisaged that the Tribunal might be able to meet those costs from within the 1999 appropriation adopted for the Tribunal by the Assembly.

The mandate of Judge Aspegren would have expired on today, 24 May, while the two cases were still in proceedings before Trial Chamber I, where he sits. The Rutaganda case, which began on 18 March 1997, should move into the deliberation phase by the end of June. The Musema case is also approaching conclusion and should enter the deliberation phase in September. The recommendation for the extension was contained in letters from the Secretary- General to the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council (A/53/960-S/1999/566). The Security Council endorsed the Secretary-General's recommendation on 19 May.

Also this afternoon, the Acting President of the Assembly, Ibra Deguene Ka (Senegal), made a statement on the commemoration of the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self Governing Territories, to be observed at Headquarters tomorrow. He said that the achievements of the United Nations in decolonization represented an important contribution to a world of peace, in which fundamental human rights and the dignity of the human person were respected and affirmed, and in which social progress and better standards of living were promoted.

The decolonization process had had a significant impact on the history of the twentieth century, he continued. Since 1946, when the first list of

General Assembly Plenary - 2 - Press Release GA/9557 99th Meeting (PM) 24 May 1999

Non-Self-Governing Territories at the United Nations numbered 72, over 60 colonial Territories had exercised their right to self-determination and attained independence, taking their rightful place in the community of sovereign nations, many of them as members of the United Nations.

And yet the process was not over, he said. Seventeen Non-Self Governing Territories remained under the consideration of the Assembly, and particularly, under the careful scrutiny of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

He reiterated the Organization's commitment to the Territories to ensure that the decisions the world body had taken on their behalf, to safeguard their interests, were fulfilled. He also appealed for the cooperation of the administering Powers with the Special Committee in the implementation of Assembly resolutions and called on programmes and institutions of the United Nations to assist the Territories in enhancing their standard of living and promoting their self-sufficiency.

In other action this morning, the Assembly took note of two letters in which the Secretary-General informed the Assembly that Cape Verde and Ecuador had made the necessary payments to reduce their arrears below the amount specified in Article 19 of the Charter.

Article 19 states that a Member of the United Nations which is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the Organization shall have no vote in the Assembly if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two full years.

The Assembly will meet again at a date to be announced.

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