PRESS BRIEFING BY PROSECUTOR FOR INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNALS

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY PROSECUTOR FOR INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNALS

Further details on the reasons for not opening an investigation into allegations that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) personnel and leaders committed war crimes during the NATO air campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia last year, would be released next week, Carla Del Ponte, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, told correspondents today at a Headquarters press briefing. The Deputy Prosecutor of the Former Yugoslavia Tribunal, Graham Blewitt, accompanied the Prosecutor.

She added that she could not go into further details, but that the report would fully explain how she arrived at her decision. The matter was one of three issues that she raised with the Security Council during a formal session this morning, she continued. The second matter concerned cooperation with Croatia. The new Government was showing a willingness to cooperate fully with the Tribunal, but had been less than forthcoming in giving the Tribunal access to sensitive witnesses and documents. She was optimistic that the matter would soon be resolved. She also raised the matter of the length of trials and period of the detention, which were increasingly becoming a problem for the Tribunal.

“Our trials, by their very nature, are difficult and complex and it is becoming increasingly clear that the existing trial chambers are finding it difficult to cope with the number of trials awaiting determination”, she said. Traditionally, there were two remedies to these problems; namely, the release of the accused on bail and the appointment of additional judges. However, in the case of the Tribunal, the release of the accused on bail was not an available option, particularly where the accused has been detained and surrendered by the Stabilization Force (SFOR).

It was likely that some other radical proposal would have to be found in order to alleviate the problem, she said. She had raised the issue in the hope that the Security Council would continue to lend its support to the Tribunals as they faced new challenges. With regard to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda investigations, she said after the decision on the Barayaqweiza case, the Tribunal now enjoyed good cooperation with the Rwanda Government.

In response to a correspondent’s question as to how the Prosecutor arrived at the decision that some of NATO's deliberate bombing targets were not within the Tribunals jurisdiction, she said that each case was thoroughly analysed. She could not go into further details, but said the report would explain everything. She also denied that her decision was due to political pressure, as had been alleged, and insisted that she was simply doing her job based on more than 20 years experience. Her decisions were based on the facts and the law.

Asked about the future estimates of the costs of the Tribunals, she said she did not have an exact figure in mind, but that it was clear that there would have to be an increase in their budgets, if the Tribunals were to carry out their work adequately and efficiently. Justice was not cheap.

Del Ponte Briefing - 2 - 2 June 2000

Mr. Blewitt said that, although justice was not cheap, it was a lot cheaper than having another conflict break out, which would result in millions and millions of dollars being spent to reconstruct society in the future. Any expenditure to restore peace and order in the Balkans was worth it.

In response to a question about calls that the Rwanda Tribunal should investigate the downing of the Rwandan President's plane in 1994, she said it was not under the Tribunal's jurisdiction, but they were keeping in close contact with a Paris inquiry into the incident. If it was found that plane crash was related to the Rwanda genocide, then the Tribunal would take up the matter. She added that the results of the inquiry were expected before the end of the year.

A correspondent wanted to know whether the report on the NATO air strikes allegations would be exhaustive. Mr Blewitt said that the document was still in draft form, but that the intention was to set out each and every allegation and the Tribunal's assessment of the evidence and legal analysis of each incident and a separate conclusion related to each category of incidents. He said that many of the allegations had already been aired in the press.

On the issue of the feasiblity of the Rwanda Tribunal's jurisdiction being extended to take on cases of war crimes in Sierra Leone, Mrs. Del Ponte said that it was possible for the Tribunal to take up the issue of Sierra Leone if the Security Council extended its mandate. She said it would simply mean establishing an office in Sierra Leone and using the Tribunal in Arusha, but there was still the question of resources. She said the Tribunal would like to have jurisdiction not only in Sierra Leone, but other African countries as well. She denied that the Tribunal had been in discussions with the United States over the issue, but added that if it was going to happen, then it should happen quickly.

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