Fifty-fifth General Assembly

Plenary

99^th Meeting (AM)

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ELECTS TWO ADDITIONAL JUDGES

FOR RWANDA INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL

The General Assembly this morning elected Winston Churchill Matanzima Maqutu (Lesotho) and Arlette Ramaroson (Madagascar) as judges for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), following two rounds of voting.  Their terms of office will commence as soon as possible.

The election follows a Security Council decision to increase the number of judges in the Appeals Chambers of the International Tribunals to enable them to expedite their work.  In its resolution 1329 (2000), the Council decided that two additional judges should be elected as soon as possible for the Rwanda Tribunal, and that their terms of office, together with those of the 14 currently serving judges, would expire on 24 May 2003.

The Council created the Tribunal, located in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, in November 1994, to prosecute people responsible for genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of Rwanda between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994.  It may also deal with prosecution of Rwandan citizens responsible for genocide and other such violations of international law committed in neighbouring States over the same period.

Also this morning, the Assembly took note of the fact that two States -- Mauritania and Saint Lucia -- had made payments sufficient to reduce their arrears to the United Nations below the level at which they would potentially lose their vote in the General Assembly.  [Article 19 of the United Nations Charter establishes that a Member State in arrears to the extent of the amount levied on that country for the preceding two full years, shall have no vote in the Assembly.]

Statements on the Tribunal elections were made by the representative of Mexico and the Observer for the Holy See.

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

      Background

The Assembly met this morning to elect two judges for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).  Before it was a letter dated 30 March 2001 from the President of the Security Council (document A/55/871) forwarding the following candidates selected from nominations made by Member States and Observers: Mouinou Aminou (Benin), Frederick Mwela Chomba (Zambia), Winston Churchill Matanzima Maqutu (Lesotho), Harris Michael Mtegha (Malawi) and Arlette Ramaroson (Madagascar).

Also before the Assembly was a memorandum by the Secretary-General on the election of judges for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (document A/55/872), which included the list of candidates and set out the procedure for the election of additional judges to the Tribunal.  The Assembly also had before it a note by the Secretary-General, which included the curricula vitae of the candidates (document A/55/873).

The Assembly was acting today following the Council’s decision to increase the number of judges in the Appeals Chambers of the two International Tribunals to enable those bodies to expedite their work.

Statements

JORGE EDUARDO NAVARRETE (Mexico) said his delegation would not take part in the election of judges for the Rwanda Tribunal.  Mexico, he said, was a country committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and humanitarian law and had always spoken in favor of sanctioning individuals who had committed crimes against humanity.  However, in establishing the Tribunal, he continued, the Security Council had exceeded the scope of its powers, in as much as an explicit provision giving that body the ability to create extra-judicial organs was not evident in the Charter.  Mexico would continue to pay its assessed financial contribution to the Tribunal according to Assembly rules and regulations.

RENATO RAFFAELE MARTINO, Permanent Observer of the Holy See, said his delegation had followed the establishment of the Rwanda Tribunal very closely and regarded it as an instrument of the international community to express condemnation of violations of international humanitarian law.  However, due to the specific nature of its work and objectives the Holy See would abstain from the vote today.  Nevertheless, he hoped that the choices made today would be a major step toward reconciliation and true peace in Rwanda.

Elections to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

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

Number of ballot papers:                              151

Number of invalid ballots:                              0

Number of valid ballots:                              151

Abstentions:                                            1

Number of members voting:                             150

Required majority:                                    96

Number of votes obtained:

Mouinou Aminou (Benin)                                83

Winston Churchill Matanzima Maqutu (Lesotho)          84

Harris Michael Mtegha (Malawi)                         38

Arlette Ramaroson (Madagascar)                        90

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

Number of ballot papers:                              156               Number of invalid ballots:                              0

Number of valid ballots:                              156

Abstentions:                                            1

Number of members voting:                             155

Required majority:                                    96

Number of votes obtained:

Mouinou Aminou (Benin)                                  77

Winston Churchill Matanzima Maqutu (Lesotho)            97

Harris Michael Mtegha (Malawi)                          28

Arlette Ramaroson (Madagascar)                        105

Having obtained the required majority, Arlette Ramaroson (Madagascar) and Winston Churchill Matanzima Maqutu (Lesotho) were elected members of the Tribunal.  Their terms of office, which will commence as soon as possible, would expire on

24 May 2003.

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