SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR NOMINATION OF ‘AD LITEM’ JUDGES FOR RWANDA TRIBUNAL UNTIL 15 APRIL

Security Council

4731^st Meeting (PM)

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR NOMINATION OF ‘AD LITEM’ JUDGES

FOR RWANDA TRIBUNAL UNTIL 15 APRIL

The Security Council this afternoon extended the deadline for the nomination of ad litem judges for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda until

15 April, as the number of nominations received fell short of the minimum specified in the Tribunal’s Statute.

The Council’s decision was expressed through a letter to be sent to the Secretary-General (document S/2003/379), in which the Council replied to the Secretary-General’s letter of 6 March.  In the Secretary-General’s letter, he noted that the number of candidates whose nominations he had received was short of the minimum number of 36 that should appear in the list that the Council was mandated to create for transmission to the General Assembly. 

The Council created the Rwanda 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.  The Tribunal may also deal with the prosecution of Rwandan citizens responsible for genocide and other such violations of international law committed in neighbouring States over the same period.

On 14 August 2001, the Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, unanimously adopted resolution 1431, which amended articles 11, 12 and 13 of the Statute in order to establish a pool of ad litem judges to enable the Tribunal to expedite the conclusion of its work as early as possible.

The meeting began at 12:25 p.m. and ended at 12:28 p.m.

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