President of International Residual Mechanism Tells Security Council Justice ‘Not a Finite Endeavour’
As the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals nears the end of its mandate, speakers in the Security Council today called for enhanced cooperation from Member States to ensure justice for perpetrators of atrocities, war crimes and genocide committed in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, while some urge that the “outdated” instrument be shuttered.
Graciela Gatti Santana, President of the Mechanism, noted that today’s debate occurs shortly before the thirtieth anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica. There, in July 1995, up to 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were systematically executed — targeted solely for their identity — while some 30,000 women, children and elderly persons were removed from the enclave by force. “The very mention of ‘Srebrenica’ evokes forced displacement, mass execution and enduring grief,” she stressed — “carried by the survivors, including the mothers, wives, sisters and daughters who continue to seek justice, truth and remembrance”.
Through landmark rulings, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia — and subsequently the Mechanism — confirmed that “genocide was perpetrated” at Srebrenica, she recalled. Likewise, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda determined that the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi was a “historical fact beyond reasonable dispute”. With the Council’s support, she noted, the Mechanism and its predecessors have made clear that holding the highest political offices or military ranks “does not shield perpetrators from accountability for the gravest crimes”.
Detailing the Mechanism’s recent work, she recalled that, in November 2024, the Mechanism’s Appeals Chamber heard evidence and arguments, deliberated and pronounced its judgement in the review proceedings initiated by Gérard Ntakirutimana, all within one week. Further, while all active core crimes cases have concluded, Mechanism judges issued over 100 decisions and orders during the reporting period. Further, in the context of sentence enforcement, she noted that Ratko Mladić recently sought release on humanitarian grounds due to his health.
Emphasizing that those detained under the Mechanism’s authority must be afforded care in accordance with international standards, she assured that this is the case in the Mladić file. She also emphasized that “justice is not a finite endeavour; it is a continuous commitment”, with the Mechanism as its guardian, preserving legal truths established by the tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, ensuring accountability in line with due process and affirming the dignity of victims and survivors.
Serge Brammertz, the Mechanism’s Prosecutor, then informed the Council that his Office arrested the last fugitives from the proceedings of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in recent years: Félicien Kabuga and Fulgence Kayishema. “Although neither will be tried by the Mechanism, both cases remain pending,” he stated, adding that the former remains in the Mechanism’s custody, with medical and personal care provided at its expense.
Turning to the latter, he noted that, two years after his arrest, he remains in South Africa where a stalemate has developed. “What is imperative is that Kayishema stands trial for his alleged crimes,” he stressed, as victims and survivors have waited more than 31 years for justice. He therefore called on South Africa to immediately execute the Mechanism’s arrest warrant and transfer Mr. Kayishema to its custody.
He also reported that 11 Member States have submitted 177 increasingly complex requests over the last six months, seeking investigative, analytical and legal expertise to assist them with resolving relevant challenges. “The Government of Rwanda requested my Office to provide more support to its efforts to account for the more than 1,000 fugitive génocidaires still at large,” he said. Meanwhile, dossiers concerning the former Yugoslavia have been handed over to prosecutors in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. “The Mechanism has always been temporary,” he said — “while national ownership of accountability is the norm”.
Many Council Members Commend Mechanism’s Efforts, Others Urge Its Completion
In the ensuing debate, many speakers praised the Mechanism’s work, while other voices called for its wind-down or outright closure, citing concerns over bias. The representative of the United States noted that the relevant tribunals “have brought hundreds of perpetrators to justice, established a factual record of the crimes and challenged the impunity of political and military leaders”. She pointed out, however, that “the advancing age and health of defendants, victims and witnesses make resolving outstanding cases more urgent”.
Echoing that sentiment, the representative of Greece also said that, while international trials for crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda have been completed, support to States to investigate, prosecute and bring to justice more than 1,000 fugitive génocidaires in the case of Rwanda — and an equal number of fugitive war criminals from the former Yugoslavia — is evidence of the Mechanism’s continued importance. Other speakers, including the representatives of the Republic of Korea, Pakistan and Panama, echoed support for the Mechanism’s work, with Denmark’s delegate adding that its core functions “must be preserved until it fully completes its mandate”.
Calling on Serbia to “ensure the arrest and transfer of Petar Jojić and Vjerica Radeta to the Mechanism”, the United Kingdom’s representative affirmed that the Mechanism continues to perform important judicial, prosecutorial and operational work. Slovenia’s representative emphasized that the residual function must continue even after the Mechanism’s termination, and further, that its archives must be preserved and made accessible to future generations “so that history may continue to serve as a teacher and a warning”.
Several delegates, including those of Algeria and China, emphasized that the Mechanism must adhere to its original mandated vision of a “small, temporary and efficient institution”, with the latter adding that its registry should close unnecessary offices and complete work as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the representative of France noted that the Mechanism has already reduced its staff by 50 per cent and its budget by $21 million between January 2023 and January 2025. He observed that “it is the functions which must continue, not the administrative structures”.
Delegates — including Somalia’s — also stressed that cooperation between the Mechanism and Member States is fundamental for the proper undertaking of its functions. On that, Sierra Leone’s representative voiced concern that certain European States have not returned convicted persons to the UN Detention Unit and reiterated the call for the transfer of Félicien Kabuga to an appropriate enforcement State. Similarly, the representative of Guyana, Council President for June, spoke in her national capacity to reiterate concern that the situation involving persons relocated from Arusha to Niger in December 2022 remains unresolved.
For his part, the representative of the Russian Federation stressed that, with the UN beset by financial crisis and significant cuts expected, the “outdated Mechanism” requires $61 million and 234 positions despite having been created by the Council as a small, purely temporary structure. Further, he warned that enforcement States continue to ignore even the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners where Serbians are involved — citing the cases of Ratko Mladić, Milan Lukič, Radislav Krstić and 79-year-old Radovan Karadžić, who has not been visited by relatives for four years, suffers from diabetes and does not receive a special diet or vital medications. He stressed that the Mechanism cannot continue to exist and “must be shuttered”.
Council Also Hears from States Concerned
Relatedly, Nenad Vujić, Minister for Justice of Serbia, stated that Serbia has expressed its willingness — for over a decade — to accept persons convicted by the tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to serve their sentences there. Yet, this request has not been addressed. He further emphasized the serious health condition of Ratko Mladić and the Mechanism’s refusal to temporarily release him on humanitarian grounds. He also lamented that that “war criminals responsible for numerous atrocities committed during the 1990s conflicts are glorified by having airports, squares and streets named after them” — including Croatia’s Franjo Tuđman and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Alija Izetbegović.
Responding, the representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina stressed that, “instead of working so hard to make martyrs out of these cowardly killers of unarmed men, women and children, rapists and altogether human scum, they should invest in the future of their country and our region by finally shaking off the burden and legacy of the past regimes and embrace justice, truth and true reckoning”. Instead of vocal appeals and pleading on behalf of “convicted criminals such as Mladić and Karadžić on humanitarian or any other ground, they should show humanity and conscience to those more deserving — to victims and survivors of those murderous monsters”, he urged.
Meanwhile, taking issue with Serbia’s insufficient cooperation in the tracing of missing persons and their mortal remains, Croatia’s representative reminded that the fate of 1,748 missing Croatian citizens remains unresolved — a matter of deep national and humanitarian concern. He said that the lack of political will in Serbia to share information and enable access to relevant archives still constitutes the primary obstacle to progress in resolving these cases. He added: “The glorification of convicted war criminals and denial of crimes — most notably, the genocide in Srebrenica — are unacceptable.”
Rwanda’s delegate, as the meeting drew to a close, urged that the archives of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda be relocated to Kigali to make their “profound historical significance” readily accessible to the Rwandan people — particularly survivors and their families — and to researchers and practitioners in ongoing cases. Further, the pursuit of justice for more than 1,000 individuals indicted by Rwanda remains incomplete. This includes Faustin Nsabumukunzi, wanted for crimes during the genocide, who was found living quietly as a beekeeper in the State of New York.
“This persistent threat underscores the urgent need to establish a comprehensive registry of individuals convicted of international crimes,” he underscored. Commended the Mechanism’s cooperation with Rwandan prosecutors — which has seen 65 genocide fugitives accounted for and their files formally closed — he urged Member States to identify, apprehend and surrender genocide fugitives. Further, he stressed that closure of the Mechanism “must not be abrupt”.