Delivered by the Permanent Representative of Estonia to the UN, H.E. Mr Sven Jürgenson
I thank Judge Carmel Agius, President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) and Prosecutor Serge Brammertz for the detailed reports submitted to the Council, and for their informative briefings today.
Estonia commends the work of the Mechanism and the progress made during the past period both in the Hague and in Arusha, including all efforts aimed at securing its business continuity to the greatest extent possible under the current extraordinary circumstances. We take note that due to restrictions in place to curb the spread of the pandemic, timelines for case completion have been adversely affected, and that any delays would be kept to a minimum.
We also note the work of the mechanism in the ongoing trial proceedings in the case of Stanišić and Simatović, the appeal proceedings in the Mladić case, and the pre-trial phase in the multi-accused contempt case of Turinabo et al, now joined by the contempt case of Ngirabatware. We further welcome other activities of the mechanism, including in respect of the mechanism’s unified filing system and its public interface – the Unified Court Records database, the latter created in order to allow public access the judicial records. We further recognize the initiatives taken to address gender parity within the staff of the mechanism and steps taken to eliminate harassment.
Madame President,
International criminal justice and fight against impunity continues to rely on collective effort. After the arrest of Félicien Kabuga executed by the French authorities on May 16th, Mr Kabuga, known as the financier of the Rwandan genocide, is finally going to face justice for the acts committed 26 years ago. We commend the resolve of the Office of the Prosecutor and the many countries and international entities such as INTERPOL and EUROPOL for their assistance. We now strongly urge member states to provide necessary assistance so that the six remaining fugitives can be arrested and brought to trial.
The essence of the efforts of the international residual mechanism is to establish justice and provide recourse to victims. Last year, we commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide and next month this year we will commemorate 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. From the past we know that little was done internationally to stop the killings when they were taking place. That is why the Council must do better in the future to prevent and react to similar horrendous crimes. The work of the International Residual Mechanism assists the states and individuals to do better in keeping the promise of “never again”. Estonia continues to support the mechanism’s work and the prolongation of its mandate.
Thank you.