Mr President,
I thank Judge Carmel Agius, President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) and Prosecutor Serge Brammertz for the detailed progress reports submitted to the Council, and for the informative briefings today.
Estonia commends the work of the Mechanism and welcomes the continuation of its mandate that was established by this Council 10 years ago as a small, temporary and efficient structure. We welcome the reappointment of Mr. Serge Brammertz as Prosecutor of the IRMCT, as well as the reappointment of the 25 judges of the Mechanism, and Judge Carmel Agius as the Mechanism’s President, along with the appointment of Abubacarr Tambadou as the Registrar.
Estonia positively notes the continuation of the Mechanism’s judicial activities and the significant progress made vis-à-vis the caseload during the past period both in the Hague and in Arusha under the current extraordinary circumstances, while minimizing the possible exposure of personnel and other individuals to COVID-19. We note that in-court proceedings previously postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions had resumed in the Mladić, Stanišić & Simatović, and Turinabo et al. cases. We further note the transfer of Félicien Kabuga to the Mechanism’s custody and the subsequent commencement of the new pre-trial proceedings in his case.
Estonia would like to commend the President of the Mechanism for the steps taken to ensure the Mechanism’s supervisory responsibility with regard to the detained persons, including requiring regular updates from enforcement States on convicted persons and the detention facilities in Arusha and in the Hague.
We welcome the continued efforts of the Office of the Prosecutor of the Mechanism to build the capacity of national judiciaries prosecuting war crimes an its continued cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding. We further welcome the launch of the new court database that houses all public judicial documents related to the ICTY, ICTR and the Mechanism, and that it has been made available in several languages.
Mr President,
International criminal justice and fight against impunity rely on collective effort. While welcoming the arrest of Félicien Kabuga in May of this year, Estonia remains concerned about the challenges that the Office of the Prosecutor of the Mechanism continues to face in relation to cooperation with national authorities in apprehending the remaining fugitives. The success of the Mechanism depends on the cooperation of member states, who bear this ultimate responsibility and have a legal obligation to cooperate fully with the Mechanism in its effort to track and arrest the fugitives.
Therefore, Estonia strongly urges member states, especially states where fugitives are suspected of being at large, to intensify their cooperation with the Mechanism, and to arrest and surrender all of the remaining fugitives.
Thank you.
