International
Chief UN prosecutor looks forward to achieving justice for victims of 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
In
the Félicien Kabuga case, Prosecutor Brammertz reported that the
trial team filed its pre-trial brief and responded to significant additional
litigation initiated by Mr. Kabuga’s family members and associated third
parties concerning sized assets. “My Office is ready for and looks
forward to the commencement of this trail at the Arusha Branch when ordered by
the Trial Chamber,” he asserted.
His
Office also completed two more trials during the reporting period, he
continued: At The Hague Branch, Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović were
convicted at trial for aiding and abetting the crimes of murder, deportation,
forcible transfer and persecution as crimes against humanity, and murder as a
war crime.
At
the Arusha Branch, in the Nzabonimpa et al. case, four accused were
convicted at trial for contempt of court, with the Office proving that they
engaged in a “brazen effort” to interfere with the administration of justice by
improperly influencing witnesses to recant in a failed effort to overturn Augustin
Ngirabatware’s genocide conviction.
With
the start of the Kabuga trial approaching, “we look forward to this opportunity
to achieve more justice in the courtroom for the victims of the 1994 Genocide
against the Tutsi in Rwanda.”
Search
for fugitives at ‘decisive’ stage
Turning
to the search for remaining fugitives indicted by the International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda, Prosecutor Brammertz said the most wanted fugitive
is Protais
Mpiranya, the former commander of the Presidential Guard.
His
Office is also working to locate and account for five other fugitives indicted
for genocide, including Fulgence
Kayishema, who was previously located in South Africa.
“The
coming period will be of decisive importance,” he said. “We expect further
significant advancements in our work”. The success of these efforts
depends on the full and effective cooperation of Member States, including
Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Regarding
Zimbabwe, Prosecutor Brammertz said he had undertaken a mission in November to
Harare, where he met with Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and other senior
officials, who reaffirmed Zimbabwe’s unreserved commitment to assist his
Office.
He
said that while he had not yet received a response to recommendations for
improving cooperation, “I trust that in the coming period, I will be able to
report that Zimbabwe is providing full and effective cooperation.”
In
South Africa, a failure to cooperate
Turning
to South Africa, where his Office has faced “immense” challenges over three
years in obtaining cooperation, he reported that the Government failed to
arrest Mr. Kayishema and to provide critical information.
“The
situation with South Africa is among the most severe instances of
non-cooperation my Office has faced since the Mechanism’s establishment,” he
stressed.
Nonetheless,
he said his Office submitted an urgent request three months ago to establish a
joint investigation team and he visited Pretoria in November to discuss the
matter. “Unfortunately, I am unable to provide a more positive update
today,” he said. “South Africa is still failing to adhere to its international
obligations.”
In
terms of assisting national jurisdictions prosecuting international crimes
committed in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda – he said the workload associated
with this residual function is much greater than anticipated.
In
2013, his Office received some 100 requests for assistance. In each of
the last two years, it received nearly 400 – a four-fold increase – including
from the Prosecutor General of Rwanda, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office of
Montenegro and the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office of Serbia.
After
25 years, genocide denial continues
Finally,
Mr. Brammertz reported on the continued denial of crimes and glorification of
génocidaires and war criminals, stressing that murals of Ratko Mladić in
Belgrade and the publications of extremist Rwandan diaspora groups have “one
sad thing” in common:
“More
than 25 years later, there are still those who deny, relativize and minimize
the judicially established facts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war
crimes.”
While
some may say that truth and justice are the source of social conflict, Mr.
Brammertz explained, “the reality is that genocide denial and glorification of
war criminals provoke hatred,” condemning present and future generations to bear
the burdens of the past.
Judge
Carmel Agius, President of the International Residual Mechanism, presented the
legal body’s report to the Security Council (document A/76/248-S/2021/694),
highlighting the “strong progress” made during the reporting period.
He
described the Mechanism’s on-time delivery of all three judgements projected
for June 2021 – the appeal judgement in the Mladić case, as well as
trial judgements in the Stanšić and Simatović case and
the Nzabonimpa et al. case – as “striking”.
He
credited the “remarkable” efforts by the Mechanism’s judges, staff and defence
teams to overcome obstacles that could have derailed the cases.
A
new chapter
As a result of its favourable performance, the Mechanism has entered a new chapter in its operations, he said. The core driver of its activities – its pending judicial caseload – is now limited to appeal proceedings in its cases and the trial in the case against Félicien Kabuga.
Source:
https://news.un.org