Post by Janjoon-Lebanese on Nov 13, 2006 11:25:34 GMT -5
U.N. Proposes a Tribunal On Lebanon Assassination
11-11-06
BY: WASHINGTON POST
The United Nations on Friday presented Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora with a proposal to establish a war crimes tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, senior U.N. officials said.
The move marked a critical step in a 1 1/2 -year effort by the United Nations to track down those who killed Hariri and 22 others in February 2005. And it comes as a U.N. prosecutor, Serge Brammertz of Belgium, is completing an investigation that has implicated senior pro-Syrian security officers and Syrian officials.
Siniora is expected to present the draft statute setting up the court -- which is modeled on war crimes courts in Sierra Leone and Cambodia -- to his cabinet ministers for consideration before taking it to the Lebanese parliament for approval.
The U.N. plan calls for the appointment of an international prosecutor, backed by a Lebanese deputy, to try suspects identified by Brammertz's team, according to U.N. officials. The court would consist of a pretrial chamber; a trial chamber, headed by two international judges and one Lebanese judge; and an appeals chamber, with three international and two Lebanese judges.
The court may also gain jurisdiction over political attacks against Lebanese journalists and opposition political figures between October 2004 and last December. Brammertz has suggested that those attacks may be linked to the Hariri assassination.
The submission of the draft ended several weeks of negotiations between U.N. and Lebanese officials over the structure and authority of the court.
In the final stage, those talks pitted U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan against Russia, which pressed him for a provision allowing convicted killers to serve their sentences in their own countries. The United Nations opposed that because of concerns that Syria might release any of its nationals who are convicted. The issue has not been resolved.
Nevertheless, Annan decided to press ahead on Friday after Russia dropped another demand, that the court's judges be selected by the U.N. Security Council. That provision would have granted the council's five permanent members, including Russia, the authority to veto any candidate. Now, the U.N. secretary general will be responsible for appointing the judges.
The draft leaves, along with the sentencing issue, other critical matters unresolved, including the funding and location of the new court. U.N. officials, however, said they may set up the court in Cyprus.
11-11-06
BY: WASHINGTON POST
The United Nations on Friday presented Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora with a proposal to establish a war crimes tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, senior U.N. officials said.
The move marked a critical step in a 1 1/2 -year effort by the United Nations to track down those who killed Hariri and 22 others in February 2005. And it comes as a U.N. prosecutor, Serge Brammertz of Belgium, is completing an investigation that has implicated senior pro-Syrian security officers and Syrian officials.
Siniora is expected to present the draft statute setting up the court -- which is modeled on war crimes courts in Sierra Leone and Cambodia -- to his cabinet ministers for consideration before taking it to the Lebanese parliament for approval.
The U.N. plan calls for the appointment of an international prosecutor, backed by a Lebanese deputy, to try suspects identified by Brammertz's team, according to U.N. officials. The court would consist of a pretrial chamber; a trial chamber, headed by two international judges and one Lebanese judge; and an appeals chamber, with three international and two Lebanese judges.
The court may also gain jurisdiction over political attacks against Lebanese journalists and opposition political figures between October 2004 and last December. Brammertz has suggested that those attacks may be linked to the Hariri assassination.
The submission of the draft ended several weeks of negotiations between U.N. and Lebanese officials over the structure and authority of the court.
In the final stage, those talks pitted U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan against Russia, which pressed him for a provision allowing convicted killers to serve their sentences in their own countries. The United Nations opposed that because of concerns that Syria might release any of its nationals who are convicted. The issue has not been resolved.
Nevertheless, Annan decided to press ahead on Friday after Russia dropped another demand, that the court's judges be selected by the U.N. Security Council. That provision would have granted the council's five permanent members, including Russia, the authority to veto any candidate. Now, the U.N. secretary general will be responsible for appointing the judges.
The draft leaves, along with the sentencing issue, other critical matters unresolved, including the funding and location of the new court. U.N. officials, however, said they may set up the court in Cyprus.
