Chief prosecutors for UN war crimes tribunals

Security Council appoints chief prosecutors for UN war crimes tribunals

The United Nations Security Council today appointed a senior Gambian jurist to try cases stemming from the 1994 Rwanda genocide, and reappointed Carla del Ponte to focus on the Balkan wars of the 1990s, after last week's decision to split the prosecutorial duties for the two UN war crimes tribunals.

The Council unanimously appointed Gambian Supreme Court Judge Hassan Bubacar Jallow as the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), for a four-year term beginning on 15 September.

The 15-nation body also unanimously granted Ms. Del Ponte - who had previously headed up both courts - another four-year term, also beginning on 15 September, as chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Endorsing the recommendations of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Council decided to split the prosecutorial duties of the courts in a resolution unanimously adopted last week, saying that it was convinced the tribunals could both operate "most efficiently and expeditiously" if each had its own lead attorney. The appointees to both posts filled today were nominated by Mr. Annan.

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