Fugitives Wanted By Rwanda Tribunal

UN Legal Chief Urges States To Arrest Fugitives Wanted By Rwanda Tribunal

New York, Mar 27 2009 4:10PM

The United Nations Legal Counsel has called for the arrest and surrender of the 13 remaining fugitives indicted by the tribunal set up to deal with the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Patricia O’Brien, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, underscored the importance of Member States’ cooperation in relocating witnesses and enforcing sentences, as well as capturing and delivering those with arrest warrants against their names to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

In a <"http://69.94.11.53/default.htm">press briefing yesterday at the end of her visit to ICTR headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, Ms. O’Brien added that the remaining 13 fugitives will not escape justice if they are not caught by the end of the tribunal’s mandate, but will be prosecuted by a residual mechanism.

During her two-day visit, Ms. O’Brien discussed with ICTR officials the institution’s mandate and completion strategy and held a town hall meeting with the staff. Under its completion strategy, the tribunal is aiming to finish first-instance trials by the end of this year.

The Rwandan genocide saw more than 800,000 people massacred, mostly by machete, for being ethnic Tutsis or Hutu moderates during a period of less than 100 days starting in April 1994.

ENDS

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