In an address to the Council, Del Ponte said that hundreds, possibly thousands of people who had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the former Yugoslavia were still at large.
Those people cannot be tried by the ICTY because the tribunal is completing its mission as part of its exit strategy defined by the UN Security Council, Del Ponte said, adding that they could not be tried by local courts either due to obstacles in national laws.
None of the former Yugoslav countries allows the extradition of its nationals or the referral of court cases to another country where the sentence could be higher than ten years' imprisonment, Del Ponte explained.
She noted that the immediate perpetrators of crimes were in the impunity gap, while high-ranking officials and commanders were within the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
The impunity gap could have far-reaching consequences because it could negatively affect relations between countries and peoples for centuries, she added.
The chief prosecutor said that the solution to such a situation lay in the political will to change existing laws to enable the extradition of own nationals and all proceedings without exception.
She said that this possibility existed in the legislation of European countries, which could transfer their nationals to other European countries if they had committed serious crimes there.
She noted the great progress made in the cooperation between the chief prosecutors of the former state union of Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia in the "Palic case", underlining that regional cooperation in that area should be raised to the political level. She proposed a meeting between justice ministers from the countries in the region, with the participation of representatives of the European Commission and the Council of Europe.
The Office of the Prosecutor is willing to join in such a meeting and all ensuing activities, she added.
Del Ponte particularly thanked the OSCE for monitoring trials in the countries in the region, stating that double standards could be avoided if the international community showed interest not only in high profile cases referred to local judiciaries, but also in cases that were not in the limelight. She noted the example of Croatia, where she said the cooperation between the national judiciary and OSCE, EC and ICTY representatives was very fruitful.
Speaking about the tribunal's current activities within its exit strategy, Del Ponte said that most efforts were being invested into wrapping up all trials. The year 2006 is the most difficult year in the history of the Hague tribunal, she said, citing the number of ongoing cases, indictees, and cases referred to national courts.
She also mentioned cases of contempt of court, which she said referred to four reporters from the countries in the region who had disclosed the identity of protected witnesses.
Three reporters were ordered to pay fines ranging between 15,000 and 20,000 euros and the fourth is awaiting trial, she said, adding that none of the cases constituted an attack on freedom of expression but were blatant cases of violation of the tribunal's rules on witness protection.
She expressed regret at the fact that six indictees were still on the run, which she said might seem insignificant in comparison with the 161 people indicted by the ICTY.
Not all indictees bear the same responsibility for crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia. The people who are the most responsible are Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic and they must be tried in The Hague, Del Ponte said.