Addressing the General Assembly, the president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said that "a dark shadow will be cast over the Tribunal"s historic accomplishments if senior-level accused have not been brought to justice at The Hague. We must work together to guard against this threat to the legacy of the Tribunal and to international justice."
He stressed that only seven fugitives "have yet to be apprehended, although we remain gravely concerned that included amongst these seven are three of the most important indictees: Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, and Ante Gotovina."
Meron warned that Karadzic and Mladic, whom he described as the masterminds of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, have been shunning justice for ten years since the atrocities in which 7,900 Muslim men and boys were killed.
He assessed that cooperation of countries in the area of the former Yugoslavia with the Hague-based tribunal had been improved over the past year in some cases.
"Croatia"s level of cooperation remains satisfactory in most areas, with the marked exception of that country"s failure to apprehend and render Gotovina to The Hague," he said, adding that "it goes without saying that when and if the fugitives move across borders to avoid arrest, the authorities of the state to which they move will be similarly obliged to pursue, arrest, and transfer those fugitives to The Hague without delay.
Commenting on the performance of the court, Meron said that since he last reported to the Assembly one year ago, "we have continued to work vigorously toward accomplishing our vital mission. I am pleased to report in this regard that we remain diligent in our vigorous pursuit of our mission and continue to make noteworthy strides despite significant difficulties."
"This year, the Trial Chambers and the Appeals Chamber have heard and disposed of a record number of cases. During the reporting period, the Tribunal"s Trial Chambers, which continue to work at full capacity, have been involved in 37 cases. The Appeals Chamber decided five appeals from judgement as well as 23 interlocutory appeals. Notably, four cases have also been referred to national jurisdictions, and three of those decisions are now on appeal," he said, among other things.
The ICTY President estimated that "by 2009 the Tribunal could complete the trials of all accused in our custody at that time; but I likewise warned that further growth of the trial docket would make achieving that ambitious target entirely dependent on at least some cases being disposed of by guilty pleas. We have implemented a number of changes to ensure that we continue to proceed at maximum capacity. Of particular salience, several procedural rules have been amended, markedly expediting our procedures without sacrificing the defendants" due process rights."
Croatia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mirjana Mladineo, recalled that since April this year the Croatian Government had been implementing an Action Plan with the aim of locating the fugitive general Ante Gotovina.
She added that Croatia was working on the training of judges and lawyers to be prepared to tackle war crimes cases. In addition, four county courts have been selected to handle such cases.