MERON: SARAJEVO WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL TO PLAY KEY ROLE IN B-H

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 9 (Hina) - A war crimes tribunal to be established as part of the National Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina will play a key role in ensuring justice in the country, the president of the UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Theodor Meron, said on Wednesday. #L# The war crimes tribunal will ensure that the prosecution of war crimes proceeds in an efficient and fair way in accordance with internationally recognised standards, Meron told the UN Security Council reporting on the progress in establishing the Sarajevo tribunal. The war crimes tribunal in Sarajevo will strengthen the rule of law in Bosnia-Herzegovina, because local prosecutors and judges will relay their experience to domestic legal institutions, Meron said. The Sarajevo tribunal will try low-profile indictees, and will initially employ two international judges and one local. Meron said that local courts in Bosnia-Herzegovina were not ready yet to try war criminals because they were ethnically based and suffered from ethnic bias. Judges and prosecutors are faced with political pressure, the judiciary lacks the necessary training, and witnesses and victims do not have adequate protection, he said. A donors conference is due to take place in The Hague later this month to raise US$40 million necessary for the opening of the Sarajevo tribunal. (hina) vm