NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Hina) - The UN Security Council stated on Tuesday in a discussion on the work of international tribunals for war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda that it had to assume a more active role in
dealing with the problems the tribunals and their joint prosecution were encountering, particularly with regard to states' lack of cooperation.
NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Hina) - The UN Security Council stated on Tuesday
in a discussion on the work of international tribunals for war
crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda that it had to
assume a more active role in dealing with the problems the tribunals
and their joint prosecution were encountering, particularly with
regard to states' lack of cooperation. #L#
This conclusion was prompted by the assessments of the president of
the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY), Claude Jorda, and Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte.
Jorda called on the Council to demonstrate clearly to Yugoslavia
that it would not be able to take its place in the international
community if it failed to respect its basic international
commitments, which arise from the UN Charter.
Jorda noted that Croatia's conduct was similar to Yugoslavia's,
although the country had made its archives available and granted
access to witnesses. His main objection refers to the fact that
generals Ante Gotovina and Janko Bobetko have not been arrested and
handed over.
Jorda further stated that the cooperation of the authorities of
Bosnia's Croat-Muslim federation was satisfactory, while the
Bosnian Serb entity had failed to arrest and hand over any indictee,
including Radovan Karadzic.
Chief Prosecutor Del Ponte's criticism was even stronger.
She warned the Council that the prosecution was still faced with
"obstacles and obstruction", which she said was particularly
dangerous because "there will be no second chance for our
prosecutions".
Del Ponte said that her trust in the Croatian authorities had been
misplaced because Croatia failed to act in line with the
prosecution's request in the Gotovina and Bobetko cases.
Speaking about the authorities in Belgrade, Del Ponte said that
Yugoslavia had been reported for non-cooperation to the Security
Council on October 23. She said that Belgrade was withholding
documents requested by the prosecution, denying access to military
archives, and hampering the interviewing of witnesses, while
figures such as Ratko Mladic enjoyed protection.
The ICTY prosecutor particularly warned about Yugoslav President
Vojislav Kostunica's statement that "cooperation with the ICTY has
already gone too far".
Speaking about the unwillingness of Bosnian Serb authorities to
cooperate with the tribunal, Del Ponte said that "those who finance
the security of Karadzic and other top-level indictees work closely
with the authorities, and are also deeply involved, at a local and
regional scale, in human trafficking, drugs and weapons trade,
racketeering and other activities".
The Council session was attended only by representatives of 15
member-states and Croatian, Bosnian and Yugoslav diplomats.
All the countries were again urged to cooperate with the Hague-
based tribunal, while the Council stressed its interest in more
active involvement in dealing with the problems of non-
cooperation.
A representative of Great Britain strongly criticised Croatia,
while the criticism of Irish and Colombian representatives was only
slightly milder.
(hina) rml