International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals: President's Security Council Briefing

Commemoration of Srebrenica Genocide

• 📌 The briefing coincides with the upcoming 30th commemoration of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, a moment of historical and moral significance.
• 💔 The name 'Srebrenica' evokes forced displacement, mass execution, and enduring grief for survivors, who continue to seek justice, truth, and remembrance.
• ⚖️ Landmark rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Mechanism confirmed that genocide was perpetrated at Srebrenica and in Rwanda.

Mechanism's Mandate and Judicial Activities

• 🏛️ The Mechanism continues the vision of its predecessors, executing its mandate with focus, fairness, and efficiency, holding perpetrators accountable regardless of their rank.
• ⚡ The appeals chamber demonstrated efficiency by delivering a judgment in review proceedings within a week, upholding due process rights.
• 📝 Judges issued over 100 decisions and orders, with nearly 90 related to continuous judicial functions, including access to confidential information and witness protection.
• ⚠️ The Mechanism has narrowly exercised its contempt jurisdiction, referring cases to states to guarantee the integrity of proceedings and witness protection.

Sentence Enforcement and State Cooperation Challenges

• 🏥 Mr. Ratko Mladić has sought release on humanitarian grounds due to health, receiving high-level multidisciplinary care in the Mechanism's detention unit.
• 🌍 State cooperation remains pivotal, exemplified by the indefinite stay of Mr. Félicien Kabuga's trial due to health, leaving him detained in The Hague without a state for provisional release.
• 🤝 The Mechanism requires additional states to enforce sentences to reduce operational footprint and uncertainty for convicted persons like Mr. Mladić, Mr. Jović Stanišić, and Mr. Miko Stanišić.
• 🚫 Serbia continues to refuse to execute outstanding arrest warrants for Mr. Vujič and Mrs. Rada, despite legal obligations and repeated referrals to the Security Council.

Future Planning and Transfer of Functions

• 📊 Resolution 2740 tasks the Secretary-General with reporting on options for the transfer of functions, including supervision of sentence enforcement and assistance to national jurisdictions.
• ⚖️ The adjudication of pardon, commutation, or early release applications should remain at the international level to avoid unequal treatment and preserve the justice cycle.
• 🔒 Continuous judicial functions, implicating fundamental rights and witness protection, should also be carefully considered for transfer or termination, potentially keeping them at the international level for now.
• 🌍 The Mechanism is committed to streamlining its work and partnering with the Council to preserve the legacy of the tribunals and reduce the Mechanism's operational lifespan.