Progress and Future of Criminal Tribunals: Serge Brammertz Briefing

Achievement of Key Mandates

• 🎯 The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) has successfully achieved its primary mission of accounting for all fugitives from the ICTY and ICTR.
• ⚡ With the arrest of Kabooa and Kaishima, all international trials of fugitives have been concluded, a goal that seemed nearly impossible.

Supporting National Accountability

• 🤝 The mechanism has significantly supported national accountability processes by sharing evidence and preparing investigative dossiers for national authorities.
• 📈 Since its inception, the IRMCT's office has received over 4,000 requests for assistance from national authorities, with a notable increase in complexity and volume in recent years.
• ⚖️ National authorities have achieved significant results, with hundreds of war crimes cases adjudicated in Bosnia and Herzegovina and indictments prepared for over 1,200 individuals in Rwanda.

Ongoing Challenges and Future Work

• ⚠️ Despite progress, significant challenges remain, including the need for justice for victims and the search for missing persons.
• 🌍 Rwanda authorities are still seeking over 1,000 fugitive genocide suspects, and over 1,000 war crimes cases are outstanding in the former Yugoslavia.
• 🗣️ International cooperation between prosecutors is essential to address these accountability gaps, particularly in transferring cases between national jurisdictions.

Residual Functions and Future of the Mechanism

• 📁 The mechanism supports the Secretary-General's views on residual functions, including assistance to national jurisdictions, enforcement of sentences, and management of archives.
• 💡 The mandate for assisting national jurisdictions should be transferred to the Secretariat to ensure continued UN technical assistance to member states.
• 📉 The need for an international judicial body has been greatly reduced, and pragmatic solutions are available to wind down the mechanism's activities, with the future of accountability now primarily at the domestic level.