UN-Truth

Was it for reasons of economy of scale that the UN decided to base the Hariri trial chambers in the Hague, in the Netherlands? That would put it near the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and the International Criminal Court — not to mention the venerable International Court of Justice? Only Rwanda has its trial chambers outside, in Tanzania — and there has been some consideration given to moving them back to the Hague, as well. (Sierra Leone’s court is a different hybrid).

The UN announced the decision a week ago Friday from New York.

Cyprus was thought to be a leading contender to house the Hariri court and prisons — it is much closer to Lebanon. Why didn’t it get the nod? Was it thought to be not secure enough? Was it because of Cyprus’ persistent divisions?

The AP’s indefatigable Edith Lederer wrote on 18 August that: A deeply divided U.N. Security Council approved a resolution on May 30 to unilaterally establish an international tribunal after the speaker of the Lebanese parliament refused to call a session to have members ratify the statutes to create it. The vote was 10-0 with major powers Russia and China among the five abstentions. The resolution gave the Lebanese parliament until June 10 to act. When it didn’t, the U.N.-Lebanon agreement automatically entered into force, creating a tribunal outside Lebanon with a majority of international judges and an international prosecutor. Council diplomats have said that establishing the court could take a year. The suicide truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others in Beirut in February 2005 sparked huge protests against Syria, which was widely seen as culpable. Syria denied involvement but was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, ending a 29-year presence. The issue of an international tribunal has since fueled a deep political conflict between Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora’s Western-backed government and the (words deleted here in the interests of objectivity) … opposition… Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen told Dutch radio Thursday that the Netherlands will insist as a condition for hosting the Lebanon tribunal that those convicted serve their sentences in another country. Verhagen said the Netherlands also wants assurances of the Lebanon tribunal’s funding.”
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Filed under: Hariri Commission of Inquiry, International Court of Justice - ICJ, International Law, International Tribunals, Lebanon