Security Council sets up body to take over from ICTR

KIGALI - The United Nation Security Council has established the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunal (IRMCT) to conclude the remaining tasks of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to maintain its respective legacies. The Council decided that the Mechanism’s branch for the ICTR would commence its operations on July 1, 2012. The IRMCT is expected to handle all business that may arise after the closure of the ICTR come 2012. The trial Chamber of the ICTR is expected to close on December 31, 2011 while the appeal chamber will close a year later. Part of the UN resolution setting up the body reads that “the Mechanism shall operate for an initial period of four years from the first commencement date.” The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Tharcisse Karugarama, noted that Rwanda will cooperate with Residual Mechanism’s branch to have all pending cases and the ICTR archive transferred to Rwanda. “We shall continue to insist that the best home for the archive is Rwanda; it is the history of Rwanda and should be in Rwanda,” said the Minister. He emphasized that Rwanda’s stand regarding its requests of transferring pending cases to Rwanda will remain the same before the mechanism’s branch. Ends