Ban fills key staff spot as Hariri tribunal starts to take shape

 

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed a senior British legal expert as registrar for the international tribunal to try suspects in the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and other killings.

 

Britain”s Robin Vincent will start his duties on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon at a date yet to be determined, but “the appointment of the registrar reflects the steady progress being accomplished in establishing” the court, said a statement issued by Ban”s spokesperson late Tuesday.

 

From 2002 to 2005, Vincent served as registrar of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the statement said. Since then, he has served as the temporary deputy registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and has advised on the establishment of other international tribunals, including the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

 

Washington”s ambassador to the United Nations has said that the world body has secured enough donations and pledges to establish and operate the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Donors have handed more than $28.7 million and pledged another $21.3 million for the tribunal, envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said ahead of a UN Security Council session late Monday night in New York.

 

UN officials refused to comment on Khalilzad”s remarks, although Ban had said in a February 13 statement that he had had “indications” the UN would receive enough contributions to cover the tribunal”s first 12 months of operations.

 

“We are making good progress toward the establishment of the tribunal in a timely manner, as requested by the Security Council in Resolution 1757,” Radhia Achouri, senior communications adviser to the UN Office of Legal Counsel, told The Daily Star on Tuesday.
 

The Security Council approved Resolution 1757 on May 30 last year to create the tribunal, which can also try suspects in the string of political killings and attempted assassinations following Hariri”s killing in a massive car bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

 

The UN commission investigating Hariri”s assassination and others will submit its next report to the UN on March 27.

 

Khalilzad also revealed that the US was one of the members of the management committee that would run the tribunal, although the committee is not to interfere in judicial matters. Other committee members include the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Holland and the UN, he said.

 

The US, along with frequently strong French support, has been exerting added pressure since Hariri”s killing on the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad, which many leaders of the March 14 camp blame for the assassination.

 

Damascus has denied any involvement and has said it will not allow its citizens to appear before the tribunal, which Syria has said could be used as a political tool against it.

 

According to UN legal chief Nicolas Michel, the UN has set three conditions for the tribunal to arise: In addition to enough money to meet one year”s expenses and pledges to cover another two years, the investigation commission must make sufficient headway, after which the UN will consult with the Lebanese government.