(As delivered)

Statement by Minister Takeshi Akahori

At the Debate of the United Nations Security Council

On ICTY/MICT

7 June 2017

 

 

Thank you, Mr. President,

 

I would like to thank President Agius, President Meron and Prosecutor Brammertz for their reports and briefings. Japan is deeply committed to the rule of law, and fully supports the activities of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. We commend their role in the fight against impunity.  

 

We welcome the ICTY’s steady progress on the closure of the Tribunal at the end of this year, especially regarding the Mladic and Prlic et al cases. We appreciate the Tribunal’s strong commitment to maintain the projected timeline on these cases despite serious staff attrition. Japan hopes to see the judgments issued this November and appreciates the strong leadership of President Agius.

 

In order for the Tribunal to function effectively and perform its mandated tasks, full cooperation by Member States is needed. We are concerned by continued instances of non-cooperation and reiterate that relevant States must meet their obligations.

 

Let me now to turn to the Mechanism. We are very pleased by the Mechanism’s efforts to provide a more detailed projected timeline for its cases, while recognizing that concrete dates are difficult to project at this early stage. Effective and efficient delivery of judgments must be balanced with due process. We appreciate coordination between the Mechanism and the ICTY’s prosecutor offices to share expertise and experience under the one office approach.

 

Arresting the eight remaining fugitives is a priority for the Mechanism. We note the Prosecutor’s suggestion on transferring these responsibilities to national authorities in the future if the situation does not improve, but we hope that task forces within the Prosecutor’s office will lead to arrests as soon as possible.

 

As with the ICTY, Member States’ full cooperation with the Mechanism is required to deliver justice. We welcome the cooperation of a number of States especially in the area of the enforcement of sentences and hope to see transfer completed soon. We take note of the situation with regard to Judge Akay. We hope that it will be solved as soon as possible.

 

Before concluding, let me reiterate Japan’s support and appreciation for the activities of both the ICTY and the Mechanism. We strongly hope that the work of both organs will bolster the rule of law and help victims see justice.

 

Thank you, Mr. President.