War Crimes Suspects May Escape Justice

Addressing a seminar of international war crimes prosecutors in The Hague held on October 6 and 7, Carla Del Ponte said a plan is necessary to ensure that trials take place.



The Hague court, which has been in operation since 1993, is under pressure from the UN Security Council to conclude all trials by 2008, and all appeals two years later.



But there are currently more than two dozen accused on trial at the tribunal in cases which could take years to complete.



This completion strategy is further threatened by the fact that six suspects remain at large - most notably Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic, who were both indicted for war crimes in 1995 and have evaded capture since then.



Addressing participants at last week’s meeting, Del Ponte said that there is both political and financial pressure to meet these deadlines and wrap up all trials.



The tribunal currently costs the UN more than 300 million US dollars a year, and this budget could be cut.



At the seminar, the prosecutor also suggested various strategies to ensure there would be funding for all trials at the tribunal.



These included approaching UN member states to contribute additional funds on top of the budget already allocated; transferring trials to other countries, including those of the former Yugoslavia.



But Del Ponte said that trying Karadzic and Mladic in the national courts of Serbia or Bosnia, where they are still considered heroes by many, would be “unimaginable”.



The prosecutor also spoke of the lack of reconciliation in the Balkans, in spite of the efforts of the tribunal over the last 13 years, in bringing those responsible for war crimes to justice.



''I see no signs of reconciliation,'' she said. ''Not in Bosnia, not in Croatia. It's true that they are living now a little bit in peace together but they are ready to start fighting again.''



This seminar was hosted by Del Ponte and the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, ICC, Luis Moreno Ocampo.



Also in attendance were the chief prosecutors of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the War Crimes Chamber of the court in Cambodia.