AfricaPress-Tanzania: INTERNATIONAL Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism) Prosecutor Serge Brammertz has completed his five-day visit to Rwanda as part of his preparations for his biannual report to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Mr Brammertz visited the capital Kigali recently and met with key officials of the Republic of Rwanda to discuss the work of the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), including trial proceedings in cases related to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
They include the pre-trial of Felicien Kabuga and the case of Maximilien Turinabo and others. On the cards are issues of search for the remaining six fugitives indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR.
It was agreed that cooperation between the OTP and Rwandan authorities reflects a true partnership between international and national authorities based on a shared commitment to justice and accountability.
A report released by the Mechanism at the weekend said among officials that Mr Brammertz met were Dr Vincent Biruta, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mr Johnston Busingye, Minister for Justice and Mr Aimable Havugiyaremye, Prosecutor General.
The prosecutor also met with the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide (CNLG) to discuss the OTP’s work and hear from victims and survivors of the genocide.
The executive secretary of CNLG expressed great appreciation on OTP’s continued efforts to achieve more justice for more victims and offered full support to the OTP in its prosecutions and search for the remaining fugitives.
The prosecutor also met with members of the international community. It is expected that Mr Brammertz will present his next report to the UNSC on December 14.
The Mechanism was established by UN Security Council Resolution 1966 (2010) to complete the remaining work of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which closed in 2015 and 2017, respectively.
The Mechanism has two branches, one in Arusha, Tanzania, and one in The Hague, Netherlands.
