Security Council weighs future of UN war crimes mechanism as closure nears

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The Security Council on Friday weighed the future of the UN mechanism responsible for completing the remaining work of the international tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, as members debated how to preserve its legacy while bringing its mandate to an orderly close.

The discussion focused on the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, established by the Council in 2010 to carry forward essential functions after the closure of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Addressing the Council, Mechanism President Graciela Gatti Santana said the body had “effectively executed its mandate” and that only “limited – but still essential – work remains” following the referral of one of its final contempt cases to a national jurisdiction.

“The future of the United Nations responsibility towards those within its duty of care – and, indeed, the future of international criminal justice – now stand before the Council,” she said.

Major downsizing proposed

Ms. Gatti Santana outlined a strategic plan that could achieve a nearly 90 per cent reduction in staffing resources while transferring some functions, including assistance to national jurisdictions and management of archives, to the UN Secretariat.

However, she argued that a small number of judicial responsibilities must remain at the international level, including matters related to prisoner transfers and releases, witness protection and the monitoring of referred cases.

“Durable justice does not conform to clear or finite timelines,” she said, describing the proposal as a balance between “principle and pragmatism”.

Legacy issues

Mechanism Prosecutor Serge Brammertz also backed transferring certain non-judicial functions to the Secretariat while maintaining international oversight of convicted persons serving sentences.

He stressed the continuing importance of the Mechanism’s legacy at a time when genocide denial and the glorification of war criminals persist.

“The horrific atrocities in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia were not random outbreaks of violence,” he said, warning that hate speech and propaganda had paved the way for violence and underscoring the educational value of the archives.

Debate over archives

The future location of the tribunals’ archives emerged as one of the most contentious issues before ambassadors on Friday.

Rwanda’s Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, argued that the ICTR archives should be transferred to Rwanda.

“For the survivors of the genocide against the Tutsi, the transfer of the ICTR archives will not simply represent the relocation of records – it will represent the return of an essential part of their history,” he said.Tanzania, which hosted the Rwanda tribunal in Arusha for two decades, countered that the archives were already housed in a neutral location with modern infrastructure and broad accessibility.

Similar disagreements emerged over the future location of the archives of the former Yugoslavia tribunal. Serbia offered to preserve relevant materials, while Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina stressed the importance of accessibility and raised concerns about political commitment to transparency.

Calls for closure, caution against haste

Council members broadly agreed that the Mechanism was never intended to be permanent but differed on the pace of its closure.

Several members, including Greece, Pakistan and Somalia, supported maintaining a “small, temporary and efficient” structure. The United States

said the Council now faced important decisions to ensure “a responsible and expeditious conclusion” of the Mechanism’s work.

Russia said that the Mechanism “stubbornly continues to cling to residual functions” and called for further transfers of responsibilities.

At the same time, many delegations cautioned against moving too quickly.

“The goal must be the definitive and orderly closure of the Mechanism,” said Colombia’s representative.