Briefing ambassadors Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IMRCT), highlighted key achievements, ongoing challenges and her commitment to concluding the mechanism’s mandate.
Serge Brammertz, Prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals briefs the Security Council.
Safeguarding integrity of judgements
Mechanism Prosecutor Serge Brammertz also briefed Ambassadors, detailing progress on individual cases and broader efforts to support justice. He informed ambassadors the recent rejection of Gérard Ntakirutimana’s appeal and ongoing efforts to transfer Fulgence Kayishema from South Africa to the Mechanism for trial.
He highlighted the importance of safeguarding integrity of prior judgments, especially amid allegations of interference aimed at reversing convictions, stating that “review proceedings cannot be a license for convicted persons to rewrite history and erase their crimes by fabricating evidence.”
Locating missing persons
A standout initiative is the collaboration between the Office of the Prosecutor and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to locate missing persons from the Yugoslav conflicts of the 1990s.
This joint project has provided evidence and audiovisual material on over 12,000 missing persons, underscoring the humanitarian imperative of resolving these cases.
The Office also supports national authorities in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, where many fugitives and suspects remain unaccounted for. More than 400 requests for assistance were received in 2024, Mr. Brammertz said.
“It is clear that today, Member States need our help as much as ever before,” he added.