UN TRIBUNAL PRESIDENT TO STEP DOWN

 

The President of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism), Judge Carmel Agius will step down next month.

He is exiting at a time the Arusha-based legal facility.has made some progress by apprehending some key suspects of the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

This was announced last week by the Mechanism in 2016 which took over from the International Tribunal Criminal for Rwanda (ICTR) which has since been disbanded.

Judge Agius from Malta who was appointed to the President of International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism) in January 2019.

The UN secretary general António Guterres

has expressed deep deep appreciation to Judge Agius for leadership of the Mechanism and contribution to international criminal justice.

He told the UN boss during their meeting in New York this week that his tenure at the Mechanism was rewarding yet challenging.

"I am stepping down with a sense of pride in its (Mechanism)  progress, which had been a joint achievement", he said as he conferred with the UN boss.

He said despite stepping down as the President of the Mechanism, he continues to be available to serve as a Judge of the same.

Among the key alleged masterminds of the Rwanda genocide apprehended was Felicien Kabuga who was traced at a seclusive Paris suburb after being on run for 25 years.

Mr. Kabuga, who had a $ 5 million bounty on his head for his  role in the horrific massacre in Rwanda, was the alleged financier of the genocide.

The 89 year old former businessman is currently facing Court charges in France although the Rwanda activities wanted him brought to Arusha to face charges of genocide and crime against humanity.

The genocide in which claimed over 800,000 lives was triggered by the shooting down of a plane that carried the former Rwanda president Juvenal Habyarimana and his subsequent killing.

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