03.10.08 - ICTR/WEEKLY SUMMARY - UN DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE DROPS CHARGES AGAINST ICTR SPOKESMAN

3 October 2008 By

Arusha, 3 October 2008 (FH) - The United Nations Joint Disciplinary Committee (JDC) has cleared the Spokesman of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Mr Roland Amoussouga, of allegations of impropriety relating to the recruitment process of the Chief of the Defence Counsel and Detention Management Section (DCDMS), which created turmoil between end August and early September 2005.

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"After reviewing the case, the UN Joint Disciplinary Committee (JDC) unanimously recommended that the charges against Mr Roland Amoussouga, Chief ERSPS (External Relations and Strategic Planning Section), be dropped and no further disciplinary action be taken," according to a circular issued by the ICTR's Chief of Division of Administration, Ms Sarah Kilemi, dated 30 September, 2008 and Hirondelle Agency was in possession of it.

Mr Amoussouga was allegedly accused of impropriety relating to the recruitment process of the Chief of the Defence Counsel and Detention Management Section (DCDMS) after French lawyer Pascal Besnier was selected by a UNICTR panel for the post. A series of alleged Amoussouga's private emails were suddenly circulated in the ICTR and on the internet asserting some sort of collusion between the French lawyer and Amoussouga over the recruitment process.

Meanwhile, a twelve-man United Nations Security Council Informal Working Group (SCIWGT) Tuesday completed their two-day working tour of the Arusha-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which is nearing its closure, reports Hirondelle Agency.

"We had very fruitful talks," hinted Mr William Roelants de Stappers, head of the delegation, to journalists at the close of the tour, adding that he believed that the deadline of completing all first instance ICTR trials by end of this year was still realistic. "We are still working with the December 2008 completion strategy," he stressed.

.In another development, a former Rwandan Commander of Reconnaissance Battalion during the 1994 slaughter, Major Francois-Xavier Nzuwonemeye, on trial alongside three other officers for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Monday will stand at the witness box to begin his own defence.

Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which handles genocide case against four ex- Rwandan ministers, on Monday, starts a week-long visit to Rwanda of the alleged 1994 massacres sites and other crimes allegedly committed by the defendants.

SC/GF