19.03.12 - ICTR/UWINKINDI - REGISTRAR PRESENTS POSSIBLE CANDIDATES FOR MONITORING MECHANISM

Arusha, March 19, 2012 (FH) – The Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) submitted on March 16 a list of international institutions to the President of the Tribunal which could be selected to serve as Monitoring Mechanism for the genocide trial of Pastor Jean Uwinkindi in Rwanda.

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On February 24, then ICTR President Judge Khalida Rashid Khan ordered the stay of transfer to Rwanda of Pastor Uwinkindi until the establishment of a suitable monitoring mechanism for his trial.

‘’The Registrar submitted the report to the President as required on March 16. The President has invited the parties (defence and prosecution) to give their comments on the report in seven days from the date they received it if any,’’ said the Tribunal Spokesperson, Roland Amoussouga.

The list provided by the Registrar includes the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Right (ACHPR) which was first considered for the job but demanded a total of 571,920 US dollars per year. In his report, the Registrar asked the ACHPR to reconsider its position on the remuneration of its commissioners whom alone would take nearly 300,000 US dollars of the proposed package. According to the report no response has been received so far.  

Others candidate are ICJ-Kenya, Amnesty International, L’Observatoire International  des Avocats, the Pan African Lawyers Union and the International Senior Lawyers Project.

All these institution according to the Registrar report , would not request remuneration but asked for subsistence and travel allowances, monitors privileges and immunities and security.  

The Pastor is charged with genocide and extermination. 

The accused was born in Rutsiro commune, Kibuye prefecture (west Rwanda) in 1951. He was arrested in connection with the charges on June 30, 2010 in Uganda as he was coming into the country from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He was transferred to the seat of ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania on July 2, 2010.

NI/FK/GF© Hirondelle News Agency