United Nations Security Council Resolution 1503 – International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
Resolution 1503 (2003)
The Security Council,
Recalling its resolutions 827 (1993) of 25 May 1993, 955 (1994) of 8 November 1994, 978 (1995) of 27 February 1995, 1165 (1998) of 30 April 1998,1166 (1998) of 13 May 1998, 1329 (2000) of 30 November 2000, 1411 (2002) of 17May 2002, 1431 (2002) of 14 August 2002, and 1481 (2003) of 19 May 2003,
Noting the letter from the Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council dated 28 July 2003 (S/2003/766),
Commending the important work of the International Criminal Tribunal for theFormer Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda(ICTR) in contributing to lasting peace and security in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and the progress made since their inception,
Noting that an essential prerequisite to achieving the objectives of the ICTYand ICTR Completion Strategies is full cooperation by all States, especially in apprehending all remaining at-large persons indicted by the ICTY and the ICTR,
Welcoming steps taken by States in the Balkans and the Great Lakes region of Africa to improve cooperation and apprehend at-large persons indicted by the ICTY and ICTR, but noting with concern that certain States are still not offering full cooperation,
Urging Member States to consider imposing measures against individuals and groups or organizations assisting indictees at large to continue to evade justice,including measures designed to restrict the travel and freeze the assets of such individuals, groups, or organizations,
Recalling and reaffirming in the strongest terms the statement of 23 July 2002 made by the President of the Security Council (S/PRST/2002/21), which endorsedthe ICTY’s strategy for completing investigations by the end of 2004, all trialactivities at first instance by the end of 2008, and all of its work in 2010 (ICTYCompletion Strategy) (S/2002/678), by concentrating on the prosecution and trial ofthe most senior leaders suspected of being most responsible for crimes within theICTY’s jurisdiction and transferring cases involving those who may not bear this level of responsibility to competent national jurisdictions, as appropriate, as well as the strengthening of the capacity of such jurisdictions,
Urging the ICTR to formalize a detailed strategy, modelled on the ICTY Completion Strategy, to transfer cases involving intermediate- and lower-rank accused to competent national jurisdictions, as appropriate, including Rwanda, in order to allow the ICTR to achieve its objective of completing investigations by theend of 2004, all trial activities at first instance by the end of 2008, and all of itswork in 2010 (ICTR Completion Strategy),
Noting that the above-mentioned Completion Strategies in no way alter theobligation of Rwanda and the countries of the former Yugoslavia to investigate those accused whose cases would not be tried by the ICTR or ICTY and take appropriateaction with respect to indictment and prosecution, while bearing in mind theprimacy of the ICTY and ICTR over national courts,
Noting that the strengthening of national judicial systems is crucially important to the rule of law in general and to the implementation of the ICTY and ICTRCompletion Strategies in particular,
Noting that an essential prerequisite to achieving the objectives of the ICTYCompletion Strategy is the expeditious establishment under the auspices of the High Representative and early functioning of a special chamber within the State Court ofBosnia and Herzegovina (the “War Crimes Chamber”) and the subsequent referralby the ICTY of cases of lower- or intermediate-rank accused to the Chamber,
Convinced that the ICTY and the ICTR can most efficiently and expeditiously meet their respective responsibilities if each has its own Prosecutor,
Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
- Calls on the international community to assist national jurisdictions, as part of the completion strategy, in improving their capacity to prosecute cases transferred from the ICTY and the ICTR and encourages the ICTY and ICTR Presidents, Prosecutors, and Registrars to develop and improve their outreachprogrammes;
2. Calls on all States, especially Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, andBosnia and Herzegovina, and on the Republika Srpska within Bosnia andHerzegovina, to intensify cooperation with and render all necessary assistance to theICTY, particularly to bring Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, as well as AnteGotovina and all other indictees to the ICTY and calls on these and all other at-largeindictees of the ICTY to surrender to the ICTY;
3. Calls on all States, especially Rwanda, Kenya, the Democratic Republicof the Congo, and the Republic of the Congo, to intensify cooperation with andrender all necessary assistance to the ICTR, including on investigations of theRwandan Patriotic Army and efforts to bring Felicien Kabuga and all other suchindictees to the ICTR and calls on this and all other at-large indictees of the ICTR tosurrender to the ICTR;
4. Calls on all States to cooperate with the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO-Interpol) in apprehending and transferring persons indicted bythe ICTY and the ICTR;
5. Calls on the donor community to support the work of the High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina in creating a special chamber, within the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to adjudicate allegations of seriousviolations of international humanitarian law;
6. Requests the Presidents of the ICTY and the ICTR and their Prosecutors,in their annual reports to the Council, to explain their plans to implement the ICTYand ICTR Completion Strategies;
7. Calls on the ICTY and the ICTR to take all possible measures tocomplete investigations by the end of 2004, to complete all trial activities at firstinstance by the end of 2008, and to complete all work in 2010 (the CompletionStrategies);
8. Decides to amend Article 15 of the Statute of the International Tribunalfor Rwanda and to replace that Article with the provision set out in Annex I to this resolution, and requests the Secretary-General to nominate a person to be the Prosecutor of the ICTR;
9. Welcomes the intention expressed by the Secretary-General in his letter dated 28 July 2003, to submit to the Security Council the name of Mrs. Carla DelPonte as nominee for Prosecutor for the ICTY;
10. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
Adopted by the Security Council at its 4817th meeting, on 28 August 2003
