United Nations Security Council Resolution 2637 – International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals

Resolution 2637 (2022)

The Security Council,

Reaffirming its determination to combat impunity for all those responsible for serious international crimes and the necessity of all persons indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) being brought to justice and, in this regard, recalling the mandate of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism) established by resolution 1966 (2010) of 22 December 2010,

Recalling Article 25 and Article 26 of the Statute of the Mechanism, set out in Annex 1 to resolution 1966 (2010), concerning the supervision of the enforcement of sentences and pardon or commutation of sentences, respectively,

Having regard to Article 14, paragraph 4 of the Statute of the Mechanism,

Recalling its decision in resolution 2529 (2020) adopted on 25 June 2020 appointing the Prosecutor of the Mechanism for a period from 1 July 2020 until 30 June 2022, and that the Prosecutor of the Mechanism may be appointed or reappointed for a two-year term, notwithstanding Article 14, paragraph 4 of the Statute of the Mechanism,

Having considered the nomination by the Secretary-General of Mr. Serge Brammertz as Prosecutor of the Mechanism (S/2022/486),

Recalling the strong need for States to cooperate with the Mechanism to achieve the arrest and surrender of those remaining fugitives indicted by the ICTR, and, in this regard, recalling also General Assembly resolution 74/273 of 21 April 2020,

Recalling its decision in resolution 1966 (2010) that the Mechanism shall operate for an initial period of four years from the first commencement date referred to in paragraph 1 of the resolution, to review the progress of the work of the Mechanism, including in completing its functions, before the end of this initial period and every two years thereafter, and that the Mechanism shall continue to operate for subsequent periods of two years following each such review, unless the Security Council decides otherwise,

Noting that the current period of operation of the Mechanism ends on 30 June 2022,

Having conducted its review of the progress of the work of the Mechanism, including in completing its functions, since the last review of the Mechanism in June 2020, pursuant to paragraph 17 of resolution 1966 (2010) and in accordance with the procedure set out in the statement of its President of 31 March 2022 (S/PRST/2022/2),

Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

1. Decides to appoint Mr. Serge Brammertz as Prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals with effect from 1 July 2022 until 30 June 2024;

2. Urges States to cooperate fully with the Mechanism;

3. Continues to urge all States, especially States where fugitives are suspected of being at large, to intensify their cooperation with and render all necessary assistance to the Mechanism, in particular to achieve the arrest and surrender of all remaining fugitives indicted by the ICTR as soon as possible and to cooperate to enforce sentences pronounced by the ICTR, ICTY and the Mechanism, and welcomes the continuing support already provided by States in this regard;

4. Notes with concern that despite reaching an earlier agreement, the Mechanism continues to face problems in the relocation of acquitted persons and convicted persons who have completed serving their sentence, emphasises the importance of finding expeditious and durable solutions to these problems, including as part of a reconciliation process, encourages all efforts to that end, and, in this regard, reiterates its call upon all States to cooperate with and render all necessary assistance to the Mechanism;

5. Notes that decisions on the relocation of persons who have been acquitted or completed their sentences should take into account inter alia the readiness of the state of origin to accept its nationals, the consent or any objections raised by the individuals to be relocated and the availability of other reloca tion states;

6. Takes note of the recent judgments of the Mechanism and developments in locating fugitives, commends the cooperation between the Mechanism, States and international organisations, which contributed to these developments, and recognises these as important steps of cooperation with the Mechanism, in accordance with paragraph 3 of resolution 2529 (2020); and further notes the Prosecutor’s findings on 12 May 2022 and on 18 May 2022 of the deaths of Protais Mpiranya on 5 October 2006 and Phénéas Munyarugarama on 28 February 2002 respectively, that Mpiranya was the last fugitive of the ICTR expected to be tried before the Mechanism, and that the remaining four fugitives indicted by the ICTR remain at large and are expected to be tried by Rwanda, subject to the conditions set out in the relevant referral decisions;

7. Emphasises that, in view of the substantially reduced nature of the residual functions, the Mechanism was established to be a small, temporary and efficient structure, whose functions and size will diminish over time, with a small number of staff commensurate with its reduced functions, and, recognising in this regard the full commitment to these elements expressed by the Mechanism, requests the Mechanism to continue to be guided in its activities by these elements;

8. Welcomes the report (S/2022/319) submitted by the Mechanism to the Council pursuant to its Presidential Statement (S/PRST/2022/2) for the purposes of the review of the progress of the work of the Mechanism, including in completing its functions, as required by paragraph 17 of resolution 1966 (2010), and the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) on the evaluation of the methods and work of the Mechanism (S/2022/148), taking note of the OIOS’s conclusions on the Mechanism’s implementation of the OIOS recommendations and paragraph 9 of resolution 2529(2020);

9. Takes note of the work of the Mechanism to date, in particular development of a legal and regulatory framework, procedures, and working practices consistent with the Statute of the Mechanism and drawing on lessons learned from and best practices of the ICTY and ICTR and of other tribunals, including use of rosters to ensure judges are utilized only when required, enabling judges to work remotely to the maximum extent possible, and minimizing the need for full bench participation in pre-trial and pre-appeal hearing work, in order to produce substantial reductions in the costs of judicial activities compared to those of the ICTY and ICTR, and commends the Mechanism for its efforts to produce such reductions;

10. Notes further the views and recommendations made with regard to the Mechanism’s work by the Council’s Informal Working Group on International Tribunals, as reflected in this resolution, and requests the Mechanism to take into account those views and implement the recommendations, and to continue to take steps to further enhance efficiency and effective and transparent management, in particular:

(i) full implementation of the outstanding recommendations of the OIOS;

(ii) production of clear and focused projections of completion timelines for all of the Mechanism’s activities including, in particular, in relation to ongoing cases and the supervision of the enforcement of sentences at the earliest stage possible and disciplined adherence thereto;

(iii) continued ensuring of geographic diversity and gender balance of staff, while ensuring continued professional expertise;

(iv) continued implementation of a human resources policy consistent with its temporary mandate;

(v) further reduction of costs, including through, but not limited to, flexible staff engagement; and

(vi) coordination and information sharing across the three organs of the Mechanism on matters that affected them equally in order to ensure systematic thinking and planning about the future;

11. Calls upon the Mechanism, as part of its completion strategy, to provide options regarding the transfer of its remaining activities in due course;

12. Reiterates its request to the Mechanism to include in its six-monthly reports to the Council information on progress achieved in implementing this resolution, as well as detailed information on the staffing and overall posts of the Mechanism, respective workload and related costs with breakdown by division and detailed projections of the duration of residual functions based on available data;

13. Recalls the importance of ensuring the rights of persons detained on the authority of the Mechanism in accordance with applicable international standards, including those related to health care;

14. Recalls its encouragement to the Mechanism in resolution 2422 (2018) to consider an appropriate solution to the approach to early release of persons convicted by the ICTR, and notes that during the review period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2020, conditions on early release in appropriate cases were put in place and the Mechanism refined procedures in this regard;

15. Notes the conclusion of the Council’s review of the progress of the work of the Mechanism, including in completing its functions, since the last review of the Mechanism in June 2020, pursuant to resolution 1966 (2010);

16. Recalls, with a view to strengthening independent oversight of the Mechanism, that, as set out in its Presidential Statement (S/PRST/2022/2), future reviews carried out pursuant to paragraph 17 of resolution 1966 (2010) shall include evaluation reports sought from the OIOS with respect to the methods and work of the Mechanism;

17. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Adopted by the Security Council at its 9072nd meeting, on 22 June 2022.