Monday 3 December 2007

Swansong of Carla del Ponte

Carla del Ponte finishes her term as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at the end of 2007. She has been appointed the Ambassador to Argentina of Switzerland. Her successor is Serge Brammertz of Belgium, who had previously been elected one of the Deputy Prosecutors of the International Criminal Court, but has since been seconded to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Del Ponte took over from Louise Arbour in September 1999, and her mandate was renewed (but not for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) in September 2003. Ed Vulliamy of The Observer published an interview with her yesterday: http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,331427677-103645,00.html. Also of interest is a new book by Florence Hartmann, entitled Paix et Châtiment. Hartmann was del Ponte's press attache, and much of the book seems to be about the Tribunal through the eyes of del Ponte. Hartmann is very bitter about many aspects of the Tribunal, including the reluctance of many members of the prosecution staff to charge Milosevic with genocide.
The Observer also has a lengthy account of efforts to apprehend one of the outstanding fugitives of the tribunal, Radovan Karadzic: http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,331427513-103645,00.html; http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,331427512-103645,00.html ; http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,331427515-103645,00.html; http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,331427680-103645,00.html
Thanks to Niamh Hayes.

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