UN prosecutors are pushing for the Arusha-based Rwandan war crimes tribunal to speed up its work by holding joint trials of a dozen suspects during coming weeks.

Louise Arbour, departing chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), has moved for the tribunal to conduct three joint trials of a total of 12 Rwandans charged with genocide and other major crimes.

Arbour, who is visiting Arusha this week on what is expected to be her last trip there before she takes up a new post on the Canadian Supreme Court, argues that the tribunal is now ready to try four or five suspects at a time.

“With the three trial chambers in place and courtrooms ready, everything is poised to provide an acceleration of judicial proceedings,” Arbour said in Arusha Tuesday.

Defense attorneys are expected to oppose the prosecution’s motion for joint trials, as they have done with several previous pre-trial motions designed to speed up the tribunal’s work.

For years, the ICTR had been the focus of criticism that it was mismanaged and was slow in dealing with its caseload. So far, the tribunal has completed trials of four suspects, while another 38 people charged with genocide and crimes against humanity still await trial.

In recent months the tribunal has picked up its pace, however, and the completion of construction work on three trial chambers means that the ICTR can, for the first time, conduct several trials simultaneously.

At the same time, the tribunal has received commitments from Mali for the provision of detention facilities for anyone convicted of crimes by the ICTR. Agwu Okali, the tribunal’s registrar, told IPS this week that it is negotiating with two other governments for prison facilities.

“We’ve got to plan well ahead of time – we don’t want to scramble for prison space,” Okali said.

The tribunal is expecting in coming weeks to try some of the major suspects linked to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, in which an estimated one million minority Tutsis and moderate members of the Hutu majority were killed during a three-month period.

Among those expected to face trial shortly are Col. Theoneste Bagosora, widely believed by human rights groups to have planned the massacres, and Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, the former family welfare minister, who is accused of genocide and of giving orders to conduct a mass sexual assault in the prefecture of Butare.

There are signs that other suspects also may soon appear on the ICTR’s docket. Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, a Seventh Day Adventist pastor who lives in Laredo, Texas, last week lost an appeal at the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which ruled that there was probable cause for him to be surrendered to the tribunal.

The appeals court’s decision can still be reversed by the US Supreme Court. Nevertheless the US recognition of the tribunal’s jurisdiction was an important victory, Okali says.

“If it had been held that this agreement we have with the United States (to receive Ntakirutimana) was not possible, it would have done quite a bit to undermine the authority of the tribunal,” Okali told IPS.

The ICTR’s authority has grown considerably in recent months. The sentencing of former Rwandan Prime Minister Jean Kambanda to life imprisonment for his involvement in the genocide, Okali argued, was an important precedent in denying impunity for leaders.

Okali says that, in contrast to earlier years when the ICTR faced some problems in having its jurisdiction recognised, most countries now cooperate with its efforts to gain access to suspects.

“We are not encountering any countries that openly tell you, ‘No, we can’t do that’,” Okali said about requests for assistance, although he added that the tribunal still receives “varying degrees of cooperation” from countries.

With Arbour on her way out, the tribunal’s prosecution is expected to be headed by Swiss Attorney General Carla del Ponte, who was named last week by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to replace Arbour.

Del Ponte is expected to be confirmed in her position by the UN Security Council shortly; Okali praised her as “a very tough prosecutor.”

UN prosecutors are pushing for the Arusha-based Rwandan war crimes tribunal to speed up its work by holding joint trials of a dozen suspects during coming weeks.

Louise Arbour, departing chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), has moved for the tribunal to conduct three joint trials of a total of 12 Rwandans charged with genocide and other major crimes.

Arbour, who is visiting Arusha this week on what is expected to be her last trip there before she takes up a new post on the Canadian Supreme Court, argues that the tribunal is now ready to try four or five suspects at a time.

“With the three trial chambers in place and courtrooms ready, everything is poised to provide an acceleration of judicial proceedings,” Arbour said in Arusha Tuesday.

Defense attorneys are expected to oppose the prosecution’s motion for joint trials, as they have done with several previous pre-trial motions designed to speed up the tribunal’s work.

For years, the ICTR had been the focus of criticism that it was mismanaged and was slow in dealing with its caseload. So far, the tribunal has completed trials of four suspects, while another 38 people charged with genocide and crimes against humanity still await trial.

In recent months the tribunal has picked up its pace, however, and the completion of construction work on three trial chambers means that the ICTR can, for the first time, conduct several trials simultaneously.

At the same time, the tribunal has received commitments from Mali for the provision of detention facilities for anyone convicted of crimes by the ICTR. Agwu Okali, the tribunal’s registrar, told IPS this week that it is negotiating with two other governments for prison facilities.

“We’ve got to plan well ahead of time – we don’t want to scramble for prison space,” Okali said.

The tribunal is expecting in coming weeks to try some of the major suspects linked to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, in which an estimated one million minority Tutsis and moderate members of the Hutu majority were killed during a three-month period.

Among those expected to face trial shortly are Col. Theoneste Bagosora, widely believed by human rights groups to have planned the massacres, and Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, the former family welfare minister, who is accused of genocide and of giving orders to conduct a mass sexual assault in the prefecture of Butare.

There are signs that other suspects also may soon appear on the ICTR’s docket. Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, a Seventh Day Adventist pastor who lives in Laredo, Texas, last week lost an appeal at the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which ruled that there was probable cause for him to be surrendered to the tribunal.

The appeals court’s decision can still be reversed by the US Supreme Court. Nevertheless the US recognition of the tribunal’s jurisdiction was an important victory, Okali says.

“If it had been held that this agreement we have with the United States (to receive Ntakirutimana) was not possible, it would have done quite a bit to undermine the authority of the tribunal,” Okali told IPS.

The ICTR’s authority has grown considerably in recent months. The sentencing of former Rwandan Prime Minister Jean Kambanda to life imprisonment for his involvement in the genocide, Okali argued, was an important precedent in denying impunity for leaders.

Okali says that, in contrast to earlier years when the ICTR faced some problems in having its jurisdiction recognised, most countries now cooperate with its efforts to gain access to suspects.

“We are not encountering any countries that openly tell you, ‘No, we can’t do that’,” Okali said about requests for assistance, although he added that the tribunal still receives “varying degrees of cooperation” from countries.

With Arbour on her way out, the tribunal’s prosecution is expected to be headed by Swiss Attorney General Carla del Ponte, who was named last week by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to replace Arbour.

Del Ponte is expected to be confirmed in her position by the UN Security Council shortly; Okali praised her as “a very tough prosecutor.”