UN Chief Thumbs Up Hassan Jallow

Chief Prosecutor Hassan Bubacarr Jallow

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is grateful to Hassan Bubacar Jallow for his excellent service. Mr. Jallow, a former Gambian Justice Minister and Judge, serves as the first Prosecutor of the UN Mechanism from 1 March 2012 until 29 February 2016. Mr. Jallow was also the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) from September 2003 to December 2015.

“Mr. Jallow was instrumental to the successful fulfilment of the mandate of the [ICTR] and the efficient conduct of the work of the Office of the Prosecutor of the Mechanism in its initial four-year period of operation,” the UN chief said in a statement.

The Mechanism – which has two branches, in Arusha, Tanzania and in The Hague, Netherlands – was established by Security Council resolution 1966 (2010) of 22 December 2010 to carry out the residual functions of the main tribunals after they wrap up their respective work. The ICTR, set up 21 years ago to judge those guilty for the genocide in Rwanda formally closed on 31 December 2015.

In another development, Ban Ki-moon has appointed Judge Theodor Meron of the United States as President of the international body that will carry out the residual functions of the UN war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

The decision was made after consulting the President of the Security Council and the judges of the International Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. Judge Meron will continue to serve as a judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, while working as the President of the Mechanism.

The UN Security Council appointed Serge Brammertz of Belgium as Prosecutor of the Mechanism.

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