Posted on 09/05/2007 7:51:59 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report released Wednesday that he hopes to appoint judges to the international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri by the end of the year.
In the report to the Security Council, Ban said the tribunal would not be established until the U.N. had an estimated $35 million to fund its operations through the first year, as well as an additional $85 million in pledges to pay for the following two years.
The Security Council approved a resolution in May to establish the tribunal after Lebanon's divided political parties were unable to approve it. The Netherlands agreed last month to host the court if those convicted serve their sentences elsewhere.
Hariri was killed in February 2005 by a massive suicide car bombing in downtown Beirut that also killed 22 other people. Many in Lebanon accuse Syria of being behind the assassination, a charge that Damascus denies.
In his report, Ban said he had begun forming a selection panel that will be pick the international judges for the tribunal next month. He will also select the Lebanese judges for the court from a list of 12 possibilities the Lebanese government will provide.
He said he expects to announce the names of all the judges by the end of the year.
Ban will also choose a prosecutor and head of the Defense Office, which will draw up a list of defense lawyers for the case, according to his report.
His report estimated the budget on the assumption the tribunal would have a staff of more than 400 people. It noted, however, that a list of defendants and witnesses had yet to be drawn up and the level of security needed had not been determined, which could drive up the estimated three-year budget of $120 million.
Ban said 51 percent of the total would be paid using voluntary contributions of U.N. member states, and Lebanon's government would put forth the other 49 percent.
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