International criminal prosecutors form joint task force

Prosecutors of international criminal courts agreed to form a joint task force to exchange information and develop strategies to investigate and prosecute crimes that fall within their respective jurisdictions, an official said on Saturday. "The task force will help to improve and make efficient the work of the prosecutors," Hassan Jallow, the prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), said. He was speaking at a news conference in Arusha, northern Tanzania, at the end of a three-day colloquium. The prosecutors of the International Criminal Court for former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) and International Criminal Court (ICC) also attended. Participants exchanged views on strategies for conducting investigations, protecting witnesses and enforcing sentences. They discussed the particular problems they face in bringing to justice the perpetrators of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in their various jurisdictions. In a joint statement issued at the end of the colloquium, they called on international as well as national authorities to help them in arresting and transferring indicted fugitives. Suspects the ICTY would like to find include Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and Ante Gotovina. The ICTR’s list includes Felicien Kabuga while Charles Taylor is on the SCSL’s. The prosecutors said the ultimate success of these tribunals depended on the continued political support of the international community. They also acknowledged the role of national jurisdictions, saying that international institutions should only step in where national judiciaries lack the necessary strength or impartiality. They said combined national and international efforts would guarantee impartial justice. The colloquium coincided with the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the ICTR, following the 1994 genocide. The prosecutors agreed to meet in Sierra Leone in six months to evaluate progress in their work.