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Independence, Impartiality, of Paramount Importance for UN Tribunals
China said November 21 that independence and impartiality are of "paramount importance" for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in carrying out its function under relevant UN resolutions.
The statement came as Wang Yingfan, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, took the floor at an open UN Security Council meeting on the ICTY.
As an international criminal justice institution established by the Security Council, the tribunal's independence and impartiality are of paramount importance, Wang said.
In creating the ad hoc tribunal, the 15-member Security Council has two goals, he said. "On the one hand, they are to conduct fair trials of persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law. They are to render justice to victims of the crimes in question while helping prevent perpetration of similar atrocities in future."
"On the other hand, they are to facilitate peace and reconciliation in the regions concerned," he said.
"Important progress has been made in many aspects of the tribunal's work," he said. "Meanwhile, we have found considerable inadequacies in the operation of the tribunal."
"We have serious reservations about the ICTY Prosecutor's conclusion that there are no basis for opening an investigation into any allegations of crimes of serious violations of international humanitarian law during NATO's bombings of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," he said.
Without the authorization of the Security Council, which has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of world peace and security, NATO began 78-day air strikes on Yugoslavia in March last year.
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