Mr. President,

China thanks President Agius and Prosecutor Brammertz for their reports on the progress of the work of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

China notes that under the lead of President Agius, the Mechanism has been making every effort to overcome the impacts of COVID-19. Since August, in-court proceedings have been resumed, and judicial activities have been well conducted. China commends the Mechanism for its efforts.

In this reporting period, the Mechanism has officially commenced the pre-trial proceeding against Mr. Kabuga, one of the main suspects in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. This shows the resolve of the Mechanism to combat impunity and its efforts to advance the proceedings without delay. China appreciates the efforts by all parties, especially the Prosecutor’s Office.

Mr. President,

Pursuant to Security Council resolutions, the Mechanism is a small, temporary and efficient structure, whose size and function will diminish over time. We hope that the Mechanism will continue to carry out its work in accordance with the Council resolutions, in particular, to advance and complete the proceedings of all pending cases based on the projections of timelines just provided by the assessment and progress report. It is important for the Mechanism to reasonably allocate budgetary resources to guarantee judicial activities as a priority.

China hopes that the Mechanism, going forward, will continue to improve its work by implementing the recommendations made by the Council’s Informal Working Group on International Tribunals and the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services. We also hope that the Mechanism will work with countries concerned to properly resolve the relocation of acquitted and released persons.

Mr. President,

To conclude, I wish to thank Vietnam, Chair of the Council’s Informal Working Group on International Tribunals, and the Office of the Legal Affairs of the United Nations, for their efforts in coordinating the Council and the Mechanism.

Thank you, Mr. President.