Mr. President,

China wishes to thank President Agius, President Meron and Prosecutor Brammertz for their presentations of the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia(ICTY) and the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals(MICT).

Mr. President,

Over the past six months, the ICTY has continued to make progress in its work, rendering a judgement on the appeal in the Stanic & Zuplianin case, terminating the trial procedure of the Hadzic case and advancing in an orderly manner the first trial of the Mladic case and the second trial of the Prlic case, which China appreciates. China has taken note of the challenges facing the ICTY mentioned by President Agius and Prosecutor Brammertz in their reports and hopes that the ICTY will take measures to enhance efficiency and overcome the difficulties. China believes that the ICTY should implement its completion strategy as soon as possible and conclude its work before the end of November 2017.

Mr. President,

On the MICT, China is pleased to learn that the office building of its Arusha branch has been officially open and that the MICT has taken over all the remaining work of the the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda(ICTR). In continuously carrying out its judicial activities, the MICT has started the re-trial of the Stanisic & Simatovic case, formulated new rules and procedures, issued a large number of decisions and orders, and cooperated with the countries concerned in support of their domestic prosecution. China appreciates these activities. We hope that the MICT will keep in mind the request that it should be “small, temporary and efficient”, and further strengthen and improve its work.

Mr. President,

The ICTY will conclude its work before the end of November 2017. China hopes that the ICTY will cooperate closely with the MICT in order to ensure the smooth transfer of its remaining work to the MICT. China will continue to support the work of the two institutions. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Uruguay as the Chairman of the Informal Working Group on International Tribunals and the UN Office of Legal Affairs for their work.

Thank you, Mr. President.