Tractatenblad 2009, 68

A. TITEL

Briefwisseling houdende een verdrag tussen het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden en het Rwanda Tribunaal ten behoeve van een in Nederland verblijvende getuige voor het Speciale Gerechtshof voor Rwanda;

’s-Gravenhage, 4 april 2009

B. TEKST

Nr. I

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR RWANDA

TRIBUNAL PÉNAL INTERNATIONAL POUR LE RWANDA

OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTOR

Arusha, 3 March 2009

OTP/DP/032/09/ts

Honourable Minister,

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda presents his compliments to the Royal Netherlands Embassy, and has the honour to present his Confidential Request for Assistance regarding the testimony of Witness 006 in the case of The Prosecutor v Ephrem Setako Case No. ICTR-04-81-T. Trial Chamber I that is hearing the Setako case has ordered that Witness 006 should testify by video-link from Monday 20 April to Wednesday 22 April 2009. In that regard, the Prosecutor requests the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to permit the witness to come into its territory, to provide him with state protection and, where necessary, to provide logistics that will facilitate the video-link testimony of the witness. The Prosecutor requires the witness to arrive in the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 16 April 2009 and experts¹⁾ that that the witness will leave the Netherlands by Friday 24 April 2009.

The Prosecutor presents this Request for Assistance and requests that it be acceptable under the conditions as set out below.

• 1. The Prosecutor refers to the Exchange of Letters of 22 and 24 April 1996 between the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Nations containing a Treaty regarding the application of the Agreement between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Nations concerning the Headquarters of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 (the ICTY Headquarters Agreement). The Parties to the said Exchange of Letters agreed that in order to facilitate activities and proceedings that may be undertaken from time to time by the ICTR in The Hague, the pertinent provisions of the ICTY Headquarters Agreement are applicable, mutatis mutandis, to such activities and proceedings by the ICTR.

• 2. Consequently, the Embassy confirms that Article XVIII, Article XXI, paragraph 1 and 2, Article XXII, Article XXIII, Article XXIV, paragraph 1, and Article XXVI of the ICTY Headquarters Agreement will apply in this case.

• 3. However, in view of the special circumstances of this case:

  • the notification referred to in Article XXII is deemed to be fulfilled;

    and

  • the Embassy assumes that the Registrar of the ICTR will not use the right referred to in the last sentence of Article XXIII;

• 4. As to the application of Article XXVI, the Ministry of Justice of the Netherlands will:

  • a. place Witness 006 in a Dutch Witness Protection Programme;

  • b. meet Witness 006 at the point of his arrival, which will be timely communicated by or on behalf of the Registrar of the ICTR to the Ministry of Justice;

  • c. provide safe accommodation for Witness 006 throughout his stay in the Netherlands;

  • d. provide secure transfer for Witness 006 from the point of arrival to the safe accommodation, daily from the safe accommodation to the main premises of the UN-ICTY, and from the safe accommodation or the main premises of the UN-ICTY to the point of departure from the Netherlands;

  • e. not allow that Witness 006 receives visitors, with the exception of the Source Handler of the Office of the Prosecutor who has been designated as such by the Prosecutor, as well as the Counsel who have been authorised by the Trial Chamber to be present at the hearing of Witness 006.

• 5. The rules of the aforementioned Dutch Witness Protection Programme will apply. Witness 006 can only be protected as far as he will follow the instructions by the police officers assigned to him.

• 6. The responsibility of the Dutch authorities for any claims by Witness 006, the UN or any third party does not go beyond the usual responsibility for witnesses under a Witness Protection Programme according to Dutch law.

• 7. All protection extended by the Dutch authorities will cease in case Witness 006 does not use the first possible opportunity of leaving the territory of the Netherlands after completion of his testimony. The ICTR will ensure that the stay of Witness 006 will be as short as possible.

• 8. The costs of the personnel providing security and the transfer costs will be borne by the Dutch authorities. All other costs, such as the rent of safe accommodation, food, daily allowances and costs of travel to and from the Netherlands, will be borne by the ICTR.

The Prosecutor avails himself of this opportunity to renew to the Royal Netherlands Embassy the assurances of his highest consideration.

BONGANI MAJOLI

Deputy Prosecutor

for Hassan B. Jallow

Prosecutor

Honourable Minister

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Kingdom of the Netherlands

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Nr. II

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The Hague, 4 April 2009

Our ref DJZ/VE-252/09

Re OTP/DP/032/09/ts

Dear Mr. Jallow,

I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of Your letter of 3 March 2009 which reads as follows:

(Zoals in Brief Nr. I)

I have the honour to confirm that the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands accepts the above proposal of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and to confirm that Your letter and this reply shall constitute an Agreement between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which will enter into force on the date of receipt by Your Excellency of this letter of reply and which will not exceed the duration of one year.

Please accept, Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

MAXIME VERHAGEN

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Mr. Hassan B. Jallow

Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

ARUSHA

D. PARLEMENT

Het in de brieven vervatte verdrag behoeft ingevolge artikel 7, onderdeel c, van de Rijkswet goedkeuring en bekendmaking verdragen niet de goedkeuring van de Staten-Generaal.

G. INWERKINGTREDING

De bepalingen van het in de brieven vervatte verdrag zijn ingevolge het gestelde in de één na laatste alinea van brief Nr. II in werking getreden op 9 april 2009.

Ingevolge dezelfde alinea zal het in de brieven vervatte verdrag niet langer dan een jaar van kracht zijn.

Wat betreft het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, geldt het in de brieven vervatte verdrag alleen voor Nederland.

J. VERWIJZINGEN

Titel	:	Briefwisseling tussen de Regering van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden en de Verenigde Naties houdende een verdrag inzake de toepassing van het tussen Partijen gesloten Verdrag betreffende de zetel van het Internationaal Tribunaal voor het voormalige Joegoslavië, op de werkzaamheden en handelingen van het Internationaal Tribunaal voor Rwanda; New York, 24 april 1996
Tekst	:	Trb. 1996, 143 (Engels)

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In overeenstemming met artikel 19, tweede lid, van de Rijkswet goedkeuring en bekendmaking verdragen heeft de Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken bepaald dat het in de brieven vervatte verdrag zal zijn bekendgemaakt in Nederland op de dag na de datum van uitgifte van dit Tractatenblad.

Uitgegeven de vijftiende april 2009.

De Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken,

M. J. M. VERHAGEN

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1) Noot redactie: kennelijk wordt hier “expects” bedoeld.