UN Secretary-General: UN war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia needs more time

The United Nations war crimes tribunal set up in the wake of the Balkan conflicts in the 1990s will need more time to complete its work after originally being scheduled to wind down at the end of this year, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

The secretary-general told reporters at the United Nations Headquarters in New York that “there is some broad agreement now that the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) may need at least a few more years, to 2013 or so,” before it can finish its work.

Based in The Hague, the ICTY was tasked by the UN Security Council with trying the worst war crimes and other breaches of international humanitarian law committed during the various conflicts in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Under a completion strategy struck with the Council, it was scheduled to begin downsizing this year, in line with its nature as a temporary institution.

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