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contribution 22 - ESSOUNGOU André-Michel

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Witnesses protection vs Public debate

Jean-Michel ESSOUNGOU

transtlated version

Two points to reassure Ms. Fall. No, journalists do not take the light in doing all this. There is an important thing I think for all stakeholders in this justice. It is the public character of the proceedings, the right of the public to know.

When the UN Security Council adopted the resolution to create the ICTR and said it should contribute to reconciliation, I don’t see how the Court can function without Rwanda seeing what is happening.

So if there are journalists, as is my case, who say that the proceedings should be made more open, it is not to to help in this direction, otherwise we will go off to some other facet. I don’t know. One has the impression that maybe at the ICTR there was a trend from the outset. And to kind of redefine witness protection, because there was a strong suggestion to that effect.

You said witnesses had the choice. Not really. And this is my last word. It is not certain that such protection is really safe because we know cases that without such protection some people may have been killed. Thank you.

J.M. SOREL

Thank you. We will now break off for coffee and resume at 11:00.
(Recessed at 10h36)