ICC – United Nations Asks Netherlands to Host Tribunal for Assassination of Hariri

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent a letter to the Netherlands earlier this week asking the country to host a tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.^[1] The Secretary-General stressed in his letter that the country already hosts a number of courts and tribunals, including the ones of the International Criminal Court.^[2] As we reported earlier, the tribunal for former Liberian President Charles Taylor also takes place in the Netherlands.

In May of this year, the United Nations Security Council established the international tribunal at the request of Fuad Saniora, current Prime Minister of Lebanon.^[3] With the ongoing investigation, it is unclear who would face the trial.^[4] The decision has not yet been made on whether the Dutch Foreign Ministry will agree to the tribunal in the Netherlands.^[5]

Rafik Hariri, the anti-Syrian leader, was killed in February 2005 during the suicide truck bomb attack which also killed twenty two others.^[6] Pursuant to the investigation, four Lebanese generals have been under arrest for twenty months.^[7] Many of Hariri’s supporters claimed that Syria was involved in the attack on the Prime Minister.^[8]

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[1] U. N. asks Netherlands to host tribunal, Yahoo! News Report by Associated Press, July 23, 2007.
[2] Id.
[3] Security Council Authorizes Establishment of International Tribunal, Department of Public Information Press Release, May 30, 2007.
[4] Associated Press, supra note 1.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.