From 24 to 26 November 2016, the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Mr. Serpa Soares, visited Arusha, Tanzania, to participate in the inauguration ceremony for the new premises of the Arusha branch of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (the “Residual Mechanism”).

The new premises of the Residual Mechanism were built on the Lakilaki foothills of Mount Meru in the outskirts of Arusha three years after the signing of the Residual Mechanism Headquarters Agreement. The premises are owned by the United Nations on a plot of land provided at no cost by the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania. They were built within the foreseen timeframe and without exceeding the projected and approved budget. The premises were inaugurated on 25 November 2016, by H.E. Mrs. Samia Suluhu Hassan, Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania, in the presence of H.E. Mr. Augustine Mahiga, Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania, Judge Theodore Meron, President of the Residual Mechanism, Mr. Serge Brammertz, Prosecutor of the Residual Mechanism, and Mr. John Hocking, Registrar of the Residual Mechanism. Many representatives of the diplomatic community as well as representatives of regional organizations, notably the African Union, were also present. Mr. Serpa Soares read out a message by the Secretary-General and delivered a keynote address in his capacity as United Nations Legal Counsel.

In his keynote address, Mr. Serpa Soares expressed the gratitude of the United Nations to the host country, Tanzania, for providing the land and utilities for the new premises of the Residual Mechanism as well as for being a gracious host for over 22 years to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Arusha branch of the Residual Mechanism. He noted the shared responsibility in accountability efforts across the African continent mentioning the important role that African States assume at the forefront in supporting the advancement of international criminal justice. These efforts materialized in the success of the Extraordinary African Chambers in Senegal to ensure justice for the crimes committed in Chad under Hissène Habré’s regime. Mr. Serpa Soares also mentioned the new undertaking to conceive a Hybrid Court for South Sudan and the establishment in the Central African Republic of a Special Criminal Court.