The Head of the Delegation of the European Commission, H.E. Ambassador Tim Clarke, recently posted in Dar Es Salaam, visited the Tribunal on 19 February 2008. His Excellency was accompanied by two officials of his office.

During the visit, Ambassador Clarke had fruitful discussions with ICTR Senior officials, including the President, the Prosecutor, the Registrar, the Chief of Administration, the Chief and staff of the External Relations and Strategic Planning Section of the Tribunal. He was given an in-depth briefing on the work of the Tribunal, especially its accomplishments, and challenges under the ICTR Completion Strategy as well as the impact of the EU-funded projects as part of the ICTR Outreach Programmes. The discussions also focused on the one hand on the effect of high staff departure rate on ICTR Completion Strategy and on the other hand on ways and means to enhance the existing collaboration between ICTR and the Delegation of the European Commission in the areas of judicial capacity building and human rights promotion at regional level.

Ambassador Clarke also explored a few areas of common interest where joint projects, within the implementation framework of the African Union and European Union Joint Strategy and Action Plan adopted during the 2007 Lisbon Summit, could be developed.

The European Commission (EC) is one of the main donors of the ICTR. Since 2004, the European Commission has disbursed approximately $ 1,900,000 to support the managerial, operational and outreach sectors of the ICTR. The Commission’s financial support improved management of ICTR witnesses matters, information security and efficiency in the Office of the Prosecutor, and enabled the Tribunal to produce transcripts of judicial proceedings on a daily basis. It also made it possible to implement various ICTR’s outreach projects, including capacity building activities which are aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Rwandan Judiciary.