The Secretary-General of the United Nations Mr. Ban Ki-moon has appointed Judge Theodor Meron of the United States as President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (the Mechanism), and the UN Security Council has appointed Mr. Hassan Bubacar Jallow of Gambia as Prosecutor of the Mechanism. Both appointments are effective 1 March 2012 and are for a term of four years.

The appointment of Judge Meron by the Secretary-General was made after consulting the President of the Security Council and the judges of the Mechanism.  Judge Meron will continue serving as President of the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) while working as the President of the Mechanism. 

The appointment of Mr. Jallow by the Security Council was made upon the nomination of the Secretary-General.  Mr. Jallow will continue serving as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). 

Judge Meron and Mr. Jallow are eminently qualified for the respective positions of President and Prosecutor of the Mechanism.  The Secretary-General believes that the Mechanism will benefit immensely from their considerable experience, outstanding leadership skills, and profound commitment to international criminal justice. 

The Mechanism was established by Security Council resolution 1966 (2010) to carry out a number of essential functions of the ICTY and ICTR after the closure of the Tribunals.  It will have two branches, in Arusha and in The Hague, which will commence functioning on 1 July 2012 and 1 July 2013, respectively.  The President and the Prosecutor shall be present at either seat of the branches of the Mechanism as necessary to exercise their functions.