Twenty-five cases of persons investigated but not indicted by the Tribunal were transferred from the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) to Rwanda for further investigation and possible future action on 8 June 2010. This action was undertaken in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1503, which urges that appropriate cases be prosecuted in competent national jurisdictions.

Justice Hassan Bubacar Jallow, Prosecutor of the ICTR, formally handed over electronic and hard copies of the cases to Prosecutor-General of Rwanda, Mr. Martin Ngoga. Justice Jallow said that the transfer emphasizes the partnership between the OTP and Rwanda’s national jurisdiction. He commended the Rwandese government for the improvements it has made to Rwanda’s judicial infrastructure and capacity.

Justice Jallow also noted his intentions to continue pursuing the transfer of further cases to Rwanda, including a number of cases in which the subjects have already been indicted, pursuant to Rule 11bis. Mr. Ngoga said that the transfer is ”a vote of confidence”, in Rwanda’s past and present efforts at improvement.

He noted that Rwanda remains ready to receive any future cases from ICTR. He also noted that though Rwanda, “did not succeed in the past,” the government has now addressed the concerns raised by the Tribunal’s Judges. Mr. Ngoga thanked the Office of the Prosecutor for its partnership and pledged to keep the Tribunal apprised of Rwanda’s handling of the cases.

30 case files have been transferred to Rwanda previously, bringing the total number of dossiers transferred to 55.