The level of complexity of the remaining work of the Tribunal requires a concerted and joint effort of all staff across the organs of the Tribunal. It is against this backdrop that, from 23 to 25 March 2012, about a three-dozen officials of the Senior Management of the UNICTR, led by the President, the Prosecutor and the Registrar, held an important retreat at the Ngorongoro Farmhouse, located just 4 km from the Lolduare entrance to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The retreat was facilitated by two external change management experts, Ms. Judith Campbell and Mr. James Barker from Oxford Change Management, UK.

The main purpose of the retreat was to come up with concrete action plan required to successfully implement the Completion Strategy, namely, the remaining judicial work of the Tribunal and the review of the ongoing transition arrangements to implement the Security Council’s Resolution 1966 on the establishment of the IRM. The three main objectives of the retreat were as follows:

a) To build a shared understanding of the elements required to strengthen the completion strategy and successfully close ICTR  by end of 2014;

b) To identify approaches that will enable ICTR managers and staff members to be adaptive to changing conditions that are arising during the completion process and agree on actions that will facilitate the same process; and

c) To agree on ways colleagues will need to work together to ensure a smooth transition to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRM) and the closing of ICTR, including drawing on the lessons learned to date.

The retreat provided the senior managers with the opportunity of analyzing the scope of the remaining work of the ICTR and agreeing on the measures and steps necessary to successfully implement the Completion Strategy. Planning mechanisms and definition of 
common ground agenda setting out priorities, strategies, policies, actions, benchmarks and shared activities, have been  adopted as  part of a comprehensive ICTR Road Map, which will serve as a reference tool, to guide its senior management and staff towards achieving a successful completion of its work by the end of 2014 and the facilitation of the transition to the IRM as part of the implementation of the Security Council’s Resolution 1966. The ICTR senior management resolved to intensify communication both within and outside as a way of ensuring all the stakeholders are kept abreast of the status of the Completion Strategy.