10/23/2004 5:08:00 PM GMT
The UN has rejected a U.S. request to train some 30 Iraqi judges and prosecutors trying the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, saying that the Special Tribunal is empowered to impose death penalty opposed by it and the court's rules also "fails to meet the minimum standards of justice".
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Secretary General Kofi Annan said that "UN officials should not be directly involved in extending assistance to any court or tribunal that is empowered to impose the death penalty."
"The Tribunal's rules fail to meet the minimum standards of justice," 'Washington Post' quoted Dujarric as saying.
"The Bush Administration appealed to UN war crimes tribunal to send some judges and prosecutors to a training conference in London for members of the Iraqi tribunal. But UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's office sent the court's chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, a letter barring her staff from attending the week-long conference, which ended Monday", Dujarric said.
Serious doubts
At a press conference at UN headquarters Dujarric said that "serious doubts exist regarding the capability of the Iraqi special tribunal to meet relevant international standards."
According to Dujarric, the UN is tied in its ability to cooperate with the court without a "specific mandate" from "a competent political organ" such as the UN Security Council or the General Assembly.
"The decision", said The Post, "was a blow to the U.S. and Iraq's interim government which had hoped that a UN imprimatur on the court's activities would lead to greater international credibility".
A weeklong training session for Iraqi judges and lawmakers was scheduled to be conducted in London by American lawyers who assist Iraqi judges and investigators, according to the New York Times.