Rwanda.

In an effort to improve the efficiency of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1165 (1998), by which it decided to establish a third Trial Chamber and, towards that end, amended three articles of the statute of the Tribunal. The Council also decided to hold elections for the judges of the three trial chambers for a term of office to expire on 24 May 2003.

The International Tribunal, established by resolution 955 (1994) to try persons responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, will now have 14 judges instead of 11 - three judges each for the Trial Chambers and five for the Appeals Chamber. As an exceptional measure, to enable the third Trial Chamber to begin to function at the earliest possible date, the Council decided that the three newly-elected judges should commence their terms of office as soon as possible. The Secretary-General was requested to make practical arrangements for the elections of the judges and for enhancing the effective functioning of the Tribunal, including the timely provision of personnel and facilities, in particular for the third Trial Chamber and related offices of the Prosecutor.

The Council had responded, in a letter dated 15 October 1997, to the Secretary-General's recommendation for the Tribunal's expansion, based on an earlier proposal by the President of the Tribunal, Laity Kama, in a 1 August 1997 letter, in which he noted the "overwhelming necessity to increase the number of judges in order to compose a Third Chamber", citing the increased number of detainees following a number of arrests made in Kenya. Anticipating that most of the detainees would be indicted by the Tribunal, Justice Laity made the recommendation in the interest of "expeditious justice".

The Council on 9 April asked Secretary-General Kofi Annan to reactivate the International Commission of Inquiry to investigate reports on the sale and supply of arms and related materiel to former Rwandan government forces (FAR) and militias, to identify parties aiding and abetting the illegal sale to or acquisition of arms by the FAR, and to make recommendations relating to the illegal flow of arms in the Great Lakes region, in violation of Council resolutions.

By unanimously adopting resolution 1161 (1998), the Council called upon all States in the Great Lakes region to ensure that their territory was not used as a base for armed groups to launch incursions or attacks against any other State, in violation of the United Nations Charter and other provisions of international law. It urged all States and relevant organizations to cooperate in countering radio broadcasts and publications that incite acts of genocide, hatred and violence.

Reiterating its concern that the uncontrolled illegal flow of arms and related materiel posed a threat to the peace and stability in the Great Lakes region, the Council declared its willingness to consider further measures to address the situation. The Secretary-General was asked to report to the Council on the reactivation of the Commission and submit an interim report on its initial conclusions within three months of its reactivation, followed three months later by a final report containing the Commissions recommendations.

The Commission, initially established by the Council in September 1995, carried out its investigations through to September 1996, submitting three reports for that period, in which it catalogued sources of arms flows to the region. Resolution 1161, therefore, enables the Commission to take up its work where it left off. Since September 1996, the situation in the Great Lakes region has evolved in new and more complex ways; it has witnessed the mass return of Rwandan refugees to Rwanda; the civil conflict in the former Zaire; the setting up of a new government in the country now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the dispersal of large numbers of Rwandan refugees in parts of Central Africa; and the insurgency in northwest Rwanda.

In a letter of 22 January to the Council President, the Secretary-General noted that a number of Governments had provided additional information to the Commission since its last report in October 1996. Furthermore, in the Commission's view, "some of the information provided would appear to open fresh lines of inquiry". It also outlined new areas of investigation it would pursue if its mandate was renewed.