The UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon is forced to close due to a shortfall in funding. In an interview with Foreign Policy magazine, I explain that the sudden closure of the court raises many questions.
In June, the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which was set up to investigate and try the perpetrators of the asassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, cancelled its hearings due to a lack of funds. The Lebanese government and the international community failed to provide funding to the court.
An unprecedented development. “When the other tribunals were shut down, they’d been preparing for the end of the tribunal for many years”, I told Foreign Policy. In the case of the Lebanon Tribunal, the sudden closure leaves many questions unresolved, including practical issues such as the continuity of the witness protection programme and accessibility of the archive.
Read the full article in Foreign Policy: Lebanon’s Special Tribunal is closing due to economic woes.