Judge Gatti Santana tells Security Council the Mechanism must retain core judicial oversight as it winds down

Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, presenting to the United Nations Security Council on Human Rights Day, delivered the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals' progress report and urged the Council to preserve international judicial oversight for core functions as the Mechanism prepares to conclude its mandate.

"Today is Human Rights Day," Judge Gatti Santana said, and she framed the Mechanism's work as rooted in restoring human dignity after mass atrocities. She told the Council that the Mechanism continues to perform substantial judicial functions: judges issued nearly 80 decisions and orders in the past six months, about nine in ten concerning continuous judicial functions, and she personally issued 26 decisions related to enforcement matters, including releases on humanitarian grounds and releases based on demonstrated rehabilitation.

The judge highlighted operational figures to explain the Mechanism's ongoing responsibilities: judicial oversight of protective measures for about 3,200 victims and witnesses, and continued responsibility for roughly 40 convicted persons incarcerated under the Mechanism's authority. She noted two convicted persons remain at the…