UN tribunal successor seeks approval for near-90% staff cut

Graciela Gatti Santana, president of the UN body carrying on the work of the closed tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, urged the Security Council on 21 October to authorise a major reorganisation. She told the General Assembly it could cut the body’s staffing by nearly 90%, but the plan depends on transferring work elsewhere and has not been authorised.

The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals projects that it would have 20 to 23 staff by 1 July 2028, compared with 176 provided for in its approved budget for 31 December 2026. That produces the estimated reduction of 87–89%. The 176 figure is a budgeted year-end baseline, not its headcount at the October meeting: its annual report recorded 199 staff, including people in temporary positions, on 30 June 2026.

Under the plan, UN Secretariat offices would take over the archives and assistance to national prosecutions, while states holding convicted prisoners would assume day-to-day oversight of their conditions. The mechanism would consolidate its Arusha and The Hague branches into one location. Decisions on matters including pardons and early release would remain at international level.

The headline staffing cut applies to the mechanism, not to every UN job connected with those duties. The plan estimates that the receiving Secretariat offices would need another 40 to 45 staff, as well as other resources. Gatti Santana said the reorganisation could bring substantial savings, but budgets for the smaller mechanism and the offices taking over its work still need to be developed and approved.

The main trials may be over, but the mechanism’s annual report says about 3,200 witnesses still benefit from protective measures. It also continues to oversee sentences and assist national courts. In the Assembly debate, the EU’s representative called for a Council resolution as soon as possible. Gatti Santana said that, until the Council acts, the mechanism’s 2027 budget must continue to support operations at two sites on two continents.