Finland Times

Helsinki, January 21 : The prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Serge Brammertz, will arrive Helsinki today on a three-day  visit, said a foreign ministry press release on Thursday.

Prosecutor Brammertz will take part in a conference for Nordic war crime prosecutors, jointly organized by the Office of the Prosecutor General, and meet representatives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and the Finnish prosecution system.

The ICTY was founded by a UN Security Council resolution in 1993 and has jurisdiction over the most severe international crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia. The Tribunal has played a pioneering role in promoting international efforts against impunity and developing international criminal justice. In total it has indicted around 160 persons and, so far, found more than 60 of these guilty.

Prosecutor Brammertz will be the main speaker at the seminar entitled "Peace and Justice: Reflections from the ICC Prosecutor" organized jointly by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights (ECI).

The commentary addresses at the seminar will be made by Sirpa Rautio, Director of the Human Rights Centre and Thomas Elfgren, Detective Chief Superintendent of the National Bureau of Investigation. The opening address will be given by Päivi Kaukoranta, Director General for Legal Affairs of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The seminar will be held in the Consistory Hall of the University of Helsinki main building at Fabianinkatu 33 on Tuesday 22 January 2013 at 5 pm to 7 pm. The seminar is open to the public, but requires a registration no later than 22 January at 10 am at https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/40075/lomake.html .