A “consensus” candidate and for election to be completed by mid-December Assembly of State Parties at United Nations HQ in NYC is the objective of the Search committee for the new prosecutor to take over for Luis Moreno Ocampo. The new Prosecutor will inherit precedent setting responsibilities including the UN Security Council mandated Libya investigation, indictments of current leaders as Sudan’s Bashir, former Ivory Coast despot Laurent Gbagbo, Lord’s Liberation Army Joseph Kony and perhaps new investigations/prosecutions in Syria and/or Yemen. The new Prosecutor will take office by mid-summer (June) 2012. Because of such a heavy caseload focused on Africa and the not so supportive position/criticism of many African Union states, the betting is upon the candidate from Africa. There are 4 candidates currently under consideration based upon reports provided by Assembly President Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, (Lichtenstein Permanent Representative to the UN). The Search Committee members, (TOP PHOTO) include one from each regional group, from left: H.E. Mr. Baso Sangqu (African Group), H.E. Mr. Joel Hernández, (Group of Latin American and Caribbean States), H.R.H. Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein (Asian Group) (Coordinator), Sir Daniel Bethlehem (Western European and Others Group) and H.E. Mr. Miloš Koterec (Eastern European Group) (Deputy Coordinator). Ambassador Wenaweser (See FILM REPORT – Interview with - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/movie/ambassador-christian-wenaweser-president-of-icc-states-assembly-part-1/19498 ), has been arranging for the 4 “finalists” to be in NYC at UN HQ with view to perhaps reaching consensus by Thanksgiving, end of November. The four candidates are: • Ms. Fatou Bensouda of the Gambia - current ICC Deputy Prosecutor – who is considered the favorite according to reports from The Hague Justice Portal (at - www.haguejusticeportal.net/smartsite.html?id=12973 ). She has been Deputy ICC Prosecutor since 2004, and before Senior Legal Adviser and Head of The Legal Advisory Unit, at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). • Mohammed Othman, (the 2nd African on the list) is Chief Justice of Tanzania also having served as both a High Court and Appeals Judge, and worked at the ICTR, the UN Mission in East Timor, and the High-Level Commission of Inquiry on Lebanon. He was also UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan. • Robert Petit is currently Counsel with the War Crimes Section of the Canadian Department of Justice and spent three years working as the International Co-Prosecutor at the ECCC (Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia). He worked also as a Legal Officer in the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICTR, in the UN Missions in Kosovo and East Timor, and in the Special Court for Sierra Leone. • Andrew Cayley is International Co-Prosecutor at the (ECCC). He was also Senior Prosecuting Counsel on the ICC Darfur case and led the Ratko Mladić investigation at the ICTY. Mr. Cayley had previously worked in private practice, and defended Charles Taylor before the Special Court for Sierra Leone and Ivan Cermak before the ICTY. Either way, the new Prosecutor should be known and elected, by consensus or otherwise, by December 2011 – last date of Assembly of State Parties of ICC. See FILM REPORT – Ambassadors Christian Wenaweser and HRH Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein news conference on Libya investigations/prosecution: diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/movie/international-criminal-courtgame-changer/25194 By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey Facebook – Become a Fan at “Diplomatically Incorrect” Twitter – Follow us at DiplomaticallyX "WarCrimesJustice" Channel diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/war-crimes-justice