United Nations

The following was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General has decided to appoint Henry Hans Holthuis of the Netherlands to be the Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The Secretary-General made the appointment in consultation with Judge Claude Jorda, President of the Tribunal, in accordance with the statute of the Tribunal.

Mr. Holthuis has a long and distinguished legal career, having served most recently as the Chief Public Prosecutor and Head of the National Office of the Public Prosecutor's Service of the Netherlands, which deals with the fight against organized crime. The Secretary-General is confident that he will play an important role in heightening the efficiency of the Tribunal, as it moves forward in its efforts to investigate and try the serious crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia.