International tribunals

The Security Council focuses on the issue of protecting civilians in armed conflict.

The principal judicial organ of the United Nations is the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In addition to the ICJ, there are various international courts, international tribunals, ad hoc tribunals and UN-supported tribunals (Special Court for Sierra LeoneExtraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia och Special Tribunal for Lebanon).

Ad hoc tribunals

The tribunals International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) och International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) are two ad hoc tribunals. The tribunals are subsidiary organs of the Security Council. They were established through resolutions adopted under chapter VII of the UN Charter with the aim of prosecuting persons responsible of violating international humanitarian law. As such the tribunals were dependent on the UN in administrative and financial matters, although as judicial institutions they were independent of any State or group of States, including the Security Council.

The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT)

The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism) was created by the Security Council on 22 December 2010 in accordance to Security Council Resolution 1966: Establishment, Statute, and Transitional Arrangements, S/RES/1966 (2010). It is mandated to perform a number of essential functions previously carried out by the ICTR and the ICTY.

The Mechanism started operating on 1 July 2012 in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, and on 1 July 2013 in The Hague, the Netherlands. It operated in parallel with the ICTR and the ICTY, and continues to operate after the Tribunals’ closure. The ICTR closed in 2015 with the ICTY following in 2017.

More on Un and International tribunals

Report on the Security Council action protecting human rights and civilians in armed conflict is published in the annual report to the General Assembly in the series Official Records of the General Assembly. Supplement no. 2, Report of the Security Council.

The Security Council's annual report (supplement) to the General Assembly have the following documentary symbol:

A/ General Assembly

-/ session number

2/ current number

Ex. A/68/2 General Assembly, 68th session, no 2 = Report of the Security Council (for the year 2012-2013)

The supplements can be retrieved through United Nations Digital Library.

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Last modified: 2023-03-20