31 May 2001

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Cohen,
 

On behalf of the Secretary-General I would like to acknowledge receipt of your letter, dated 14 April 2001.

Let me first express our deepest condolences that your daughter was one of the victims of this tragic event and to assure you that the Secretary-General is strongly committed to make every effort to assist in the process to the administration of justice in this case.

As to your criticism, I would like to bring to your attention the following.

In its resolution 1192 (1998) concerning the trial of the two persons accused with the bombing of Pan An flight 103 (the "Lockerbie trial") the Security Council invited the Secretary-General to nominate international observers to attend the trial. The purpose of this provision was to guarantee that international organizations with a long-standing interest in the Lockerbie case be given an opportunity to observe the trial. The International Progress Organization (IPO), which is in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, was identified as one of such organizations because it had submitted substantial evidence that it had actively followed the Lockerbie case since February 1992. Consequently, the IPO was invited to inform the Secretary-General whether it would be interested in having its representatives attend the trial as international observers.

The IPO informed the Secretary-General that it would like to be represented at the trial by Dr. Hans Koechler, Professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, President of the IPO, and Mr. Robert Thabit, Attorney at Law, USA, representative of the IPO at the United Nations.

Certain intergovernmental organizations were similarly approached. On 2nd April 2000, the Secretary-General informed the Security Council about the names of five international observers from four organizations (the European Union, the League of Arab States, the Organization or African Unity and the International Progress Organization) nominated to attend the Lockerbie trial indicating that all of them represent entities which had demonstrated a long-standing interest in the matter of Pan Am flight 103. No formal objections against Dr. Koechler and Mr. Thabit were raised at the time of their nomination and subsequently during the trial.

It should be clarified that international observers nominated by the Secretary-General pursuant to Security Council resolution 1192 (1998) did not represent the United Nations at the Lockerbie trial and were not required to produce and submit to the United Nations their observations. These observers represented their own organizations which were responsible for their expenses.

It follows from the foregoing that the United Nations cannot be associated with the observations made by these observers, as wrongly implied by some reports, and the United Nations Secretariat is not in a position to comment on these observations. It is worthy of note in this regard that when Dr. Koechler's remarks on the trial were received by the United Nations they were forwarded to the Registrar of the Scottish Court in the Netherlands under a cover letter indicating that these remarks constitute his personal views on the trial. Dr. Koechler was informed accordingly.

I hope that the above explanations, which clarify the role of the United Nations with regard to the international observers who attended the Lockerbie trial, address the concerns expressed in your letter.

Yours sincerely

(signed)
Hans Corell
Under-Secretary-General
for Legal Affairs
The Legal Counsel