Arusha — Rwanda's ambassador to the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda(ICTR) said his country is "very much willing to negotiate about the death penalty for the cases to be transferred in order to conform with the UN standards.

The ambassador, Alloys Mutabingwa told Hirondelle News Agency during an interview Monday evening that one of the UN requirements for cases to be transferred to national jurisdictions is that, "the countries do not apply the death penalty in the cases of those transferred to them."

He said, "Rwanda has the death sentence which is seen as the highest sentence today but we are willing to negotiate it for the cases which will be transferred from ICTR."

He stated that Rwanda was willing to replace the death penalty with "life imprisonment" as the maximum sentence for the 45 cases which will be transferred to Rwanda if they are found guilty.

The representative continued to say that the genocide suspects of the tribunal "will be treated equally with other detained persons in Rwanda whom he said were always talking to the media about how well they are being treated." He expressed that "the tribunal's suspects were lucky because they came with blessings of the UN standards."

The ambassador further informed Hirondelle that a memorandum of understanding will be signed between the tribunal and his country at the end of this year to allow Rwanda to have some trials transferred as well as convicts serving sentences there.

Regarding the convicts, Mutabingwa mentioned that a UN delegation went to Mpanga prison in Nyanza Butare province in South Rwanda on May 24, 2004 and found that "Rwanda conformed to 17 out of 20 requirements set out by the tribunal. The delegation went to investigate whether they would conform to the set standards."

He said out of the 20 requirements outlined by the tribunal, Rwanda "will probably need support in capacity building of the justice system so as to enable the country to take up more cases and assistance with the upkeep and maintenance of ICTR prisoners". He mentioned that "We will need a boost to clothe them, give them food and so on"

At the moment UNICTR detainees living at the United Nations Detention Facility(UNDF)in Arusha occupy a cubicle each to themselves, "they are given one suit a month including a pair of shoes, medication and quality diet" He disclosed.

The Rwandan envoy said his country "can provide uniforms, and normal hygiene for them but we wouldn't mind if this is funded for the ICTR convicts who will serve sentence in Rwanda."

Some of the international standards minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners to be met by potential states of enforcement of ICTR sentences state that "there should be one living room for all prisoners with a TV and that, "there shall be a kitchen, which is provided with a fridge, cooker, basin and cup board"