April 10, 2010 - Naharnet - STL Acting Registrar to Visit Beirut April 12

The Acting Registrar of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Herman von Hebel, will be traveling to Beirut on April 12 for a week-long visit during which he will be meeting some of Lebanon's senior political and judicial officials.
This will be his first visit to Lebanon since assuming his position as Acting Registrar.

During the visit, Von Hebel will meet with President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri in addition to other representatives of the Lebanese government.

The Acting Registrar will also host an outreach event with experts and members of civil society and meet with staff members of the STL Beirut Office.

The visit aims at thanking the Lebanese government "for the valuable assistance that it has provided to the Tribunal and to further strengthen relations with Lebanese authorities in order to advance the work of the Registry, an independent and neutral organ of the Tribunal," according to a statement released by STL's press office.

It also aims at highlighting "the achievements and priorities of the Registry, mainly, ensuring the effective protection of victims and witnesses; establishing a victim's participation unit, and enhancing the outreach activities of the Tribunal."

Von Hebel was appointed as Acting Registrar by the U.N. Secretary General on March 1, 2010. He had been Deputy Registrar at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon since 2009 and previously served as Registrar and Deputy Registrar of the Special Court of Sierra Leone.