On behalf of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Registrar of Tribunal, Hans Holthuis, expresses his deep appreciation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland for contributing 1,000,000 Finnish Marks (around USD154,000) to the ICTY Outreach Programme.

A formal agreement regarding the contribution was signed today, Friday 16 February 2001, by Mr. Holthuis and H.E. Ambassador Pertti Harvola of the Embassy of Finland in The Netherlands.

The award, the second provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland to the ICTY Outreach Programme, greatly assists the Tribunal in its efforts to ensure that its activities remain transparent and accessible across the former Yugoslavia.

The Programme, which operates primarily in languages from the former Yugoslavia, aims to strengthen contacts between the Tribunal and communities in the region. To this end it has established regional ICTY Outreach offices in Sarajevo, Zagreb and Prishtina. It is hoped that, funding and circumstances permitting, a presence in Belgrade will be established later in the year.

The Programme operates on the understanding that the Tribunal works as an agency of justice and reconciliation in South East Europe, working in partnership with and for the benefit of citizens in the region to strengthen the rule of law.

The ICTY Outreach Programme is a United Nations Trust Fund and as such is entirely funded by voluntary contributions from States and institutions.

The Programme acknowledges the generous support received from the European Union; the Government of the United States of America; the Peace and Stability Fund of the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway; and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.