Posts Written By: hlcadmin

New Chief of Staff of the Army of the Republic of Serbia Has Tainted Past

Ample evidence – including that on which the ICTY verdict in Milutinovic et al  was founded; the statements of the survivors of the Drenica massacre, who either testified before the ICTY, or who have given statements to the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC); documents stored in the ICTY’s public database – all indicate that a number of serious and massive war crimes were committed against ethnic Albanian civilians in the then zone of responsibility of the newly appointed Chief of Staff of the Army of the Republic of Serbia, Lt. Gen. Ljubisa Dikovic, who at the time the crimes were committed was Commander of the 37^th Motorized Brigade of the Army of the FRY. During the NATO bombing, war crimes were committed by members of Yugoslav Army (VJ) forces and forces of the Ministry of the Interior (MUP). Although he was legally and professionally responsible for preventing the crimes, the commander of the 37^th Motorized Brigade failed to do so. To date, no members or commanders of the units that took part in the commission of the war crimes in Cirez/Qirez, Staro Cikatovo/ Çikatovё e Vjetёr, Baks, Vrbovac/Vërboc, and Glogovac/Gllogoc, where no less than 200 civilians were killed in four weeks, have been prosecuted.

“Ljubisa Dikovic” file

The Humanitarian Law Center announces the “Ljubiša Diković” File. The document contains facts relating to the actions of the former Commander of the 37th Motorized Brigade during the war, as well as ICTY exhibits pertaining to war crimes committed in the area of responsibility of the war commander Ljubiša Diković.

Law In Favour of the State and Against Citizens

“New provisions of the Civil Procedure Law (CPL) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), regress the legal regime of the Republic of Serbia into the authoritarian past, thus restricting citizens’ access to justice. By these provisions, the state becomes the most protected, and politicians and tycoons obtain a more privileged status compared to the citizens. These provisions also represent a threat for the media and the freedom of information”, Prof. Dr. Vesna Rakić-Vodinelić from the “Union” University Faculty of Law highlighted on January 23rd during the press conference regarding the initiative for assessing the constitutionality of the Civil Procedure Law held in the Belgrade “Media Centre”.

Oceniti ustavnost Zakona o parničnom postupku

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Apology

With regard to our wars and war crimes, the ones who apologize the most are the leaders of newly established states. As a rule, they apologize to the people, their own or the other people, during visits or some other important political events. These apologies are short-term and, therefore, they are remembered for a short time. This may be because there has not yet been a single politician who earned the trust of victims from the “enemy side” by his apology or praise from “his own people”. Nevertheless, some words, even though they do not express compassion or apology, remain in the memory. Words said by the President of Croatia, Josipović, on the occasion of marking the 20^th anniversary of the international recognition of the Republic of Croatia, had a significant impact on me; he said that Croatia is a better country today and it is due to the better relations between Serbs and Croats. This is the essence of the peace building, reconciliation, justice, and prevention of recurrence of crimes – this is how I see transition from repression and injustice towards the respect for human rights and victims. In the case of Serbia, without acknowledging Albanians, Bosniaks, and Croats, and their better treatment by Serbs – the ones sitting in the government and us “ordinary” people – there can be no better Serbia. This positive approach could help us in defining a “new opinion” about Kosovo.

Gostovanje Nataše Kandić u emisji “Gradska hronika” na VK radiju

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Auditor’s report on HLC financial report for the project “Human losses”

Auditor’s report of the Konsultant revizija audit house on HLC’s financial report for the project “Human losses: Establishing the fate of the killed and forcibly disappeared citizens of Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo in the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990’s” (here in after: “Human losses”). Report considers financial report for the period from January 1st, 2009 to June 30th, 2011. Project “Human losses” is financed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway.

Download report here.

Transkript Konferencije o materijalnim reparacijama

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Danas: Žrtve devedesetih teško do pravde

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Coalition for Access to Justice Demands Respect for Acquired Rights and Freedoms

The limitation of acquired level of human rights and freedoms by new laws is apparent and it becomes unbearable when it comes to the access to justice.
By passing the Civil Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Criminal Code, the state, especially the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, limits the access to justice for individuals, organizations, independent bodies, associations, and media.
These laws threaten free thought, critical speech, and free action by repression.