Invitation to a book launch and a discussion

On October 5^th, on the occasion of the presentation of her new research published in the book “Some Kind of Justice – The ICTY’s Impact in Bosnia and Serbia”, the Humanitarian Law Center will host professor Diane Orentlicher.

Diane Orentlicher, Professor of International Law at American University, has been described by the Washington Diplomat as “one of the world’s leading authorities on human rights law and war crimes tribunals.” She has lectured and published widely on issues of transitional justice, international criminal law. Professor Orentlicher has served in various public positions, including as the Deputy for War Crimes Issues in the U.S. Department of State; United Nations Independent Expert on Combating Impunity, and Special Advisor to the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

In her new book, Professor Orentlicher offers a groundbreaking and timely account of how an international criminal tribunal affects local communities and the factors that account for its changing impact over time. Through an in-depth case study, „Some Kind of Justice“ offers fresh insights about two questions now the subject of robust debate: What goals can we plausibly assign to international criminal tribunals? What factors determine the impact of distant courts on societies that have seen vicious violence? The book explores the influence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, launched in 1993 by the UN Security Council at the height of ethnic conflict accompanying the breakup of Yugoslavia, in two countries directly affected by its work. One, Bosnia-Herzegovina, experienced soaring levels of ethnic violence, culminating in the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica. The wartime government of the other country, Serbia, plunged the region into conflict. Scheduled to close at the end of 2017, the ICTY is the longest-running war crimes tribunal in history, and thus offers an incomparably rich case study of how a Nuremberg-inspired tribunal influences societies emerging from ruinous violence.

This will be an opportunity to discuss how the ICTY also impacted other post-Yugoslav states. Our interlocutors will include:

• Hrvoje Klasić, Historian, University of Zagreb, Croatia
• Erna Mačkić, BIRN, BH
• Adriatik Kelmendi, journalist, Kosovo
• Nemanja Stjepanović, journalist, Serbia

The book presentation and a debate will take place on October 5^th 2018, at the Cultural Center „Parobrod“, starting at 7 p.m.

Invitation to the Exhibition “Besieged Sarajevo“

The “Besieged Sarajevo” Exhibition is the story of the life of the citizens during the siege of Sarajevo, and about the persistence, resourcefulness and creativity of the Sarajevans who lived 1,335 days without electricity, water or heating.  At the exhibition you can see how daily life in the city flowed, where and how Sarajevans procured food and water, how the markets and streets looked, how people communicated, how hospitals and schools operated, and how cultural life was fostered and developed… The story of the siege is told through photographs, documents and objects made by the citizens. This is a permanent exhibition of the History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Citizens of Sarajevo also participated in the process of its creation, donating war items to the Museum, and sharing their war stories and memories.

In cooperation with the History Museum of BiH, the Humanitarian Law Center will open the exhibition on September 25^th 2018 at the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Stari grad “Parobrod” in Belgrade (Kapetan Mišina 6a), starting at 7 p.m. Until October 6, 2018, several accompanying events will be organized as part of the exhibition, including:

Programme

27. IX at 5 p.m. Public lecture on the Siege of Sarajevo

• Nemanja Stjepanović

4. X at 6 p.m. Movie “The Siege”, Remy Ourdan

• A talk with the author and the citizens of Sarajevo
• (reserve your seat at: events@hlc-rdc.org)

5. X at 7 p.m. Book launch and discussion

“Some Kind of Justice – The ICTY’s Impact in Bosnia and Serbia”, Diane Orentlicher

Discussants:

• Diane Orentlicher, Washington College of Law, US
• Hrvoje Klasić, Historian, University of Zagreb, Croatia
• Erna Mačkić, Balkan Investigative Research Network, BH
• Adriatik Kelmendi, journalist, Kosovo
• Nemanja Stjepanović, journalist, Serbia

The entrance to the exhibition is free of charge. For any additional information please send an email to events@hlc-rdc.org or call (011) 3349-766.

The exhibition is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland to Serbia and to Montenegro, the Civil Rights Defenders, and the Heinrich Böll Foundation – Office in Belgrade

(srpski) Javni poziv za učešće u programu razmene Sarajevo-Beograd

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School of Transitional Justice: To know facts, not myths

On Monday, July 30, 2018, the Fifth National School of Transitional Justice organised by the Humanitarian Law Center completed its course. The School participants were 25 students of law, security, political science and history, activists from NGOs, journalists, law apprentices and history educators from Belgrade, Surdulica, Mladenovac, Smederevo, Ribarica, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Požarevac, Pančevo, Bor and Niš.

They acquired knowledge about the concept of transitional justice and its mechanisms, and its application in Serbia in the context of the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, and considered the case studies of Srebrenica, Kosovo, Vukovar, Oluja, Hrtkovci, Skočić, and Zvornik. Besides the opportunity to learn about the court-established facts regarding these crimes, the participants were also able to assimilate some of the facts from the victims’ perspective. In this manner, they had the opportunity to hear about the experiences of Suvada Selimovic, from the town of Djulići near Zvornik, and Zijo Ribić, from the town of Skočić near Zvornik, who talked about pre-war life in their villages with their neighbours, about the war events they witnessed, and their fight for truth and justice after the war ended. The agenda also included a visit to monuments in Belgrade which bear witness to the currently dominant ethnically-biased manner of remembering victims’ suffering during the wars in the former Yugoslavia.

HLC presented the Report on the Implementation of the National Strategy for War Crimes Prosecution and Policy Paper: Accounting for Missing Persons from the Armed Conflicts of the 1990s in the Former Yugoslavia

On Friday, July 27, 2018, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) presented its second Report on the Implementation of the National Strategy for War Crimes Prosecution. Opening the discussion on the report, Jelena Krstić from the HLC pointed to the fact that the problems that led to the adoption of the National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes are still current: a small number of indictments, the lack of criteria for prioritising cases, a slowdown in trials, an inadequate witness and victims protection system, as well as inefficient regional cooperation. At the same time, the precondition Serbia needs to fulfill in order to join the European Union (EU) is to make visible progress in the prosecution of war crimes before domestic courts. Bearing in mind the current dynamics of the trials, Serbia risks losing a historical opportunity to prosecute as many war crimes perpetrators as possible. Namely, as time goes by, victims, witnesses and perpetrators are coming closer to the moment of death, and their memories are becoming more and more unstable; everyday socio-economic problems are taking precedence over concerns regarding events that occurred several decades ago, and the perspective of the future is becoming more and more important in relation to the need to solve the heritage of the past. Krstić concluded that for a more effective processing of war crimes the political determination of the institutions of Serbia is crucial, but that strong support and encouragement by the EU is also still needed.

(srpski) Javni čas o Operaciji „Oluja“

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ANNOUNCEMENT: Presentation of the Second Report on the Implementation of the National War Crimes Prosecution Strategy and the Policy Paper: Accounting for Missing Persons from the Armed Conflicts of the 1990s in the Former Yugoslavia

On Friday, 27 July 2018, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) will present the “Second Report on the Implementation of the National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes” and the “Policy Paper: Accounting for Missing Persons from the Armed Conflicts of the 1990s in the Former Yugoslavia”. The presentation will take place at 11:00 in the Great Hall of the Media Centre (Terazije 3, 2^nd Floor).

On 20 February 2016, the Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted the first National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes 2016-2020. The HLC has been monitoring the implementation of the National Strategy since its adoption, in order to offer its independent assessment of and findings on the state of implementation of the National Strategy. The initial HLC report on the implementation of the National Strategy was released in December 2017.The second HLC report on the implementation of the National Strategy (Report) provides an overview of the implementation of activities in the period from 1 December 2017 to 01 June 2018, in eight areas covered by the National Strategy. The report points to key deficiencies and identifies recommendations for improving the situation in these areas.

The HLC will also present its “Policy Paper: Accounting for Missing Persons from the Armed Conflicts of the 1990s in the Former Yugoslavia”, which provides an overview of the current results and of the challenges that have arisen in the process of searching for persons who went missing during armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, and proposes recommendations for improving efficiency in this area.

Speakers:

• Jelena Krstic, Humanitarian Law Center
• Višnja Šijačić, Humanitarian Law Center
• Gordana Đikanović, journalist from Pristina, member of the Association of the Families of Kosovo and Metohija Victims
• Matthew Holliday, International Commission on Missing Persons (TBC)

Simultaneous interpretation into English will be provided.

(srpski) Javni čas o sudski utvrđenim činjenicama o genocidu u Srebrenici

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The Negative Impact the Court of Appeal Judgment in the Skočić Case will Have on War Crimes Trials in Serbia

With regard to the judgment rendered by the Court of Appeal in Belgrade in the case of the crime committed in July 1992 in the town of Skočić near Zvornik, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) held a press conference on July 6^th, 2018. When deciding upon the appeal, the Court of Appeal in Belgrade upheld the acquittal of members of the „Sima’s Chetniks“ unit for the destruction of a mosque and murder of 27 Roma civilians committed in the village of Skočić in July 1992, but modified the judgment in the case of the accused Zoran Alić, Zoran Đurđević and Tomislav Gavrić, finding them guilty of inhumane treatment, violation of physical integrity, sexual humiliation and rape of protected witnesses.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Press Conference regarding the Decision of the Court of Appeals in the Skočić Case

On June 26, 2018, the Belgrade Court of Appeals issued a verdict confirming the acquittal of members of the “Sima’s Chetniks” unit for the demolition of the mosque and killing of 27 Roma civilians in the village of Skočić (Zvornik, BiH) in July 1992, whilst in relation to the accused Zoran Alić, Zoran Đurđević and Tomislav Gavrić, the Court changed the previous verdict, and sentenced them to prison for rape and inhuman treatment of the three injured parties, protected witnesses.