Destruction of Cultural Heritage Works to Destroy the Unity between Peoples

A multi-media narrative titled “Targeting History and Memory” was presented in Belgrade on Tuesday, November 29th, 2016. The Narrative was created by SENSE – Center for Transitional Justice from Pula in Croatia (SENSE), and the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) organized the Presentation in Belgrade. Approximately 50 representatives of non-governmental organizations, experts for the preservation of cultural legacy, researchers, scientists, journalists and various other experts attended the Presentation.

(srpski) Predstavljanje interaktivnog narativa „Zatiranje istorije i sećanja“

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Youth Activists From Serbia and Kosovo Visit HLC

A group of youth activists from Serbia and Kosovo visited the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) on November 15^th, 2016. They are visiting the relevant institutions and organizations in Serbia and Kosovo as part of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights programme „LinKS – Linking Kosovo and Serbia“, and in the process, looking at political and social aspects of the relations between the two countries and creating recommendations for the development of their mutual relations.

The HLC Outreach and Fundraising Director, Jelena Krstić, talked with the visitors about the long-lasting endeavours by the HLC to shed light on the importance of achieving justice for crimes committed during the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. In reference to this, she pointed to the lack of an official strategical framework for dealing with the past, insufficiently efficient prosecution of individuals responsible for the commission of war crimes, the neglect of victims’ right to reparation, and the apathetic position of the society as a whole in relation to the crimes committed. The youth activists were particularly intrigued by the wide-spread impunity for war crimes, and they also discussed the ways in which victims of human rights violations in Serbia can acquire compensation for damages and public acknowledgment, the position of the media with regard to the crimes, the engagement of institutions, and civil society initiatives for establishing the truth about the crimes and victims.

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Public’s Right to Know of War Crimes Trials in Serbia

The report by the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) analyzes how are the existing mechanisms for public access to trials for war crimes applied and recommends necessary changes in the legislative framework and practice.  

The public’s right to know about the war crimes trials, as a minimum, includes the right to access the courtroom where trials are held and documentation of war crimes cases (indictments, judgements, transcripts and audio/video records of main hearings); the right to record a trial for the purpose of public presentation and the right to keep court records from war crimes cases. Out of the stated rights, only the right to access the courtroom and monitor the trial is strictly adhered to in Serbia and, therefore, it is not specifically analyzed in the Report. The public’s right to access relevant documents from war crimes trials is limited in practice by the refusal of courts to deliver judgments from proceedings that are not final and by excessive anonymisation of data.  

The report is based on several years of practice of the HLC, that monitors national war crimes trials from the start, obtains relevant court documents and reports about them to the public.

The report “Public’s Right to Know of War Crimes Trials in Serbia” is available here.

(srpski) Poziv na predstavljanje zbornika radova – Analiza aktuelnih pitanja u postupcima za ratne zločine

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Serge Brammertz Visits HLC

The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Mr. Serge Brammertz, visited the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) on October 28th, 2016. On this occasion, he discussed with the representatives of the HLC the achievements in the prosecution of war crimes in Serbia, the cooperation of Serbia with the ICTY, and other endeavours aimed at establishing justice for crimes committed during the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s.

Human Rights Documentation Toolkit Launched

The website Human Rights Documentation (HRD) Toolkit, in the development of which the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) has participated, was launched on October 25, 2016, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. The Human Rights Documentation Toolkit is a multidisciplinary, interactive online portal providing human rights documenters with existing documentation resources and tools, broadly accepted practices, and ongoing support from other documentation stakeholders.

Students’ Visit To HLC

Students from the School for International Training – (SIT) visited the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) on Thursday, September 29^th, 2016. These students go to various universities in the United States, and they are staying in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo as part of the Peace Studies, the programme organized by the Center for Comparative Conflict Studies at the Faculty for Media and Communication.

Council of Europe Concerned for the Position of Civilian Victims of War in Serbia

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights addressed a letter on September 12th, 2016 to the Minister of Labour, Employment, Social and Veterans Affairs in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Aleksandar Vulin, in which he is seeking information about the measures taken by Serbia in order to fulfil the recommendations on comprehensive and just reparations for civilian victims of war, which the Commissioner expressed in his Report on the visit to Serbia in July 2015.

“Depth Two” awarded Best Balkan Documentary at DokuFest

The winners of 15^th edition of DokuFest were announced at the award ceremony held today at the Lumbardhi Cinema in Prizren, after the jury deliberation. 107 films ran for awards in six competitive categories, as well as the audience award.

The 9-day festival activities included the screening of 238 films representing 57 countries, workshops, panels, debates, masterclasses, exhibitions and a series of live acts under the DokuNights with world stars such as Om†ar Souleyman and Yasmine Hamdan performing. Prizren once again became a city fully immersed in the celebration of cinema and culture.

Balkan Documentary Competition Winner: “Depth Two” by Ognjen Glavonić.

Jury: Eric Hynes, Marek Septimus, Maria Bonsanti

Statement: For a film that we all found to be as cinematically accomplished as it is morally devastating, employing a language to fit its subject that combines audio witness with footage of tragically unpeopled landscapes, putting the viewer in a position of both historical reflection and present outrage, and providing a layered, emotional and intellectual engagement that we won’t soon forget, it is with deep admiration, gratitude and enthusiasm that we award Best Balkan Documentary to DEPTH TWO by Ognjen Glavonic.