A state that does not care for war victims

At the end of February 2014, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) was informed that the Ombudsman, the Office for Human and Minority Rights of the Government of Serbia (Office for Human Rights) and the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality (Commissioner) had given up on the initiative for the passing of the new Law on Civilian Victims of War, which would acknowledge the rights of all the citizens of Serbia who have been victims of war crimes and other serious violations of human rights related to the wars of the 1990s. The HLC points out that denying the status of civilian victims to numerous categories has all the characteristics of a systematic violation of human rights, and further, that the state’s treatment of these individuals is unprecedented in the former Yugoslav region.

(srpski) Godišnjica zločina u Štrpcima

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Bulletin through ACCESSION towards JUSTICE

The HLC has launched a number of activities by which it seeks to advance the process of dealing with past crimes in the context of the EU integration. Given the fact that the processes of dealing with the past have been pushed aside for years by Serbian institutions, the upcoming EU accession process represents a unique opportunity for putting the issue of the responsibility for war crimes on the agenda and incorporating transitional justice standards in the legal and institutional framework of the Republic of Serbia.

The newsletter wishes to underline how important it is for a country aspiring to join the community of European nations, but also for the EU itself, to initiate the process of dealing with the past. History has shown that unresolved issues of the past are always present, hampering the functioning of a political system, be it a state or a community of states.  Therefore, both the Republic of Serbia and the EU Members States have an obligation to secure a stable political and legal system for their citizens, a system governed by the rule of law, which will guarantee the protection of and respects for human rights of its citizens.

You can send us your comments on the newsletter at:  towardsJUSTICE@hlc-rdc.org and join the discussion at Twitter/#towardsJUSTICE.

Download first issue of the newsletter here.

Visit by SIT students

On Wednesday, 26th February 2014, a group of students at the School for International Training (SIT) paid a visit to the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC). The students, who attend various universities in the United States, will spend 15 weeks in Serbia at the Faculty of Media and Communications Center for Comparative Conflict Studies, under the SIT’s Peace and Conflict Studies Program.

Bosnia to Map Wartime Detention Camp Locations

A new project aims to create a comprehensive database of all the prison camps and other wartime detention facilities across the country over the next five years.

Štrpci – 21 years without justice and recognition

On Thursday, 27th February 2014, it will be twenty-one years since the crime at Štrpci (BiH), where members of the Army of the Republic of Srpska (VRS) abducted 19 Bosniak civilians – citizens of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia – from a train travelling from Belgrade to Bar and subsequently killed them. Women in Black, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights and the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) reiterate that the responsibility for this crime lies with the institutions of the Republic of Serbia and condemn their present-day shameful treatment of victims of this crime by refusing to recognize them as civilian victims of war.

(srpski) “Procesuirati komandante za zločine na Kosovu”

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Dispatches: In Kosovo, Justice Welcome But Incomplete

In war crimes investigations, it is unusual to get a name.  Victims and witnesses usually cannot distinguish between various forces – police, special police, special forces – let alone a unit.  An individual’s identity is the rarest of all.

(srpski) „Šakali“ su bili deo Vojske Jugoslavije

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Untruths spoken by President of Republic of Srpska about Humanitarian Law Center

We are appalled at the utterly irresponsible statement the President of the Republic of Srpska made during the programme entitled Interview, broadcast on 12 February 2014 on the Radio-Television of Republika Srpska, suggesting that the Humanitarian Law Center is providing financial support to the current protests in Bosnia. We insist that this is a blatant untruth and a dishonorable attempt to deceive the general public in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire region.