EP: Serbia to end impunity and take responsibility for war crimes

On June 14th 2017, after several months of delay, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a Resolution on the European Commission 2016 Report on Serbia. The Report presents a regular annual review of the progress of Serbia towards fulfilling the criteria for accession to the European Union, and it relies on the annual report of the European Commission on Serbia. The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) urged Serbia to strengthen cooperation with neighbouring countries and encourage good neighbourly relations, as well as to invest greater effort in resolving bilateral issues. In terms of war crimes, Serbia is expected to eliminate impunity, accept responsibility and take very concrete steps towards overcoming the legacy of the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

European Commission: Serbia is slowly meeting the criteria for EU membership

In June 2017, the European Commission (EC) published its second semi-annual overview of the state of play as regards meeting the criteria for Serbia’s accession to the European Union (EU), as defined in Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights). In accordance with the EU General Position on Accession Negotiations with the Republic of Serbia, the interim benchmarks for Chapters 23 have been established, and when it comes to war crimes, a number of measures are envisaged that will enable the EU recommendations for more effective domestic trials to be addressed in an adequate manner. The measures of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the implementation of these recommendations are defined in the Action Plan for Chapter 23, and this semi-annual report shows whether and how much progress Serbia has made in their implementation. The EC has concluded that, despite the fact that more than a year has passed since the adoption of the Action Plan for Chapter 23 (adopted at the end of April 2016), implementation is still in many cases at an early or very early stage.

(srpski) Šta hoće taj Bramerc?

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Campaign for the establishment of RECOM under the auspices of the Berlin Process

In May 2017, in the course of just a few days, 50,000 citizens of Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Pristina, Zagreb, Belgrade, Nis, Presevo, Novi Sad, Zrenjanin, Subotica and Novi Pazar signed the petition calling on the leaders of post-Yugoslav states to conclude an official agreement to establish RECOM as part of the Berlin Process. The aim of the campaign was to inform the public about the obligations of states and political leaders in the region undertaken in the official declarations signed at the Summit of Western Balkan Leaders in Berlin (2014), Vienna (2015) and Paris (2015), calling for “concrete steps to be taken by Western Balkan leaders towards lasting reconciliation in the region.”

(srpski) Stanišiću i Simatoviću suđenje od početka u Hagu

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(srpski) Dekonstruisanje laži o ratnim stradanjima

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Serbian authorities urged to abandon revision of history and denial of court-established facts

The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Serge Brammertz, in his regular six-month address to the UN Security Council on 7 June 2017, presented a report in which he warned of a growing trend of denial and revisionism of court- established facts in Serbia and  the entire region, as well as of the burning issue of the slowdown in the process of war crimes trials before Serbian courts, and the difficulties of regional cooperation between specialized prosecution offices. At the same session of the UN Security Council, the Serbian representative Čedomir Backović rejected any words of criticism and opposed Brammertz’s substantive objections by presenting the supposed statistical successes of the Serbian government that he represents. The signatories to this appeal demand that the Serbian authorities consider carefully the objections addressed to Serbia during the UN Security Council session, and deal with problems that have in recent years resulted in the growth of nationalism in society and a drastic deterioration in relations with the countries of the region.

Serbia refuses to apply provisions of Protocol I additional to the Geneva Conventions

8th of June 2017 marks the 40th anniversary of the adoption of Protocol I additional to the Geneva Conventions, which prescribes the responsibility of a commander to prevent the commission of crimes and punish the perpetrators.

Article 87, paragraph 3 of the Protocol: „The High Contracting Parties and Parties to the conflict shall require any commander who is aware that subordinates or other persons under his control are going to commit or have committed a breach of the Conventions or of this Protocol, to initiate such steps as are necessary to prevent such violations of the Conventions or this Protocol, and, where appropriate, to initiate disciplinary or penal action against violators thereof.” Protocol I had been incorporated into national military legislation already back in 1988. Although there is legal basis, no one has ever been prosecuted for command responsibility in Serbia for crimes committed during the wars in the former Yugoslavia.

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed a number of criminal complaints against commanders in whose areas of responsibility crimes had been committed. Apart from opening an investigation in the case of Dragan Živanović, HLC’s criminal complaints have been ignored. Not a single high-ranking person has been prosecuted by the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor of Serbia in 13 years since the beginning of its work.

The fifteenth issue of the Bulletin “through ACCESSION towards JUSTICE”

In the new issue of the through ACCSESSION towards JUSTICE Bulletin, Attorney at Law Mr. Mihailo Pavlović, discusses a new attempt by Serbia to legally regulate the provision of free legal assistance. Free legal assistance represents more than a required obligation for harmonization with EU Acquis, but also an obligation towards society’s vulnerable citizens, who would be the greatest beneficiaries of this assistance: a number of which include victims of war crimes.

The News section highlights current developments in the areas of transitional justice and Serbia’s EU integration process, and the War Crimes Trials section offers an overview of recently held trials and rulings delivered.

Send us your opinions and comments on the newsletter and/or the topics discussed to the e-mail address towardsJUSTICE@hlc-rdc.org. Discussion is also welcome on Twitter/#towardsJUSTICE.

Download your copy of the bulletin here.

(srpski) Dan bijelih traka: Prijedor ne odobrava spomenik ubijenoj djeci

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