Online screening of the documentary The Prosecutors

Online screening of the documentary The Prosecutors

prosecutorsVictims dismissed as “collateral damage”. Survivors silenced. Criminals left unpunished. This is the history of sexual violence in conflict that lawyers are trying to change.

“Rape and pillage” are concepts as old as war itself. Certainly, war carries with it the idea of gathering the spoils found by those who stand victorious on the battlefield. But sexual violence is a war crime, not collateral damage, and it must be confronted. However, the risks and sacrifices involved in ensuring that the legal system provides justice for everyone run deep.

The Prosecutors is a feature length documentary that tells the story of three dedicated lawyers who fight to ensure that rape in war is not met with impunity. Filmed over five years on three continents, it takes viewers from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Bosnia and Herzegovina to Colombia on the long journey towards justice.

You can watch the thirty-minute version of the film for free from April 26 to May 9. After registration you will get the link and code which are needed to access the movie.

Registration is available here.

Share

The March violence in Kosovo – a reminder of the facts

The March violence in Kosovo – a reminder of the facts

17.mart-enThe retreat of the Serbian army and police from Kosovo in June 1999 meant liberation for Kosovo Albanians from Serbian rule and repression, and for Kosovo Serbs it meant the beginning of a new reality marked by the unwillingness and inability of UNMIK and KFOR to protect the personal safety of Serbs, Montenegrins, Bosniaks and Roma people, but also by the prevailing conviction of Kosovo politicians and the public that the priority is independence, followed by solidarity with the Serbs who stayed in Kosovo.[1]

The post-war reality was not easy for Kosovo Albanians either; much of their expectations of liberation came under pressure from the difficult economic situation and faintly observable justice for the thousands of civilians killed and a large number of missing. The then-new government of the Republic of Serbia made a step forward by discovering mass graves in Serbia, but the right-wing political parties, that were part of the government, managed to marginalize the question of the responsibility of the Yugoslav Army and Ministry of Interior for war crimes and influence Kosovo Serbs not to take participation in building a new political system in Kosovo. The killings and disappearances of Serbs and Roma, frequent until the end of 2000, would take place in the presence of KFOR and UNMIK, leading both the remaining Serbs and most of the Albanians to a conclusion that post-war perpetrators had the tacit consent of the international community to create Kosovo without Serbs.[2]

 

Share

Report „The right to reparation in compensation lawsuits: the practice of Serbian courts 2017-2020“

Report „The right to reparation in compensation lawsuits: the practice of Serbian courts 2017-2020“

Izvestaj-reparacije-en

In March 12th, 2021 the Humanitarian Law Center presented the report „The right to reparation in compensation lawsuits: the practice of Serbian courts 2017-2020“.

This report covers the analysis of cases which were active in the period between 2017 and 2020. Since the duration of most of these cases is longer than three years, for the ease of following the course of the proceedings, this report gives a brief overview of the course of the proceedings even before 2017.

The report is divided into three parts. First part analyzes the legal framework that regulates the victims’ right to reparation in Serbia. Second part analyzes individual cases where the HLC represented the victims, while third part deals with the main problems that the HLC has identified in its work as key obstacles hindering the victims from vindicating their reparation claims.

The report is available on this link

Share

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: The presentation of the report “The right to reparation in compensation lawsuits – the practice of Serbian courts 2017-2020”

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: The presentation of the report “The right to reparation in compensation lawsuits – the practice of Serbian courts 2017-2020”

Izvestaj-reparacije-enOn Friday, March 12, 2021, at 11 AM, via the Zoom platform, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) will present the report “The right to reparation in compensation lawsuits – the practice of Serbian courts 2017-2020”.
This report analyses the course of the litigation proceedings that were active in the period between 2017 and 2020. However, since most of these proceedings have lasted for more than three years, for the ease of following the course of the cases, this report gives a brief overview of the proceedings even before 2017.

This report is divided into three parts. The first part analyses the legal framework that regulates the victims’ right to reparation in Serbia. The second part analyses individual cases in which the HLC represented the victims, while the third part refers to the main problems identified by the HLC as the key obstacles hindering the victims from vindicating their reparation claims before domestic courts.


Share