(srpski) Beograd istražuje Mehmetaja, Priština poziva da se ne putuje u Srbiju
Sorry, this entry is only available in srpski.
Sorry, this entry is only available in srpski.
Sorry, this entry is only available in srpski.
War criminals were celebrated, verdicts convicting Serbs were questioned and atrocities were denied, while Serbian prosecutors again failed in 2019 to indict any high-ranking suspects for crimes committed in the 1990s conflicts.On May 9, retired Yugoslav Army general Vladimir Lazarevic, a convicted war criminal, headed a World War II Victory Day parade through the streets of the southern Serbian city of Nis. The showpiece event was organised by Russian war veterans with the backing of the Serbian authorities.
Lazarevic’s prominent role in the parade highlighted how in 2019, Serbian officials continued their practice of celebrating war criminals as military heroes.
Sorry, this entry is only available in srpski.
On Monday, 23 December 2019, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) presented its fifth Report on the Implementation of the National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes (Report). Opening a discussion on the Report, Ivana Žanić, Executive Director of the HLC, said that the National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes (the National Strategy) had been adopted with the aim of improving war crimes prosecution in Serbia, but also of shifting society’s attitude towards dealing with the past i.e. with the crimes committed during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. Given that the National Strategy expires in 2020, continued Žanić, it cannot be said that it has accomplished its overall aim to date, since war crimes trials prosecution has not improved, nor has public perception regarding these themes changed.
The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) has been monitoring and providing support to war crimes trials ever since the first war crimes proceedings conducted in Serbia in 2002. The HLC is the only organization that has been continuously monitoring and analyzing war crimes trials in Serbia and informing the public at home and abroad about them. The HLC has been filing criminal complaints against suspected perpetrators with the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutors (OWCP), and it has also been identifying witnesses and victims and encouraging them to give evidence in court, and thus contribute to achieving justice for past crimes.
In 1991 and 1992, while conflict took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the international community was interested in allegations by the media and non-governmental organisations that sexual violence was frequently committed. As a result, certain domestic and international organisations, began investigating those media allegations, and the UN Security Council formed the Panel of Experts, with the aim of determining whether sexual violence was strategically used as a weapon of war. The report submitted by the Panel of Experts influenced the establishment of the ICTY in 1993 and the creation of a new legal framework dealing with sexual violence.
Around 20 people indicted for 1990s wartime crimes in Bosnia have died over the past five years, causing the cases to be halted, while ten more cases are at a standstill because the defendants are ill.
On Monday, December 23, 2019, at 12:00 the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) will present its Fifth Report on the Implementation of the National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes and the Policy Paper: Prosecution of Crimes of Sexual Violence during Armed Conflicts before the Courts of the Republic of Serbia. The presentation will take place in the Main Conference Hall of the Media Centre in Belgrade (Terazije 3, 2nd floor).
In February 2016, the Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted its first National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes 2016-2020 (National Strategy). The HLC reports on the implementation of the National Strategy, in order to offer its conclusions and research findings on the state of implementation of this Strategy.
The Fifth HLC Report on the Implementation of the National Strategy (Report) provides an overview of the implementation of activities in the period from 1 June 2019 to 1 December 2019, in eight areas covered by the National Strategy. The Report points to key deficiencies and identifies recommendations for improving the situation in these areas.
On this occasion, the HLC will also present its Policy Paper: Prosecution of Crimes of Sexual Violence during Armed Conflicts before the Courts of the Republic of Serbia, which analyses the national framework for prosecution of such crimes, giving recommendations for its improvement.
Speakers:
Simultaneous interpretation into English will be provided.