“Who Can Erase the Traces?” The Role of Archives in the Promotion of Human Rights

A panel discussion on the role of archives in the protection and promotion of human rights was organized as part of the Central European University Summer course on the ‘Policy and Practice in Access to Digital Archives’ held in the period July 2nd-6th, 2012 in Budapest. Archivist Stana Tadić represented the Humanitarian Law Center at this gathering.  Other participants in the panel discussion were Gabrijela Gavran, the Manager of the War Crimes Database at the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Law, Gabriella Ivacs, Chief Archivist of the Open Society’s Archive in Budapest, Nikola Mokrović, an archivist from Documenta,Zagreb, and Alice Nemcova, an OSCE researcher-coordinator.


“Nikada nećemo zaboraviti Srebrenicu”

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Mayor of Lovas thanks HLC for support in Lovas case

The Mayor of Lovas, Mr. Stjepan Milas, has written to Natasa Kandic and the Humanitarian Law Center, expressing the gratitude of the Municipality of Lovas and that of the families of victims and survivors, for their support during the war crimes before the Higher Court in Belgrade – War Crimes Department, for crimes committed in Lovas.


Lovas case first-instance judgment demonstrates professionalism of Trial Panel

On June 26, 2012 the Trial Panel of the Higher Court in Belgrade – War Crimes Department, presided over by judge Olivera Andjelkovic, delivered its judgment on fourteen defendants, convicted for having ordered or carried out an attack on Croat civilians in the village of Lovas, in the Republic of Croatia, during October and November 1991. The fourteen were convicted for having committed crimes of inhuman treatment, torture, violation of bodily integrity (beating, wounding or causing serious bodily harm)  and murder, which resulted in the killing of 40 and the wounding of 11 Croat civilians.


Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor is Politically Influenced: The Case of Ethnic Albanians in Bujanovac

Five ethnic Albanian men, suspected by the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor, for the kidnapping and murder of Serb civilians during the internal conflict in South Serbia between 1999 and 2001, were released on May 9, 2012, following the suspension of legal activity against them. The HLC believes that the arrests, detention and their eventual release were politically motivated.


Beli Manastir verdict delivers incomplete justice

On June 19th, 2012, the trial chamber of the Higher Court in Belgrade – War Crimes Department, presided over by Judge Dragan Mirković, convicted four persons indicted for the commission of war crimes against Croat civilians in the Beli Manastir municipality between August 1991 and later the same year. Zoran Vukšić was sentenced to 20 years in prison Slobodan Strigić to 10 years, Bransko Hrnjak to 5 years and Velimir Bertić to 1 year and 6 months.


Studentas from New York University in HLC

A group of students and professors from the New York University Centre for Global Affairs Graduate Programme, visited the Humanitarian Law Center on Sunday, July 1st, 2012. Marijana Toma and Dušan Jovanović from the HLC presented the Kosovo Memory Book project, the RECOM Initiative, war crimes trials’ monitoring, and the Diković Dossier to the students. They also discussed the work of the HLC and public reactions to the results achieved by the HLC. They also discussed war crimes trials in Serbia, the witness and victim protection programme, the problems of ‘denial’ in all of the societies of the former Yugoslavia, and the RECOM consultative process.

Mediji o presudi za Lovas

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Reactions to the Judgment in the Lovas Case

Mirko Kovačić, a member of the Vukovar Mothers Association and himself a member of a victim’s family, stated that the failure of key witnesses and the army leadership in particular, to appear before the court had had a great impact on the final judgment. “The Army is in some way protected and nobody dares touch it,” he said. However, Kovačić noted that at least some satisfaction had been achieved; he added that it was important to talk about crimes and that this crime had not been neglected by the law. “Maybe this trial will prompt some other trials, and by some other trials, I primarily mean the crimes committed at Velepromet in Vukovar, which is still considered a taboo.”


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