Families of victims: solving fate of missing persons humanitarian rather than political issue

On Tuesday, February 13^th, 2018, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) presented to victims’ associations and representatives of the Commission on Missing Persons of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, its regional survey on the search for persons disappeared during the armed conflicts in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. This regional research was carried out during 2017 by Documenta – Center for Dealing with the Past (Zagreb), the „Kvart“Youth Center (Prijedor), the Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo (Prishtina), and the Humanitarian Law Center (Belgrade), and included the situation in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo.

25 years since the Kukurovići crime

Victims punished for unwillingness of State to prosecute those responsible for this crime

On February 18 2018, 25 years have passed since the Yugoslav Army (VJ)’s attack on the Sandžak village of Kukurovići. In this attack, almost the entire village was demolished, and three citizens of Bosniak nationality were killed. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) and the Sandžak Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (Sandžak Committee) would like to draw attention to the fact that even 25 years after this crime against civilians – citizens of Serbia, nobody has been found responsible, and the state of Serbia has not provided the victims with adequate recognition and reparations.

(srpski) Umjesto šutnje, jasno se suočiti sa zločinima iz prošlosti

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(srpski) Umesto pijeteta prema žrtvama vlasti Beograda i Prištine i dalje slave ratne zločince

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(srpski) Dijalog sa zločincem

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New EU enlargement strategy: reconciliation still prerequisite for membership

On Tuesday, 6^th of February 2018, the European Commission (EC) announced a package of strategic documents on the European Union (EU)-s enlargement perspective to the Western Balkan countries. These documents remind the Western Balkan countries that political, economic and administrative reforms are a prerequisite for membership in the EU, identify key issues and the expected results of reforms, and present ways of engaging EU institutions in providing the necessary political, financial and expert support. According to the EC, the path to membership for the Western Balkan countries is a realistic prospective option, but will require genuine political commitment, essential reforms and the resolution of all bilateral disagreements. If Serbia achieves this ambitious plan, it can become an EU member as early as 2025.

(srpski) Srbija: Porodice civilnih žrtava rata bez statusa i prava

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On behalf of the Coalition for RECOM: The Establishment of RECOM is an Indicator of the Political Maturity of the Leaders of Post-Yugoslav Countries

On January 27, 2018, in Sarajevo, the Coalition for RECOM held the VIII Assembly Session, and afterwards, on January 28 and 29, 2018, the Eleventh Forum for Transitional Justice in post-Yugoslav Countries.

The Assembly Delegates welcomed the willingness of most leaders of the post-Yugoslav countries to sign the Agreement on the Establishment of RECOM within the framework of the Berlin Process, at the upcoming London Summit in July 2018, thus activating Article 49 of the Draft Statute of RECOM on undertaking preparations for the establishment of the Commission (RECOM).

Natasa Kandic and the Humanitarian Law Center Nominate for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize

Helsinki Commission  Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker (MS) and Rep. Eliot Engel (NY-16), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today nominated Nataša Kandić and the Humanitarian Law Center for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize.

Ms. Kandić founded the Humanitarian Law Center (Fond za humanitarno pravo) in Belgrade in 1992 to document egregious human rights violations committed during the conflicts associated with the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. More than 25 years later, the Humanitarian Law Center continues to fight for justice for victims of war crimes and to battle the extreme nationalism and strained ethnic tensions that linger in the Western Balkans.

The full text of the nomination letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee can be found below:

Criminal complaint for rape of Roma women in 1993

On January 29, 2018, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) filed a criminal complaint with the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor (OWCP) against several unidentified members of the Secretariat of the Interior (SUP) of Beli Manastir, for the rape of six Roma women (including one pregnant woman and three minors) in the basement of the SUP Beli Manastir, in the summer of 1993.