Government backs initiative to establish RECOM

Belgrade, July 6th, 2015 – Earlier today, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić met with representatives of the Coalition for RECOM, headed by the Initiative’s public advocates for the establishment of an intergovernmental commission – the Regional Commission to Establish all the Facts about War Crimes (RECOM).

The meeting was held to discuss the Serbian government’s support for the Initiative to establish the facts about war crimes and other gross human rights violations perpetrated during the wars in the former Yugoslavia.

The Prime Minister pointed out that determining the number of victims was necessary in order to achieve national reconciliation in the Western Balkans, and stressed that the Serbian government would support the establishment of a regional commission to determine the number of victims of the wars in the former Yugoslavia.

This extra-judicial body is to investigate all allegations of war crimes and other gross human rights violations in connection with the war.

The Coordinator of the RECOM Coalition, Nataša Kandić, pointed out that the establishment of RECOM served the interests of all post-Yugoslav societies and their political agendas, not just those of the victims – but, most of all, the interests of future generations.

“RECOM has the potential to contribute directly to the creation of a new culture of respect for all the people who lost their lives or disappeared during the wars in the former Yugoslavia”, Kandić emphasized.

“With the support of all the states of the former Yugoslavia and their governments”, she explained, “the Initiative will establish the names of each victim, rather than just their numbers, and collect data on specific detention sites, instead of haggling over the number of prisons or camps on each side – and will be using these facts for educational purposes, and to put in place safeguards against the repetition of crimes.”

Also taking part in the meeting were RECOM’s public advocates Zdravko Grebo, Žarko Puhovski, Dženana Karup-Druško and Adriatik Kelmendi.

Official press release by the Serbian government, July 6th, 2015