The Outreach Programme is dedicated to communicating the work and relevance of the Tribunal to the public of the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Operating primarily in the Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS) and Albanian languages, the programme strives to make the Tribunal's activities transparent, accessible and intelligible to the communities in the region.

Through its four regional offices - in Sarajevo, Zagreb, Belgrade and Pristina - the Outreach Programme actively engages local legal communities, non-governmental organisations, media, educational institutions, victims' associations, women's groups, other professional bodies and the general public. The Outreach office in The Hague facilitates and supports the various activities happening in the region.

The Outreach Programme is the official representative of the Tribunal's Registry in the region of the former Yugoslavia. It aims to communicate to the people of the former Yugoslavia the importance of holding accountable individuals who violate international humanitarian law and the significance of rendering justice to victims. Outreach engages the regional media and legal community, supports local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and youth-based programs, works with international organizations and the diplomatic community, and speaks directly to victims and the general public.

Additionally, as part of the Tribunal's completion strategy, Outreach aids local judiciaries with the prosecution of domestic war crimes trials. This collaboration includes the distribution of key legal documents in BCS as well as the training and education of legal professionals through roundtables, seminars and conferences.

The Outreach Programme is generously supported by the European Union

The Outreach Programme also provides the Tribunal's Registry and Chambers with assessments of legal and political developments in the region that are relevant to the Tribunal's work, such as the development and reform of national justice systems.

Recognizing the importance of the its efforts in the region and role in implementing the Tribunal's completion strategy, the UN Security Council on 28 August 2003 called on the Tribunal to further develop and encourage its Outreach Programme.

In addition to responding to inquiries, Outreach endeavours to be pro-active in that it follows events in the region closely and responds to possible misperceptions and misrepresentations of the Tribunal's work by addressing these issues and providing accurate and timely information on relevant topics. Outreach officers provide information to the media and serve as Tribunal spokespersons in respective countries.

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