| Date | Activity/Event | Stakeholders |
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December, various cities, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
ICTY/FAQs for war crimes TV series |
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The Sarajevo Outreach representative played a key role in the production of 18 two-minute info video clips based on answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the ICTY, which were screened on TV stations in BiH as part of an 18-part television series on war crimes. The ICTY Outreach Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina conceived the FAQs and filmed them with the independent Sarajevo-based production company XY Films. Following eight FAQs filmed earlier, the last ten FAQs were done on the following topics: Sentencing, Plea agreements, Rights of the accused, Presumption of innocence / Beyond reasonable doubt, Why were some perpetrators indicted and others were not, Arrest of fugitives, Victims and witnesses, Purpose of trials at the ICTY, Length of detention and trials, and The ICTY Outreach Programme. The video production was organised by ICTY and the Sarajevo-based production company XY Films |
> general public in BiH |
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9 and 10 December, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Outreach representative gives lecture to political science students |
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The American Bar Association Central East European Law Initiative (ABA CEELI) held a moot court event on Human Rights Day. Twenty-four law and political science students participated in the event in which they assumed the roles of Judge, Prosecutor, Defence, Accused, and Witnesses and tried a war crimes case in the court rooms of the Belgrade District Court. Prior to the event, the ICTY Outreach representative in SCG and Svetislav Rabrenović from the National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY, lectured the students on 9 December on the ICTY court procedures including examining and cross-examining witnesses and giving opening and closing statements. The events were organised in partnership between the American Bar Association Central East European Law Initiative, the ICTY Outreach office in SCG and the Serbian National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY |
> 24 Serbian law and political science students |
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8 December, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Chief Prosecutor Speaks to Youth in Belgrade |
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The Youth Initiative for Human Rights held a conference to mark Human Rights Day. Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte was the guest of honour at the event, speaking to young people from SCG and Kosovo, and handing out diplomas to the Youth Initiative’s group of ten Justice Advocates. The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG moderated the discussion in the previous session at which the Serbian Chief Prosecutor Vladimir Vukčević spoke as well as the head of the Yugoslav Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Biljana Kovačević-Vučo, Deputy Head of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights Dragan Popović and Vesna Rakić-Vodinelić, head of the Center for Advancement of Legal Studies. Dutch Ambassador Barend van der Heijden opened the conference. The event was organised by Youth Initiative for Human Rights |
> civil society representatives, Youth Initiative’s group of ten Justice Advocates, youth activists, media representatives |
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5 December, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Discussion on the TV Hayat |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina appeared live in an hour-long one-to-one studio discussion on TV Hayat’s satellite programme. He gave an overview on the achievements of the ICTY in 2005 and answered a host of live questions from viewers living in Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and elsewhere. The event was organised by TV Hayat |
> general public in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bosnian Diaspora |
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4 December, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Meeting with Grabovica victim association |
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The ICTY Outreach Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina met with Josip Drežnjak and Ante Marić of the “Grabovica 93” association to discuss with them the acquittal of Sefer Halilović on 16 November, following media reports in which the association had expressed dissatisfaction at the judgement. The Outreach representative provided them copies of some of the exhibits presented at the trial, as well as a hard copy of the judgement. The event was organised by the ICTY and Grabovica 93” Association |
> 2 representatives of “Grabovica 93” victim association |
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3 December, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Training workshops |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina gave a presentation at an internal training workshop of the Bosnia and Herzegovina State Court’s Court Management Section. He gave an overview on the ICTY and more detailed description of the ICTY court management section. The event was organised by the ICTY and the Bosnia and Herzegovina State Court |
> Bosnia and Herzegovina State Court’s Court Management Section Staff |
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2 December, Novi Pazar, Serbia and Montenegro |
The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG Speaks to Citizens of Novi Pazar |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in Serbia spoke at a public panel discusion organised in Novi Pazar by the SCG Ministry of Human and Minority with financial support of the Council of Europe. |
> around 50 civil society representatives and activists from Novi Pazar area, local media representatives |
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28 November – 2 December, The Hague |
Youth Initiative Justice Advocates Visit The Hague |
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Belgrade-based NGO Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) brought its recently trained justice advocates to The Hague. Twelve young people from SCG, who are the YIHR’s first group of justice advocates, as well as a number of YIHR staff, held meetings with Tribunal staff and attended court proceedings. The workshop was held the last day of their visit and all the justice advocates gave presentations and answered questions on the Tribunal’s work. The justice advocates were in this way prepared to hold workshops, public panel discussions and other public events across SCG to talk about the Tribunal’s work and the importance of justice for victims. The event was organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights |
> 12 young people from SCG, YIHR’s first group of justice advocates, YIHR staff |
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October/November, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Outreach publishes articles in War Crimes Journal |
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The Outreach published two articles in new journal on war crimes issues, called Justice in Transition. The Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office produced the journal, which was to be distributed to SCG government officials and the judiciary, the diplomatic community and international organisations, and the NGO and academic community. In October Outreach published an article on the facts the Tribunal established on the crimes committed in Srebrenica by referring to the judgements in the case against Radislav Krstić, Dragan Obrenović, Momir Nikolić and Dražen Erdemović. The Outreach representative attended the press conference announcing the journal’s publication on 21 October. In November the article focused on the Tribunal’s work investigating and trying crimes committed in Foča: Facts about Srebrenica This event was organised by the Justice in Transition journal |
> SCG government officials and the judiciary, the diplomatic community and international organizations, and the NGO and academic community. |
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November, Vareš, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Documents on Rajić plea agreement provided to Vareš victims' association |
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Following the 26 October guilty plea by Ivica Rajić, the ICTY Outreach representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina engaged in communication with the Vareš-based Association of Former Camp Detainees 23 October, which includes some victims of the crimes that Rajić pled guilty to. In coordination with the OTP, the Sarajevo Outreach office mailed to the Association a comprehensive collection of documents in BCS, including copies of the guilty plea, factual basis with annexes, amended indictment and relevant parts of the indictment in the Prlić et al. case. One goal of the communication was to counter some of the misperceptions and negative public reactions from victims to the media reports about the guilty plea. The event was organised by the ICTY |
> former detainees in camp 23 October |
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November, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
ICTY donation to Mothers of Srebrenica and Žepa enclaves |
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A donation of 10 written-off desktop computers from the ICTY was delivered to the Mothers of Srebrenica and Žepa enclaves, a high-profile Sarajevo-based victim association. On the back of this donation the Sarajevo Outreach office is planning contacts with Bosniak, Serb and Croat victim groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to ensure that all interested associations are given an opportunity to apply for donations of written-off equipment. This event was organised by the ICTY Outreach office in Bosnia and Herzegovina |
> NGO Mothers of Srebrenica and Žepa enclaves |
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30 November, Zagreb, Croatia |
Meeting of NGOs monitoring local war crime trials |
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The fourth meeting of Croatian NGOs dealing with war crime issues was held on 30 November. NGOs monitoring local war crime trials presented their annual report on war crime trials monitored in Croatia in 2005 containing key findings and recommendations. The report was quite extensive and identified a number of problems. The Deputy Chief State Prosecutor also attended the meeting, in addition to representatives of the OSCE, Judicial Academy, Centre for Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture etc. This event was organised by the Zagreb-based Human Rights Centre and Documenta |
> Deputy Chief State Prosecutor, the representatives of OSCE, Judicial Academy, Centre for Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture, representatives of NGOs dealing with the war crimes issues |
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17-18 November, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
The ICTY Outreach representative briefs top Bosnian journalists on ways to research ICTY developments |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina spoke at a conference titled Ten Years after Dayton – media reporting on war crimes. The event gathered 20 top editors and journalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina plus a few guests from Croatia and SCG. The aim of the presentation was to illustrate how existing public sources can be effectively utilised to make use of the wealth of information presented in proceedings before the Tribunal. The event was organised by the Sarajevo Mediacentar |
> 20 senior editors and journalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina , and a few media representatives from Croatia and SCG |
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16 November, Stockholm, Sweden |
Presentation of the ICTY Outreach at Swedish human rights gathering |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina gave a presentation on the work of the ICTY Outreach Programme in Stockholm at MR-dagarna, the annual Swedish human rights day. The presentation focused on the series of community events titled Bridging the Gap between the ICTY and the Communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and it was part of a two-hour seminar on Reconciliation and Justice in the Balkans, organised by the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights. The Swedish Helsinki Committee has an office in Belgrade and is very active in projects related to transitional justice. This event was organised by the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights |
> Human rights NGO representatives |
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10-11 November, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
President visits Belgrade |
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Out-going President Theodor Meron visited Belgrade and held meetings with SCG Justice Minister Zoran Stojković, Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica, Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Head of the National Council for Cooperation with the Tribunal Rasim Ljajić, Minister of Defence Zoran Stanković, and US Ambassador Michael Polt. President Meron addressed the media following his meeting with Prime Minister Koštunica. All Serbian media carried his statement on the importance of arresting ICTY indictee Ratko Mladić, and that the crimes he has been charged with stand in stark contrast to the heroic traditions of the Serbian people in fighting Nazism during World War II. This visit was organised by the ICTY |
> Zoran Stojković, Vojislav Koštunica, Rasim Ljajić, Zoran Stanković, Michael Polt, general public in SCG |
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10 November, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Transitional justice event in Sarajevo |
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The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) organised a one-day stock-taking conference titled In Pursuit of Justice – an Overview of Progress in the Transitional Justice System of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte was unable to attend, so Chief of Investigations Patrick Lopez-Terres gave the keynote speech. The Sarajevo Outreach office provided the ICTY fact sheets as well as hard copies of the Prosecutor’s speech to the conference audience. The event concluded a year-long BIRN project which has among other things included training for journalists on war crimes reporting and presentations for the Bosnia and Herzegovina civil society on the Bosnia and Herzegovina War Crimes Chamber. ICTY Outreach has provided significant input to the project during the year. This event was organised by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) |
> about 150 victim representatives, politicians, lawyers and academics from Bosnia and Herzegovina, international monitors |
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2 November, The Hague |
Students from all over the former Yugoslavia visit ICTY |
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The ICTY Outreach programme welcomed a group of the students of journalism and political science from all over the former Yugoslavia. This one day visit included presentations by senior officials from Outreach, OTP, Defence and SENSE news agency and attendance at the Tribunal’s press briefing and court sessions. The event was organised by the Forum for European Journalism Students (FEJS), Sarajevo |
> 74 students of journalism and political science from Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia |
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27 October, Vranje, Serbia and Montenegro |
Youth Initiative Public Debate in Vranje |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG participated in a public debate on the Tribunal’s work in the southern Serbian town of Vranje which was organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR). The Outreach representative spoke to reporters and NGO representatives from Vranje, Leskovac and the surrounding area on the Tribunal’s cases against its most wanted: Ante Gotovina, Ratko Mladić, and Radovan Karadžić. YIHR’s Program Director, Radovan Kupres, also addressed the gathering on his organisation’s work. This event was organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights |
> media and NGO representatives from Vranje, Leskovac and surrounding area |
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14-15 October, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Youth Initiative justice advocates Seminar on the ICTY |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG participated in a seminar within the Youth Initiative for Human Rights’ project to train a group of young people to speak about the Tribunal’s work, local war crimes courts and the importance of providing justice for victims. The Outreach representative listened to the group of 10 justice advocates make presentations on the Tribunal’s work in a range of cases including those that relate to crimes committed in Prijedor, Foča and Kosovo. The justice advocates all demonstrated exceptional ability in researching and presenting the Tribunal’s work. This event was organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights |
> Youth Initiative’s group of ten justice advocates |
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12-14 October, The Hague |
OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina visits the ICTY |
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The Head of the OSCE Trial Monitoring Team in Bosnia and Herzegovina visited the ICTY. This one-day programme included meetings with representatives from Chambers and Registry. This event was organised by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina |
> Head of the OSCE Trial Monitoring Team in Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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12 October, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG briefs Bosnian journalists |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in Serbia briefed Bosnian journalists on the perception of the Tribunal in the Serbian media and the Tribunal’s relationship to local courts. The US Embassy in Belgrade in cooperation with the US Embassy in Sarajevo organised a visit to Belgrade for ten journalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The purpose of their visit was to learn about Serbian efforts to try war crimes cases. This event was organised by the US Embassy in Belgrade and the US Embassy in Sarajevo |
> 10 journalists from BiH |
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9-10 October, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Registrar visits Belgrade |
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The ICTY Registrar Hans Holthuis was in Belgrade and had meetings with officials from the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office and the War Crimes Chamber of the Belgrade District Court about the status of investigations and cases. The Registrar also met the Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Head of the National Council for Cooperation with the Tribunal Rasim Ljajić, officials from the UN, OSCE and Council of Europe, as well as the Humanitarian Law Center's Executive Director Nataša Kandić, and International Crisis Group’s Serbia Director. Among many other topics, the status of war crimes trials and the prospects for future arrests of ICTY indictees were discussed. This visit was organised by the ICTY |
> officials from the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office and the War Crimes Chamber of the Belgrade District Court, Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Head of the National Council for Cooperation with the Tribunal, representatives of UN, OSCE and Council of Europe, Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Center's Executive Director and International Crisis Group’s Director in Serbia |
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7 October, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Crime and Punishment: Trials Before Domestic Courts |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG spoke at a press conference on local war crimes trials on 7 October. The press conference promoted a new publication from the National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY (NCC) entitled Crime and Punishment: Trials Before Domestic Courts. Also speaking at the press conference was the Minister for Human and Minority Rights and the Head of the NCC Rasim Ljajić, President of the War Crimes Chamber of the Belgrade District Court Siniša Važić, War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukčević, and the book's author, Milan Simić. The Outreach representative spoke about the Tribunal’s support for domestic war crimes proceedings and the importance of continuing efforts to provide justice to the victims. This visit was organised by the National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY |
> civil society officials and activists, media representatives, politicians |
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4-6 October, The Hague |
Spokesperson of the WCC in Belgrade visits the ICTY |
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The ICTY Outreach Programme welcomed Ivana Ramić, spokesperson for Registry and Chambers in Belgrade War Crimes Chamber (WCC). This three-day visit included meetings with the ICTY’s Communications Service, the Victims and Witness Unit, a tour of Courtroom 1 and meeting with the Spokesperson for the OTP. This visit was organised by the OSCE Mission to SCG and the Belgrade District Court |
> spokesperson for Registry and Chambers in Belgrade War Crimes Chamber |
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29-30 September, The Hague |
Working visit of IT section of WCC |
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Two IT Section staff members of the War Crimes Chamber (WCC) of Belgrade District Court visited the ICTY. The two day programme included attending court sessions and presentations on the following topics: the delay broadcast system, access to ICTY documents, the Judicial Database (JDB), exchange of documents between the WCC and the ICTY, security issues, Conference and Language Services Section (CLSS) This event was organised by the OSCE Mission to SCG and Belgrade District Court |
> two IT Section staff members of WCC in Belgrade |
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28 September, Negotin, Serbia and Montenegro |
Youth Initiative Event in Negotin |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG was in Negotin in eastern Serbia for a workshop with human rights organisations. The event was covered by both of Negotin’s television stations. This event was organised by Youth Initiative for Human Rights |
> young human rights activists, general public in Negotin |
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22 September, The Hague |
Visit of Croatian Mayors, representatives from local NGOs and youth organisations |
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A large group of Croatian mayors, municipal deputies, NGO and youth organisations representatives paid a visit to ICTY. They heard a presentation on the work of the ICTY by the Deputy Coordinator-Outreach, had Q&A session and followed court proceedings. This visit was organised by IKV (Inter-Church Peace Council) |
> 45 participants including Croatian Mayors, representatives from NGOs and youth organisations |
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21 September, Jagodina, Serbia and Montenegro |
Youth Initiative event in Jagodina |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG spoke to young members of Serbia’s political parties in Jagodina. The participants of this event knew little about the Tribunal’s work to investigate and try crimes committed against Serb victims. The Outreach representative spoke about the Tribunal’s indictments against Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak and Mladan Markač for crimes committed during and after operation Storm, the six leaders of Herceg-Bosna for the ethnic cleansing of western Bosnia, the Čelebići case, and the case against ICTY convict Dario Kordić. The Outreach representative also spoke of the ICTY indictment against Milan Lukić, Sredoje Lukić and Mitar Vasiljević. The Outreach representative also gave an hour-long live prime time interview on TV Paraćin, which is broadcast is this area. This event was organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights |
> young members of political parties in Jagodina, general public in Jagodina |
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8 September, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
UN 60th Anniversary event in the SCG Assembly |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG attended an event to commemorate the UN’s 60th anniversary on 8 September in the SCG Assembly. The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator hosted the event, which gathered a number of different prominent speakers who addressed the question of the UN’s capacity to meet the challenges of the coming decades. Foreign Minister Vuk Drašković, Defence Minister Prvoslav Davinić, and Acting UN Resident Coordinator Ann-Lis Svenson were among those who addressed the audience of ambassadors and the heads of international organisations. This event was hosted by the UN Resident Coordinator |
> foreign ambassadors to Serbia international organisations representatives, media |
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24 August, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Forum for South East Europe programme on Karadžić |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG participated in a television debate programme on ICTY indictee Radovan Karadžić. The Outreach representative emphasised the importance of transferring Karadžić to the Tribunal, and described the very serious charges against him. Among the other participants were representatives from the Democratic Party (DS), the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), Vreme and Der Standard correspondents. The programme was produced by the Swiss-based Forum for South East Europe, which has produced a series of such programmes. It was aired on Belgrade television Studio B. This debate was produced by the Forum for South East Europe |
> general public across Serbia |
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17 August, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
The ICTY Outreach representative speaks at reconciliation conference |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in BiH spoke in Sarajevo in an international conference titled Pathways to Reconciliation and Global Human Rights, organised by the Globalism Institute (RMIT University, Melbourne) in partnership with the UNDP Mission to BiH. The conference agenda was one of international nature with a focus on BiH, and the audience was predominantly international. The Outreach representative outlined the main arguments suggesting that the ICTY can have a positive impact on reconciliation in BiH, and also discussed factors limiting the Tribunal’s role in reconciliation processes. This event was organised in partnership between the Globalism Institute (RMIT University, Melbourne) and UNDP Mission to BiH |
> representatives from international organisations in BiH, media representatives |
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8 August, Vitez, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Information on Bralo guilty plea provided to victim community |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in BiH met in Vitez Mr Sadik Trako, head of the local association of families of missing persons. He briefed Mr Trako on the latest developments in the case of Miroslav Bralo and provided him with multiple BCS-language copies of the Plea agreement, amended indictment and the factual basis, to be distributed further to people in Ahmići and elsewhere. Mr Trako also received a comprehensive collection of the judgements, press releases and fact sheets related to the Lašva Valley cases, to be deposited in his organisation's office. This event was organised by the ICTY Outreach office in BiH |
> head of the association of the families of missing persons from Vitez, other victim associations’ representatives |
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4 August, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
The ICTY Outreach representative speaks at reconciliation conference |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG spoke at a press conference organised by the Belgrade-based Youth Initiative for Human Rights to commemorate the victims of crimes committed during and after Operation Storm. In two victims of Operation Storm talked about the consequences they faced ten years after they had been driven from their homes. Also speaking were representatives of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights and NGOs representing the victims. This event was organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights |
> NGO, civil society and media representatives |
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3 August, Pančevo, Serbia and Montenegro |
10 Years after Operation Storm: ICTY Representative visits refugees |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG visited a refugee centre in Pančevo, which houses the victims of crimes committed during and after the Operation Storm. The purpose of the visit was to commemorate the 10th anniversary of these crimes. The Outreach representative talked with a number of victims about the Tribunal’s indictments against Croatian generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak and Mladen Markač. Minister for Human and Minority Rights Rasim Ljajić, and Commissioner for Refugees, Dragiša Dabetić were also present. This event was organised by the ICTY Outreach office in Serbia and Montenegro |
> refugees in refugee centre in Pančevo |
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22 July, Zrenjanin, Serbia and Montenegro |
Zrenjanin Municipality Holds Public Debate on Srebrenica |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG participated in a public debate on Srebrenica organised by the Zrenjanin Municipal Assembly. It was the first governmental organ in SCG to organise and host an event to commemorate the victims of Srebrenica. In addition to the Outreach representative, other speakers included two representatives from the Sarajevo-based NGO Mothers of Srebrenica and Žepa, and representatives from the NGO Women in Black. The event was well-attended and included in the audience several members of the nationalistic organisation Obraz, who engaged positively in the discussion. The event was organised by the Zrenjanin Municipal Assembly |
> general public in Zrenjanin, local authorities, NGO representatives |
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21 July, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
BiH Outreach representative meets with Prijedor victims |
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The first tangible result of cooperation of the ICTY Outreach with the Court of BiH NGO Support Network was the 21 July visit of the BiH Outreach representative to Prijedor to meet Prijedor camp survivors, including activists of several victim associations and seven former ICTY witnesses. The Outreach representative briefed the audience on the recent Referral Bench Decision to refer the Mejakić et al. case to BiH. Discussion ensued on various issues related to the transition from the ICTY to BiH, the functioning of the Sarajevo War Crimes Chamber as well as general praise and critique of the ICTY’s work. This meeting was organised by the ICTY Outreach office in BiH |
> Prijedor camp survivors, activists of victim associations, seven former ICTY witnesses |
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20 July, Zagreb, Croatia |
NGO Coordination Meeting |
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The third coordination meeting of Croatian NGOs dealing with war crimes issues took place on 20 July. The meeting focused on witness protection issues. Besides representatives of NGOs from Zagreb, Osijek, Vukovar, Karlovac, Pula, representatives of the OSCE, ABA CEELI, the US Embassy to Zagreb, ICMP and some other Croatian institutions attended the meeting. This event was organised by the Croatian NGOs |
> Croatian NGO representatives, representatives of OSCE, ABA CEELI, US Embassy to Zagreb, ICMP |
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19 July, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Reporting on War Crimes in Serbian Media |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG attended a press conference on reporting on war crimes in the Serbian media. The War Crimes Prosecutor’s office called the press conference in order to present the results of a report conducted by Ebart Consulting. The report found that the number of reports on war crimes issues went up dramatically in the period following the release of the video footage showing Scorpions unit members executing six Bosnian Muslim prisoners. This event was organised by the War Crimes Prosecutor’s office |
> media representatives and experts |
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12-14 July, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
International Conference Genocide against Bosniaks of UN safe area Srebrenica in July 1995 – Lessons for the Future |
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An international scientific conference titled “Genocide against Bosniaks of UN safe area Srebrenica in July 1995 – Lessons for the Future was held in Sarajevo. Despite the conference being held in a highly political environment numerous interesting papers were heard, casting light on the Srebrenica events from various aspects. The ICTY Outreach representative attended the conference in the capacity of an observer and distributed to the audience a large number of ICTY documents as well as multimedia CDs produced by the ICTY Outreach on the Tribunal’s Srebrenica cases. The BiH Outreach representative and Outreach Assistant also gave a briefing on ICTY and ICTY Outreach to a group of persons from the Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Danish Institute for International Studies, who were attending the conference. This event was organised by the Institute for the Research of Crimes Against Humanity and International Law of the University of Sarajevo, in cooperation with the University of North Carolina. |
>around 200 leading Bosnian and international experts and scholars |
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13 July, Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Panel discussion in Konjic |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in BiH spoke in Konjic at a panel discussion following a screening of the film Blind Justice, as part of a conference titled Democracy and Human Rights in Multiethnic Societies. The conference, organised in cooperation with several European academic institutions and foundations, gathered tens of international scholars. A small group of local Konjic inhabitants also attended, and an intensive discussion ensued after the projection. ICTY materials were distributed, including multimedia CDs produced by the ICTY Outreach on the Čelebići case. This event was organised by the Institute for Strengthening Democracy in Bosnia |
> international scholars, locals from Konjic |
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12-13 July, The Hague |
Working visit of members of the SCG Judiciary |
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The two-day programme included attending court sessions, a tour of a courtroom and presentations on case flow management, access to documents; overview of crimes, forms of liability and forms of association; chamber’s perspective – managing and evaluating evidence, mitigating and aggravating circumstances; public relations and outreach. This event was organised by the National Centre for State Courts (NCSC) |
> 25 representatives of SCG judiciary and two NCSC representatives |
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12 July, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
State Court NGO Support Network |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in BiH, had a meeting with NGO coordinators of the Court Support Network (CSN) of the State Court of BiH. These activists and their NGOs are supposed to act as a link between the Court on the one hand and victims and the civil society on the other hand. The Outreach representative gave a briefing on the ICTY, focusing specifically on referral of cases to national courts. The CSN at its current, initial stage consists of four NGOs based in Sarajevo, Mostar, Tuzla and Prijedor and currently provides best links to Bosniak victim groups. During the next months the CSN is supposed to expand in order to cover more areas and victim groups in BiH. This event was organised by the ICTY in partnership with the Court Support Network |
> coordinators of the CSN of State Court of BiH, NGO representatives from BiH |
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11 July, Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
President Meron speaks at Srebrenica commemoration |
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On 11 July in Potočari, ICTY President, Judge Theodor Meron attended the commemoration ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide and the burial of the 610 genocide victims identified during the last year. President Meron was one of the seven dignitaries that addressed the congregation, which numbered 30-40 thousand. A spontaneous ovation followed when President Meron recalled the words of the ICTY Appeals Chamber stating unequivocally that the massacre in Srebrenica constitutes genocide. The entire ceremony was broadcast live on several stations in BiH as well as Serbia, and parts of President Meron’s speech were featured in several leading international TV news reports. The visit was facilitated by the ICTY Outreach office in BiH. |
> 30-40 thousand people at the Srebrenica commemoration |
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6 July, Kraljevo, Serbia and Montenegro |
Youth Initiative workshop in Kraljevo |
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The representative in SCG participated in a workshop for youth in the central Serbian city of Kraljevo. The approximately 30 young people who attended were members of a wide spectrum of Serbia’s political parties, including three from the Serbian Radical Party (two of whom arrived wearing t-shirts bearing the image of the ICTY indictee Vojislav Šešelj). Also speaking at the event were Ivana Ramić, the Spokesperson of the War Crimes Chamber of the Belgrade District Court and Benudin Hodžić, the son of one of the 16 Muslim victims from Sjeverin killed in 1993 by ICTY indictee Milan Lukić and his paramilitary group. The Outreach representative described the Tribunal’s work to hold perpetrators of crimes against Serbs accountable, which the vast majority of the group knew nothing about. After Benudin Hodžić spoke about what happened to his father, and showed pictures of the tortured victims, the group was left in silence. One of the SRS members wearing a Šešelj t-shirt left the room in tears. When she came back, she did not wear her Šešelj t-shirt any more. This event was organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights |
> 30 young activists from various political parties |
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4-6 July, The Hague |
Working visit of Judges and Prosecutors from Croatia |
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The three-day programme included attending court sessions and the following presentations and activities: Application of substantive and procedural Laws at the ICTY; collection and use of evidence – methods and techniques; judges perspective – evaluation of evidence; working with witnesses; access to the ICTY documents; judges' round table; prosecutors’ round table; the media and Rule 11bis – transfer of cases. This visit was organised by ABA CEELI |
> Croatian Judiciary representatives |
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5 July, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
NCC Hosts round table on War Crimes |
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The National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY (NCC) held a round table discussion entitled War Crimes—Justice—Trials—Reconciliation on 5 July. Among the speakers at the round table were Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Head of the National Council for Cooperation with the Tribunal, Rasim Ljajić, Defence Minister Prvoslav Davinić, Advisor to the Serbian President, Jovan Simić, and Serbian Orthodox priest Bigović. All made general statements on the importance of holding all war criminals accountable. The event was livened up with comments from Simo Spasić, the President of the Family Association of the Kidnapped and Killed Civilians, Soldiers and Policemen in Kosovo and Metohija 1998, 1999. This event was organised by the National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY |
> Senior government representatives and leading members of civil society |
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1 July, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
NCC hosts conference on Rights of the Accused |
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The National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY (NCC) hosted a one-day conference in Belgrade entitled Rights of the Accused Before the ICTY and Domestic Courts. The conference gathered together legal professionals from the region. The aim of the conference was to emphasise to the Serbian public that the rights of the accused are respected before the Tribunal, and for legal professionals from the region to compare their experience. The ICTY Outreach representative in Belgrade spoke on the rights of the accused before the ICTY and on plea agreements, as well as giving opening remarks. This event was organised by the National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY (NCC) |
> legal professionals from the former Yugoslavia |
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27-30 June, The Hague |
Working visit of the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutors |
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The three-day programme included attending court sessions, a courtroom tour and meetings with the OTP Legal Advisor for Gender crimes, a Trial Attorney, OTP Legal Officer, OTP Chief of Investigations, Chief Prosecutor, OTP Senior Trial Attorney, OTP team working on the Krajišnik case and the Chief of the Victims and Witnesses Section (VWS). This event was organised by ICTY Outreach and the Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecutor’s office |
> Chief Cantonal Prosecutor and Cantonal Prosecutors from BiH |
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27 June, Palić, Serbia and Montenegro |
SCG Outreach officer speaks to Youth Initiative justice advocates training |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG participated in the Youth Initiative’s justice advocates Training in the northern Serbian town of Palić. The Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) picked ten young people from Serbia to work as advocates for justice to promote the Tribunal’s work, the importance of holding war crimes perpetrators accountable and providing justice to the victims. The Outreach representative’s presentation was held within the YIHR’s week-long training programme for the justice advocates. In addition to hearing about the Tribunal, the justice advocates heard from Human Rights Watch and Humanitarian Law Center representatives about the Tribunal’s cases. The justice advocates gathered again in the fall to make a plan for holding workshops with high school students and other events across Serbia and Montenegro. This event was organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights |
> 10 young people throughout SCG – members of Justice Advocacy Network |
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26 June, Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro |
Helsinki Committee’s Human Rights School in Novi Sad |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG spoke to students at the Helsinki Committee’s Human Rights School in Novi Sad. The students watched the XY Films documentary on the Tribunal’s Bridging the Gap event in Foča (held in October 2004). The documentary was extremely well received and the Outreach representative answered a number of questions about the Tribunal’s work in a discussion session following the film. This event was organised by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia |
> group of young people from SCG who attended the seminar |
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25 June, Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Bridging the Gap Between the ICTY and Communities in BiH Conference in Prijedor, Registrar Hans Holthuis in Kozarac |
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The fifth in a series of conferences entitled Bridging the Gap Between the ICTY and Communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina was held in Prijedor, following similar events held in Brčko, Foča and Konjic in 2004 and Srebrenica last month. Experienced ICTY officials presented the work of the Tribunal with regard to crimes in Prijedor to an audience of approximately 200 persons consisting of local community leaders, as well as victims, local legal professionals and others. Senior OTP and Chambers staff as well as the ICTY Outreach representative in BiH gave detailed presentations with extensive use made of video footage and photographs that were presented as evidence before the court. Opening remarks on behalf of the ICTY were given by the Registrar, Hans Holthuis. On the following day the Registrar visited the Keraterm camp where he met with survivors and relatives of victims and later attended a collective memorial ceremony and burial of 59 exhumed war victims in Kozarac, in the vicinity of Prijedor, where he held short condolences on behalf of the ICTY. This event was organised by The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republika Srpska and the ICTY |
> 200 persons, local community leaders, victim associations representatives, local legal professionals, judicial officials, police officers |
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16 June, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Youth Initiative press conference on SCG Laws |
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The Youth Initiative for Human Rights held a press conference on Serbia’s Law on Access to Information and its application of a number of other laws, including the Law on Cooperation with the Tribunal. Youth Initiative staff presented the results of their research which found that government institutions failed to respond to at least 50% of their requests for information. Youth Initiative staff also argued that government organs were consistently violating Serbia’s Law on Cooperation with the ICTY. The Youth Initiative’s reports are published in the first edition of its monthly bulletin, entitled Rez (Cut). This event was organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights |
> NGO representatives in Serbia, journalists, general public |
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15 June, Zrenjanin, Serbia and Montenegro |
Zrenjanin Municipality Officials Receive ICTY The Outreach representative in SCG |
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Zrenjanin Municipality officially received the ICTY Outreach representative in SCG. The Deputy Major, the Municipal Assembly Vice Presidents and the Municipal Secretary were part of the official Zrenjanin delegation that received the Outreach representative, an OSCE representative and a Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office representative. This was the first time that a municipality officially received an Outreach representative, an event that received extensive coverage in the local media. The meeting was organised with the assistance of the Zrenjanin Committee for Human Rights. This event was organised by Zrenjanin Munipality, with the assistance of the Zrenjanin Committee for Human Rights |
> Zrenjanin Municipality authorities, local NGO representatives |
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11 June, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Srebrenica—Beyond Reasonable Doubt, HLC-Outreach Conference |
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The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) and Outreach held a conference in Belgrade entitled Srebrenica-Beyond Reasonable Doubt. Tribunal representatives spoke about the facts established in the Krstić, Obrenović, Nikolić and Erdemović cases. A former ICTY investigator Jean-René Ruez, spoke about the Tribunal’s investigations into crimes committed in Srebrenica, while an ICTY Trial Attorney spoke about the Krstić trial and Deputy Registrar John Hocking spoke about the Krstić appeal, as well as guilty pleas in Srebrenica cases. The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG gave opening remarks, together with a number of others. With the agreement of the present victims, HLC screened the video of Scorpions unit members killing six young Bosnian men and teenagers, alleged to be from Srebrenica. This event was organised by the Humanitarian Law Center and the ICTY Outreach |
> civil society representatives, journalists |
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9 June, Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Judge Mumba gives keynote speech at a gathering of BiH legal professionals |
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Judge Florence Mumba visited Neum, BiH, as a guest of the Association of Judges of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Association for Criminal Law and Criminology of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Judge Mumba gave a keynote speech on the topic Sentencing for war crimes to an audience of over 400 in the largest annual gathering of criminal law practitioners from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This event was organised by the Association of Judges of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Association for Criminal Law and Criminology of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and facilitated by the ICTY Outreach office in Sarajevo |
> criminal law experts throughout the BiH |
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7-9 June, Brioni, Croatia |
ICTY representatives participate in OSCE meeting on regional cooperation in war crimes proceedings |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in BiH represented the ICTY Sarajevo office in a regional conference organised by the OSCE on judicial cooperation in Brioni, Croatia. The conference was a follow-up to similar gatherings held in November 2004 and February this year, designed to improve regional cooperation in war crimes proceedings. The clearest results had so far been achieved in the area of investigative cooperation between prosecutors, and recently signed bilateral protocols have proven effective in that respect. Senior staff from the OTP also attended the Brioni conference. This event was organised by the OSCE Mission to BiH |
> judicial representatives throughout the former Yugoslavia |
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6 June, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Cooperation with War Crimes Chamber of State Court of BiH |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in BiH gave a two-hour briefing on the establishment, history, structure and completion strategy of the ICTY to 10 of the 12 judges (national and international) of the War Crimes Chamber (WCC) of the Court of BiH. Furthermore, the Outreach representative provided documents and materials to WCC Judge (former ICTY Judge) Almiro Rodrigues for him to use in briefings he was subsequently going to give to his fellow judges on ICTY procedure and jurisprudence. This event was organised by the ICTY and |
> 10 national and international judges of the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of BiH |
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27-28 May, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
ELIAMEP Conference A Euro-Atlantic Serbia and Montenegro: Moving Forward |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG attended a conference on Serbia and Montenegro’s prospects for joining Euro-Atlantic structures entitled A Euro-Atlantic Serbia and Montenegro: Moving Forward. The conference was sponsored by the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), a Greek foreign policy think-tank, in cooperation with the Balkan Trust for Democracy. The conference gathered a number of high-level participants from foreign policy circles in Europe, as well as several Serbian government officials. Although the Tribunal was referenced in the discussions, the main focus was on the problem of Kosovo. This event was organised by the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) |
> high level professional from foreign policy circles, SCG governmental officials |
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25 May, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Center for Professional Media Workshop |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG spoke at a workshop for reporters on war crimes issues at the Center for Professional Media. Outreach representative spoke on whether the Serbian media serves justice or the accused. Her argument was that the Serbian media promote the stories of the accused and neglect victims. This event was organised by the Center for Professional Media |
> 20 reporters on war crimes issues |
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21 May, Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Bridging the Gap Between the ICTY and Communities in BiH event held in Srebrenica |
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The fourth in a series of conferences entitled Bridging the Gap Between the ICTY and Communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina was held in Srebrenica. Current and former ICTY officials presented the work of the Tribunal with regard to crimes in Srebrenica to an audience of about 100 persons. Speakers included former OTP investigator Jean-René Ruez, Prosecutor Mark Harmon, Deputy Chef de Cabinet and the Deputy Outreach Coordinator. Extensive use was made of video footage and photographs that were presented as evidence before the court. The ICTY Outreach representative in BiH chaired the conference. This event was organised by The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republika Srpska and the ICTY |
> 100 representatives of local community, representatives of victims’ associations, judicial officials, police officers, local politicians, town authorities |
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9-13 May, The Hague |
Working visit of Judges from SCG |
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The visit was sponsored by the UNDP and its primary purpose focused on developing channels of communication and mutual understanding between the two courts. Led by Supreme Court President, Vida Petrović-Škero, the Supreme Court judges held meetings with Tribunal representatives where they discussed the war crimes cases that they had had before them and Serbian legislation relating to war crimes trials. Tribunal representatives discussed international humanitarian law and jurisprudence developed by the ICTY. Following the conclusion of the visit the UNDP hosted a press conference in Belgrade on 19 May. The ICTY Outreach representative in Serbia, UNDP representatives and Judge Petrović-Škero spoke at the conference. Judge Petrović-Škero evaluated that the visit was a great success. This event was organised by the UNDP |
> Nine Judges of the Serbian Supreme Court |
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12 May, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
OSCE round table: Serbia and challenges to war crimes trials |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG attended an OSCE sponsored round table on challenges that SCG was facing in conducting war crimes trials. The round table was held at the Belgrade University Faculty of Law. The Tribunal OTP Special Advisor to the Prosecutor and a former Chambers Legal Officer spoke at the event. The media featured the Special Advisor’s statement that the Prosecution has requested that ten cases be transferred to local courts. This event was organised by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro |
> public in SCG civil society representatives, media |
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9-11 May, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
OSCE reporting on war crimes workshop |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG participated in a workshop for local reporters on war crimes issues sponsored by the OSCE. The workshop took place over three days from 9 to 11 May. The Outreach representative spoke in two sessions at the workshop: one on the ICTY’s relationship to domestic courts, its completion strategy and reasons why states are legally obligated to cooperate with the Tribunal; and the other on reporting on the Tribunal in the Serbian media. About twenty reporters attended the workshop from a number of major media outlets. This event was organised by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro |
> 20 reporters from across SCG |
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9 May, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Lecture to law students in Banja Luka |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in BiH gave a two-part lecture to around 50 senior students of the Banja Luka law faculty under two topics: Legal Framework of the ICTY and Human Rights and the ICTY. The three-hour event was organised by the local branch of the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA). After the multimedia presentations a constructive debate ensued and the seminar was deemed highly successful by the organisers who said they “needed legal arguments to counter those who are against the ICTY”. Contact between the Sarajevo and Mostar law faculties were also reinvigorated. This event was organised by the ELSA |
> 50 senior law students of the Banja Luka university |
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26 April, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Youth Initiative for Human Rights’ conference |
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Deputy Prosecutor David Tolbert was in Belgrade to speak at a press conference organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights. Also speaking were the ICTY Outreach representative, HLC Director Nataša Kandić, Serbian War Crimes Deputy Prosecutor Dragoljub Stanković, British Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission David McIlroy, and the Youth Initiative’s President, Andrej Nosov. In addition, Deputy Prosecutor Tolbert gave separate interviews to B92, Politika and Danas. The conference was organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights |
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21 April, The Hague |
Delegation from Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro |
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The Outreach Programme welcomed the group of 28 students from Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro and FYR of Macedonia.Their one day programme included attending court and an overview presentation on the ICTY. This visit was organised by IKV (Inter-Church Peace Council) |
> 28 young people (seven people from Kosovo, 10 Dutch, four from Macedonia, seven from Serbia-Montenegro) |
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7-21 April, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Intensified contacts in Banja Luka |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in BiH introduced regular bi-weekly trips to Banja Luka in order to enable better visibility and closer liaison with interlocutors in Republika Srpska (RS). On April 7 and 21 a number of activities were conducted in Banja Luka. The Outreach representative had meeting with representatives of the RS Secretariat for Relations with the ICTY and Investigation of War Crimes and with the Banja Luka District Prosecutor’s Office. This event was organised by the ICTY Outreach office in BiH |
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15 April, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Belgrade screening of Justice Unseen |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG was one of a number of speakers at a panel discussion following the screening of the film Slijepa Pravda (Justice Unseen) at the National Theatre in Belgrade. The film seeks to answer the question, “has the ICTY achieved what it was set up to do or was it just and expensive legal experiment?” It was produced by the Sarajevo-based production company XY Films. Other speakers on the panel were four of the film’s interlocutors, Humanitarian Law Centre’s Director Natasa Kandić, Youth Initiative for Human Rights Director Andrej Nosov, Sarajevo-based Research and Documentation Center Mirsad Tokača and Council of Europe representative Silvija Panović-Djurić. Although the film provided a critique of the Tribunal, during the discussion, the panelists made clear their support for its work, as did many members of the audience. This event was organised by the HLC, XY Films and sponsored by the Heinrich Böll Foundation |
> civil society activists and representatives, media |
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15 April, The Hague |
Visit of the delegation from Srebrenica |
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The Deputy Mayor of Srebrenica and four young people in the process of establishing a youth centre in Srebrenica visited the Tribunal, their programme included attending court and presentations by Jim Landale, Spokesman for Registry and Chambers and Mark Harmon, Senior Trial Attorney OTP. This visit was organised by IKV (Inter-Church Peace Council) |
> Deputy Mayor and four young people in the process of establishing a youth centre in Srebrenica |
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14 April, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Presentation at training for journalists |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in BiH gave a 45-minute presentation on the ICTY to the selected group of 15 journalists from various parts of the former Yugoslavia as part of a training programme on war crimes reporting sponsored by Transitions Online. The presentation covered the establishment, jurisdiction, structure and key achievements of the Tribunal and further focused on the completion strategy and transition from ICTY to local courts. The participating journalists produced stories covering war crimes trials which were published at www.tol.cz. This event was organised by Transitions Online |
> 15 journalists throughout the former Yugoslavia |
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12 April, Niš, Serbia and Montenegro |
Outreach representative in SCG address Niš media |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG was in Niš, in southern Serbia to speak at a press conference organised by the Belgrade-based NGO Youth Initiative for Human Rights. She spoke about the Tribunal’s indictments for crimes committed against Serb victims, given that they are rarely spoken about in the Serbian media. A large number of reporters attended the press conference. The Outreach representative also gave an interview to a number of local television stations. This event was organised by Youth Initiative for Human Rights |
> local NGO representatives, local journalists |
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March, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Distribution of documents |
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With the assistance of BiH Outreach representative, 75 copies of a publication titled Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity on the ICTY jurisprudence were distributed to the BiH judiciary. The 180-page publication was produced last year by Human Rights Watch and partially translated to Serbian by the UNDP in Serbia and Montenegro. One copy was provided to each court and prosecutor’s office in BiH that has jurisdiction over war crimes, and additional copies were provided to larger courts and prosecutor’s offices. The publication has earlier been hailed by members of the BiH judiciary as a practical guide to the ICTY jurisprudence. In addition ICTY documents were provided at request to the Cantonal Court and Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office in Bihać. This event was organised by the ICTY Outreach office in BiH |
> judiciary representatives in BiH |
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18 March, Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro |
Youth Initiative workshop with young civil society leaders |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG spoke at a workshop for high school and university students in Novi Sad on 18 April. Also speaking at the workshop, organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, were two family members of Muslims from Sjeverin killed in 1993. This event was organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights |
> high school and university students in SCG |
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15-17 March, The Hague |
Working visit of IT Section of the War Crimes Chamber (WCC) of the Belgrade District Court |
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The three-day programme included attending court sessions and the following presentations and activities: tour of the lobby area and technical facilities available to journalists, access to the ICTY documents, the JDB, exchange of data, security issues, meeting with representatives of the ITSS, CMSS and the Internet Unit. This event was organised by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro and the Belgrade District Court |
> two IT section representatives from Belgrade District Court |
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11 March, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
SCG Liaison Officer speaks at Center for Anti-War Action Press Conference |
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The ICTY Outreach representative in SCG addressed journalists at the Centre for Anti-War Action press conference. The Outreach representative spoke about all the 17 accused who were still at large, how long they had been fugitives and gave an example of the crimes that they were charged for. During this conference the copies of the Tribunal’s most recent wanted posters were handed out. Also speaking at the conference on the Tribunal were SCG Ambassador to Mexico Vesna Pešić and President Boris Tadić’s advisor, Jovan Simić. This event was organised by the Centre for Anti-War Action |
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7-11 March, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Participation in IWPR training programme for BiH journalists |
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The Institute for War and Peace Reporting on 7-10 March organised a training programme for a group of around 25 journalists on reporting war crimes trials before the Court of BiH. The BiH Outreach officer gave a 45-minute lecture on the establishment, jurisdiction and organisation of the ICTY and the transition from the Tribunal to domestic judiciaries. On 11 March the IWPR convened a one-day symposium for leading media editors, bringing them together with top officials of the Court of BiH War Crimes Chamber. The BiH Outreach officer also participated in the discussion, outlining the services offered to the media by the ICTY. This event was organised by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting |
> 25 journalists from BiH |
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4-8 March, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
ICTY’s central role in a training programme for War Crimes Chamber |
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A five-day training programme on international law for staff of the War Crimes Chamber (WCC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), War Crimes Department of the BiH Prosecutor’s Office and the International Registry of the WCC began on 4 March. ICTY officials had a central role in the programme, with five Hague-based senior staff participating as instructors, as well as the Head of ICTY Mission to BiH and the Outreach representative for BiH, who also planned and coordinated the ICTY participation in the programme. This event was organised by the ICTY |
> staff of the War Crimes Chamber of BiH, War Crimes Department of the BiH Prosecutor’s Office and the International Registry of the WCC |
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February, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Extensive collections of ICTY documents delivered to the War Crimes Chamber |
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The ICTY Outreach Office in BiH has delivered three sets of ICTY judgements, indictments and basic legal documents to the International Registry of the War Crimes Chamber. Each set contained documents in English and BCS, plus available documents in French. The sets were placed in the WCC Judges’ closed library, the public library of the WCC, and the closed library of the BiH Prosecutor’s Office. This event was organised by the ICTY |
> staff of WCC and BiH Prosecutor’s Office |
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28 February - 4 March , The Hague |
Working visit of Judges and Prosecutors from Croatia |
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The five-day programme included attending court sessions and the following presentations and activities: Transfer of evidence/cooperation between the OTP and the Croatian Judiciary, Collection and use of Evidence – Methods and Techniques, access to the ICTY documents, Rule 11bis – Transfer of Cases, working with witnesses, application of substantive and procedural laws at the ICTY, Prosecution round table, Judges' round table, judicial officials and the media. This event was organised by the US Government, organised at the request of ABA-CEELI and the Judicial Academy in Croatia |
> Croatian judicial officers – judges, attorneys, US Embassy, ABA CEELI and Judicial Academy representatives |
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25 February, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
The ICTY Outreach representative speaks to students from BiH |
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On 25 February the ICTY Outreach representative in BiH led a five-hour educational programme on the work of the ICTY for a group of students of various disciplines from various parts of BiH. This was part of a four-day seminar organised by the German Heinrich Böll foundation, which provides scholarships to these students, who were chosen on the basis of their achievements. This event was organised by the German Heinrich Böll Foundation |
> students from throughout BiH |
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22 February, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
The ICTY Outreach representative speaks on EUFOR’s Seminar |
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On 22 February the ICTY Outreach representative in BiH held a presentation on the ICTY at a spokespersons’ seminar organised by EUFOR. The audience of 25 consisted of public information officials from both international and national institutions. EUFOR announced that follow-up to this networking event would be forthcoming. This event was organised by EUFOR |
> 25 public information officials, national and international |
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8-10 February, The Hague |
Working visit of Journalists from SCG |
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The three-day programme included attending court sessions, a tour of a courtroom and presentations on the following: Introduction to ICTY and its criminal proceedings, investigations and prosecutions, the information which can be made available to the public, the presentations of Registry and Chambers, the information which judges and their representatives can convey about the cases before the ICTY, relationship between the ICTY and the media, the identity of a protected witness, Victims and Witnesses Section (VWS), Office of Legal Aid and Detention Matters (OLAD) and the Detention Unit This event was organised by The Fund for an Open Society in SCG |
> 19 journalists from SCG |
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5-6 February, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
NCC Hosts conference on transfer of cases |
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The National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY sponsored a conference on the transfer of ICTY cases to domestic jurisdictions. The conference, which took place on the weekend of 5 and 6 February, gathered together judicial officials from Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as representatives from the OSCE, US Embassy, ABA CEELI among others, and members of the press. NCC head and Minister for Human and Minority Rights Rasim Ljajić opened the conference, stating that Serbia and Montenegro were ready to try war crimes cases and would like to have as many cases transferred as possible. The reason, he stated, was that the NCC would like to support the Tribunal in its completion strategy and also so that Serbia confronts its past. The SCG Outreach representative and the OTP Chief of Investigations Patrick Lopez-Terres spoke on the Tribunal and the OTP’s view of the transfer of cases, respectively. This event was organised by the National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY |
> judicial officials from Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, representatives from the OSCE, US Embassy, ABA CEELI, media |
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January/February, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
Columns in Balkan newspaper |
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Each week Outreach contributed to a weekly column in the Balkan newspaper. This contribution concluded when Balkan newspaper closed down. |
> general public in Serbia and Montenegro |
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