Twenty years after the end of the armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the consequences of war still linger in Busovača, a town in Central Bosnia. Schools in this municipality are divided across ethnic lines, and students rarely have an opportunity to engage in discussions about issues concerning the recent past.
The Tribunal’s Outreach Programme organised a presentation on 19 April 2016 for over 50 students of the Combined High School in Busovača, to introduce them to the work of the Tribunal and the importance of war crimes trials in transitional justice processes. During a two-hour presentation, the Tribunal’s representative in BiH, Almir Alić, gave an overview of the most important achievements in over two decades of the Tribunal’s work. The students carefully followed the presentation and watched the selected footage of courtroom proceedings.
The presentation was followed by numerous questions. One student asked how it was possible for Naser Orić to be both tried before the Tribunal and the Court of BiH. The Tribunal’s representative briefly explained the legal principle non bis in idem, which states that a person cannot be tried twice for the same crimes. He further added that, while a person cannot be prosecuted before a national court for the same crimes for which he or she already stood trial before another court, that person may still be tried for different crimes.
The presentation concluded with a round of applause from the students. After the presentation, a 17-year old student said that reconciliation will be possible in the region “only if there is no more politicisation of history in schools, and if children learn about the established facts.”