As a part of their study tour of the Balkans, a group of 12 cadets and faculty staff with the US Military Academy attended a presentation on the work of the ICTY organised by the US Embassy in Sarajevo. The future US Army officers were eager to learn more about the history and the war in the former Yugoslavia, as well as trials relating to serious violations of international humanitarian law which were emblematic of the conflicts.
Almir Alić, ICTY Registry representative, spoke about the work of the Tribunal and its decisions relating to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The cadets showed great interest in the ICTY cases related to crimes committed in Sarajevo, Višegrad and Srebrenica, in which five persons were convicted to life imprisonment. The staff of the Military Academy were keen to learn about the procedures related to the election of ICTY judges. The ICTY representative explained that judges are elected by the UN General Assembly from a list of candidates forwarded by the Security Council in accordance with strictly defined procedures, starting with the invitation from the UN General Assembly to all Member States to submit their candidates, to the appointment of permanent judges by the UN General Assembly.