The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) invites you to a discussion “War Crimes Trials in the Context of Serbia’s Accession to the European Union”, during which a “Model Strategy for the Prosecuting of War Crimes Committed During and in Relation to the Armed Conflicts in the Former Yugoslavia (Period: 2021-2026)” (Model Strategy), as well as the analysis of the results achieved during the implementation of the National Strategy for War Crimes Prosecution (2016-2020) will be presented.
On February 20, 2016, the Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted the National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes for the period 2016 to 2020 (Strategy). During the term of the Strategy, the HLC monitored its implementation, with the aim of helping to assess the quantity and quality of fulfillment of the envisaged measures and activities. Following the implementation of the Strategy, analyzing the available data on its implementation and monitoring the war crimes trials in the Republic of Serbia, the HLC is the only non-governmental organization that has continuously reported on the implementation of this document in the form of shadow reports.
After four years of monitoring the implementation of the Strategy, the HLC has prepared a new Model Strategy, which proposes activities and measures aimed at combating impunity for war crimes through the elimination of identified shortcomings and providing the conditions for a strong intensification of war crimes prosecution.
Determining individual criminal responsibility for war crimes committed during the 1990s is one of the formal conditions Serbia has to meet in order to join the EU. What are Serbia’s obligations when it comes to war crimes trials? How much has this context affected war crimes trials? Has the strategic framework for war crimes trials improved these trials? What can we learn from the example of Croatia, did the prosecution of war crimes affect the negotiation process and vice versa, did the negotiation process affect the prosecution of war crimes?
The discussion will be held on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, starting at 12 pm and can be followed at this link on Facebook: https://bit.ly/sudjenjaieufb or at this link on the Zoom platform: https://bit.ly/sudjenjaieuzu.
Speakers:
- Ivana Žanić, Humanitarian Law Center
- Višnja Šijačić, Humanitarian Law Center
- Jovana Spremo, YUCOM
- Sven Milekić, Maynooth University
Simultaneous translation into English provided.
