Establishing the Truth in the Aftermath of Conflict:
Current Initiatives and Perspectives in the west Balkan

Sarajevo, 24 April 2006.

International Conference
hotel Saraj, Sarajevo, 5th and 6th May 2006

Background

The countries of the former Yugoslavia are today facing numerous challenges in the attempt to deal with the legacy of the bloody conflict which saw tens of thousands killed, hundreds of thousands detained and tortured and millions expelled and victimized. It is now clear that the success of the effort to deal with the legacy of the war crimes and human rights abuses committed during the conflict holds the key for the lasting peace and successful integration of these societies in the European Union.

There are various initiatives in the field of transitional justice in the individual countries of the former Yugoslavia . The balance of power dictates the degree of success of most of them, especially when it comes to the reform of institutions and the compensation to the victims.

Specialized judicial mechanisms equipped to prosecute war crimes have been established in Bosnia and Herzegovina , Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia . Although it is too early to judge their success, the initial stages of the process have shown encouraging progress in comparison to the past years in which the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was the only judicial institution addressing war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia .

The experience of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has shown the immense importance of the judicially established facts for the process of dealing with the past. However, it has also highlighted the limitations of the judicial process in establishing a comprehensive truth about the past events and the need for truth-seeking and truth-telling instruments which would complement the judicial effort.

The work of the ICTY, as well as the experience of local prosecutors investigating cases before courts in the region has shown that regional cooperation is of crucial importance for the success of any transitional justice effort.

There have been several formal initiatives to establish instruments whose main goal would be to establish the truth about the conflict or a particular event within the conflict. Some, like the Truth Commission established by the decree of the then president of Serbia , Vojislav Kostunica, completely failed. Other, like the Srebrenica Commission established by the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina to investigate various aspects of the Srebrenica massacre, had more success. There are sporadic truth-telling exercises organized by non-governmental organizations and ongoing projects aiming to establish facts about the identity of victims or the fate of missing persons. In addition, there are initiatives which seem to have the aim of establishing truth-seeking instruments on national level.

However, there is no concerted effort to explore the possibility of establishing formal truth-seeking mechanisms, which would take into account the need for a regional approach and cooperation between governmental institutions and civil society.

This conference aims to provide an opportunity for a regional forum on the issue of truth mechanisms, with participation of interested parties from the region and international experts.

Goals

The main goals of the conference will be to explore what relevant initiatives currently exist, what are the models which could be used in the specific circumstances of the region and what are the possibilities of regional cooperation in establishing bodies aiming to establish the truth about the recent past.

Format

The conference will gather some 120 representatives of governmental institutions, judiciary, human rights organizations, victim groups, political parties, international organizations and international experts. In two days, participants will discuss topics ranging from the importance of truth in the aftermath of conflict to the models of truth-seeking mechanisms, the need for victim participation and consultation and regional approaches to truth seeking (see the attached agenda).

Implementation

The conference will be organized by the Research and Documentation Center in Sarajevo , Humanitarian Law Center from Belgrade and Documenta from Zagreb . It will be held in Sarajevo on 5th and 6th of May. All organizational activities will be undertaken by the RDC Sarajevo.