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WAR CRIMES TRIALS MONITORING PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Background of RDC
The Research and Documentation Center Sarajevo Was established on April 2004 as our effort and attempt to continue decade long tradition of the War Crimes Commission established by the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on April 28, 1992. RDC is an independent, nongovernmental, non - profit and non - partisan institution. From its founding, the Research and Documentation Centre ( RDC ) investigates murders, kidnappings and other serious violations of the Geneva Conventions during the 1991 - 1999 armed conflicts on the territory of the former Yugoslavia with special attention on Bosnia in period 1992 -1995.
The RDC is the non - governmental organization ( NGO ) on the territory of the BIH, which have intention to monitor war crimes trials before domestic courts. Through this process and its years of dedicated work and commitment in dealing with these sensitive issues, the RDC has developed a broad reputation for being a recognized and credible source of information and analysis on atrocities among international organizations, the general public and media.
As a succesor of the research conducted by the War Crimes Commission from 1992-2003 and bearing in mind curent investigations realized independantly by the RDC it is neccesary mention that ourexisting documentation s consist of :
• More than one million pages of different documents, reports, letters, military orders, resolutions, etc. • 10.000 statements from direct and indirect victims, eyewitnesses, perpetrators etc.
• 3.500 hours of video and audio records :
• 50.000 photos of war damages :
• 250 books, magazines and publication in close connection with BIH war events in period 1992 / 1995:
• More than 6000 thousand newspapers published during the war ( Oslobodjenje, Vecernje novine, Kozarski vijesnik, Avaz, etc. ) part of which had been transferred to microfilm.
• In addition, our project titled " Population losses 92 - 95 " will produce more 100.000 names in our data base and 500.000 pages of documents and minimally between 20.000 photos by the end of this year.
The RDC is currently undergoing a transformation process to establish itself as a sustainable documentation and research centre that will strive to play an active role as an advocate for dealing with the past. As part of this transformation process, the war crimes trials monitoring project will play a strategic role as part of their accountability and truth - telling program. An important component for the future will be to facilitate interested civil society organizations in establishing themselves as a recognized and sought - after authority on monitoring and analysing the performance of national governments in dealing with the past. A long - term objective of this project is to contribute to creating conditions and mechanisms to increase society's willingness to deal with the past.
Problem description
The United Nations Security Council decided in UNSC Resolution 1508 of August 28 th, 2003 , to phase out the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague (ICTY). This phase out envisages the Tribunal ending its activities by 2010. One of the basic elements of this strategy is referring cases to the BiH national jurisdiction of courts, but also in the region for cases of war crimes that were committed during the 1991 - 1999 armed conflicts on the territory of the former Yugoslavia .
- Considering this fact, war crimes trials before courts in the region attain an even greater degree of importance. It is clear that courts in the region should become the basic and most effective mechanism for prosecuting persons that committed war crimes and gross violations of international humanitarian law during the afore - mentioned conflicts, as part of the process of confidence building, reconciliation and longlasting peace. During 2002 and 2003, new laws were presented in Bosnia and Herzegovina which envisage the formation of new State Chamber for prosecuting war crimes.
Trials before the Special Chamber for War Crimes of the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo should start at the beginning of January 2005. The war crimes trials now being held will be conducted in line with the new laws. It will be of great importance to follow the practical implementation of the modern legal practices incorporated in these laws.
On a global scale, there are noteworthy similarities and differences between how the new nation - states of the former Yugoslavia and other formerly war - stricken countries are dealing with the issue of war crimes trials. Nations emerging from the horrors of war are increasingly turning to specialized tribunals of different kinds, whether in search of public catharsis or international legitimacy. This is the case in the former Yugoslavia. Experience from other countries demonstrates that it is extremely important that these institutions be true to their purpose, govern themselves in line with international legal standards on free and fair trials, that they inform the public at large about the truth of the atrocities committed, and ultimately that the needs of the victims and their families be respected. This last point is especially important, since judicial proceedings are often complex and difficult to understand and interpret, especially in the eyes of the victims and their families.
Certain experiences and conclusions can be derived from monitoring the trials that were conducted up to now in BiH. Above all, it is clear that there is no political will especially in RS to conduct trials in a professional manner and that the RS officials were attempting to use these trials to hide its own responsibility by demonstrating that the crimes committed in the past were isolated incidents carried out by paramilitaries, rogue armed groups or individuals. This is confirmed by the fact that since signing Dayton peace agreement there was not a single war crimes trial in RS until peace was established , and that not one suspected war criminals was arrested until today. Serious problems also exist in the legislative sphere of the countries in the region, especially in regards to the following:
- Lack of proper measures meant to safeguard the witnesses,
- The non - existence of rules that would allow the acceptance of evidence that is in the possession of the ICTY,
- The lack of bilateral cooperation between states in the region, which could take the form of intergovernmental agreements on international criminal law assistance.
Negative effects of these shortcomings affect the quality of trials and hamper the ability of prosecutors and judges to ascertain guilt and justify verdicts. The lack of witness protection measures and cooperation between nations in the region on this matter cause additional difficulties in the prosecution proving its case, which often results in justice not being fulfilled.
Challenges
One of the greatest challenges for the RDC and other civil society organizations in the region is finding an effective role and place for themselves in the broader scope of the complex and sensitive issues of war crimes trials monitoring and evaluation, dealing with past atrocities and reconciling the general public with the truth about war crimes and their victims. As a first step, the RDC will work with international, regional and domestic partners in exploring ways to contribute to raising the general public's awareness about why dealing with the past is an important part of creating the peace and stability necessary for sustainable democratisation.
Previous work review
In BIH several trials for war crimes have been held to date. RDC has been actively participating monitoring - Following - these trials and in addition to the following activities :
- Obtaining court - prosecutors documentation ,
- Holding meetings with international and domestic institutions and the media,
- Promoting importance of domestic trials .
In the future we plane to produce reports and analyses that are among the most important activities and products of the entire war crimes trials monitoring process. It can be said that they represent the end product of this process, which can later be used by a wide range of interested parties and stakeholders involved in the matter of war crimes committed in the BiH and former Yugoslavia .
The public will also be made aware about how much of the truth regarding the atrocities was revealed at the trials and to what degree was justice was satisfied for both the victims and their accused perpetrators. Among others, the RDC maintains active contacts and cooperation with representatives of the ICTY, OSCE, Council of Europe, and foreign human rights organizations.The RDC intends to continue and expand these activities, which it considers a highly important part of the truth telling and accountability process. In the coming year, the RDC plans to continue with its practice of following all trials for war crimes before courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina and some trials in SCG and Croatia. Given the phase out strategy for the ICTY and the formation of new government authorities for dealing with war crimes trials in BiH, SCG and Croatia , it is certain that there will be more such trials in the coming period. The RDC also intends to establish cooperation with the Office of the High Representative ( OHR ) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ( OSCE ), with the aim of gaining additional information and documentation on war crimes trials held in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The valuable experience gained by the RDC during its decade long work on war crimes documentation and especially cooperation with ICTY, will greatly assist it during this project's implementation phase. The lessons learned during previous dedicated work will allow the RDC to set higher standards for good practices in monitoring and information exchange. This will allow them to act as a forerunner for other civil society organizations interested in war crimes trials and their proper monitoring and evaluation. Experience gained from meetings and contacts with relevant international organizations will contribute for even better needs - focused and results - oriented analysis reporting on the progress of war crimes trials before courts in the region.
Approach & Methodology
The RDC is currently undergoing a transformation to become a sustainable documentation and research centre that will be present for generations to come. A new component of this will be a coherent program strategy based on strong individual projects. The program will strive to attain larger regional dimensions and mobilize civil society organizations and other stakeholders concerned about the need for confidence, reparation, reconciliation, a lasting peace and sustainable democratisation in the region.
The war crimes trials monitoring project is an activity that already exists in the current organizational program and it will be continued in the program strategy because of its strategic importance in preparing, especially some region WHAT DOES THIS MEAN ??, to assume a more active role in confronting the past and taking accountability for atrocities.
The RDC is raising awareness among donors of the importance to create mechanisms and conditions within the countries of the region to deal with these issues well before the closing of the ICTY in 2010. The aim is to mobilize and create resources for this purpose in the coming 4 years.
The RDC will also work closely with the regional and international organizations that monitor the performance of the Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatian and SCG ( Serbian and Montenegrin) governments in fulfilling their international obligations regarding war crimes trials. As the quality of the RDC reports increases, the aim will be to lobby, together with these organizations, for the national governments to increase the quality of the proceedings.
The RDC will also strive to mobilize civil society organizations to raise societal consciousness regarding the obligation of national governments to fulfil the needs of victims and their families for truth, justice, social accountability and closure.
The RDC will try to mobilize interest about the major issues of the war crimes trials among relevant international organizations, the media and general public in BiH and, together with partner organisation in Belgrade ( Humanitarian Law Research and Documentation Centre ) and Zagreb ( Centre for Research and Documentation of War Events ) to raise awareness in SCG and Croatia concerning the need to reveal the truth about the atrocities committed during war and the importance of facingwith the recent criminal past. The RDC will continue its cooperation with international organizations ( EU, ICTY, OSCE, and OHR ) and the media.
Project Objectives
- 100% of the trials taking place in BiH and some trials in Croatia and SCG during 2005.
- The European Union ( EU ), International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), OSCE and other relevant international organizations in SCG and Montenegro and Kosovo are assisted in better evaluating whether the national governments are fulfilling international obligations regarding war crimes trials.
- Relevant international organizations ( OSCE, ICTY, OHR in Bosnia ) interested in war crimes trials continue receiving information and institutionalise the exchange of information and output from war crime trials monitoring done by RDC.
- The RDC has increased and improved the quality and scope of its documentation fund and literature on war crimes.
- The RDC will inform the public about the proceedings and whether they contribute to revealing the truth and establishing accountability for atrocities.
Activities & Outputs / Products
Objective |
Activity |
Outputs / Verifications |
1. 100% of the trials are monitored in BiH and some in Croatia and SCG |
1.1 To coordinate and carry out monitoring of war crimes
1.2 Liaise with specialized authorities
1.3 To write reports and analysis from the trials |
1. Monitoring reports and analysis |
2. The European Union ( EU ), (ICTY), OSCE and other relevant international organizations in better evaluating whether the national governments are fulfilling international obligations regarding war crimes trials |
2.1 To hold meetings and liaise with relevant international organizations to better understand their needs and activities and identify a role for the RDC
2.2 To provide relevant international organizations with concise reports and analysis focused on their needs
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2.1 Monitoring reports and analysis 3 weeks after each trial |
3.Institutionalize exchange of information |
3.1 To coordinate 3 regional working meetings between monitors from, BIH, Croatia and SCG and participants from regional civil society organizations with an interest to assume a monitoring function |
3.1 Reports from the meetings
3.2 A working paper on good practices in monitoring and reporting on war crimes trials |
4. Improve documentation fund |
4.1 Collect documentation from war crimes trials
4.2 Archive the documents and reports
4.3 Write reports ( see under objective 1 ) |
4.2 Database |
5. Public continues to be informed about the proceedings |
5.1 Publish public - targeted reports on the RDC website
5.2 Issue press releases about proceedings
5.3 Maintain relations with the media
5.4 Continue publishing of trial analysis in newspapers
5.5 Exchange lessons learned on how to work with general public and media, with international partners such as Documentation Centre of Cambodia, Centre for Legal Studies (Argentina), Netherlands Institute for War Documentation and ICTY |
5.1 Reports on the website published
5.2 Regular press releases issued
5.4 Trial analysis published in newspapers |
Work plan & Related costs
Work Plan
Activity |
Time - frame |
Responsible Project Members |
Related costs |
1.1 To coordinate and carry out monitoring of war crimes trials
1.2 To write reports and analysis from each trial |
On-going in accordance with trial schedules
On-going during the whole year |
Coordinator
Coordinator
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Salaries for 1 Coordinators
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2.1 To hold regular meetings and liaise with the relevant international organizations (see above)
2.2 To provide relevant international organizations with reports and analysis from trials |
Minimum every 2 months
Three weeks after each trial |
Coordinator
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Salaries for 1 Coordinators
Travel costs
Translating and proofreading
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3.1 Collect documentation from war crimes trials
3.2 Archive the documents, reports and analysis
3.3 Write reports and analysis (see under objective 1) |
On-going
On-going
2 weeks after each trial |
Monitors
Coordinators
Monitors |
Salaries for 2 Monitors |
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4.1 Publish public-targeted reports on RDC website
4.2 Issue press releases about proceedings
4.3 Maintain relations with the media
4.4 Continue publishing of trial analysis in newspapers |
On-going
On-going
On-going
On-going |
Coordinators/Monitors |
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Budget / USD ( 2005 )
Type of expense |
Amount |
Coordinator and monitors of war crimes trials - RDC staff
( USD 1,500.00 gross per month x 100% work time x 12 months ) |
18,000.00 |
Monitor of war crimes trials - non - RDC associate ( part time )
( USD 900.00 gross per month x 12 months ) |
10,800.00 |
Coordinator and monitors' travel expenses
( USD 650.00 per month x 12 months ) |
7,800.00 |
Translation of reports and analyses
( USD 170.00 gross per month x 12 months ) |
2,040.00 |
Data base procesing documentation
( USD 600.00 gross per month x 12 months ) |
7,200.00 |
Other costs ( photocopying of court records ) |
1,360.00 |
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Total |
47,200.00 |
Prosecutor's Office for War Crimes and Specialized Chamber for War Crimes of the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Proposed topics :
1.) Good practices in monitoring and reporting;
2.) Feasible information exchange procedures;
3.) Making information more accessible
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