| Press Release | TRIBUNAL |
(Exclusively for the use of the media. Not an official document)
VE/CS/PR1523e
ICTY to hold Regional Legacy Conferences in Sarajevo, Zagreb and Belgrade
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As part of the Tribunal’s efforts to encourage dialogue on its legacy in the former Yugoslavia, the ICTY is convening a series of conferences in November in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia.
The conferences will provide an opportunity for local stakeholders to engage in direct and constructive dialogue about the ICTY’s role in the region. Themes addressed at these conferences will include the Tribunal’s contribution to transitional justice, the Tribunal’s role in helping communities come to terms with past conflicts, and ways in which the legacy of the Tribunal can remain relevant to those most directly affected by its work: the citizens of the former Yugoslavia.
The first conference will be held in Sarajevo on Tuesday, 6 November which will be followed by a second conference in Zagreb on Thursday, 8 November and a final conference in Belgrade on Thursday, 22 November.
The three conferences are organised by the ICTY Outreach Programme and are made possible through the generous support of the European Union and the Governments of The Netherlands and Switzerland.
Commenting on the conferences, ICTY President Theodor Meron stated: “With the Tribunal’s final trials underway, it is now more important than ever for the ICTY to reach communities in the former Yugoslavia. Through these conferences, the Tribunal seeks not only to share information about its accomplishments, but also to hear the views of interested communities as to what further steps are necessary to strengthen the legacy of the Tribunal within the region of the former Yugoslavia.”
Apart from representatives of the Tribunal, participants will include officials from national judiciaries, experts on transitional justice issues, victims, lawyers, journalists, politicians, representatives of NGOs, academics, artists and other stakeholders from the former Yugoslavia.
Each conference will include four panel discussions led by a moderator who will encourage an active and wide-ranging debate among the panelists. The topics of the panels will be the same for each conference, but the specific issues raised and debated will differ in each of the three countries depending on local priorities.
The impetus behind this programme stems from two ICTY legacy conferences held in February 2010 and November 2011 in The Hague, at the initiative of former President, Judge Patrick L. Robinson. Participants at these conferences underscored the pressing need for discussions to be held in the former Yugoslavia concerning the Tribunal’s achievements and its legacy in the region.
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Conferences’ programmes and concept paper
All working sessions of the conferences will be open to the press.
Further details will be sent in a separate Press Advisory a week ahead of each conference.
For further information please contact Nerma Jelačić,
Head of Communications, at jelacic [at] un.org, +31 (0)70 512 5580, +31 (0)65 357 8006.
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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
For more information, please contact our Media Office in The Hague
Tel.: +31-70-512-8752; 512-5343; 512-5356 - Email: press [at] icty.org ()
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