| Press Release |
TRIBUNAL
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| (Exclusively for the use of the media. Not an official document) |
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The Hague, 23 February 2010
VE/MOW/PR1346e
Conference on Tribunal’s Legacy Opens in The Hague
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The Tribunal’s conference “Assessing the legacy of the ICTY” opened today in The Hague with over 350 participants.
“We convened this Conference in order to consult with you on the Tribunal’s legacy and to take stock of the work that is already being done to ensure that the Tribunal has a lasting impact” the Tribunal’s President, Patrick Robinson said in his opening remarks.
The Conference provides a forum for discussion among stakeholders, local and international alike, on key elements of the Tribunal’s legacy, and on how to ensure the Tribunal has a long-lasting positive impact in the former Yugoslavia and beyond.
“The legacy vision must be developed further, and a key notion I would like to introduce in that respect is national ownership. The countries of the region must have the means not only to continue the Tribunal’s work in their national legal systems but also to have full access to the Tribunal’s public records and a possibility to absorb them into their national context on their own terms,” President Robinson said.
The Conference is co-sponsored and co-organised by the Government of the Netherlands and the Sanela Diana Jenkins Human Rights Project at the UCLA School of Law and generously supported by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.
Speakers and moderators include the Tribunal’s President, Registrar and Prosecutor as well as current and former ICTY Judges and staff. Among the panellists are significant players in the region such as chief state and war crimes prosecutors, judges and ministers of justice as well as representatives of the victims associations and non-governmental organisations whose input will be invaluable for the development of the Tribunal’s legacy strategy.
“The legacy is not property of the Tribunal for it to control,” said President Robinson. “I am convinced that through our exchange of ideas at this Conference we will have a fuller and richer vision of what the Tribunal’s legacy should be and that will allow the Tribunal to develop an appropriate legacy strategy,” he concluded.
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Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact
Nerma Jelačić, Spokesperson, Registry and Chambers at
jelacic [at] un.org, +31 (0)70 512 5066, +31 (0)65 357 8006.
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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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