2010

The conference “The legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and societies in the territory of the former Yugoslavia”, held on the 16th of December 2010 was organized within the scope of the two-year project “Crimes and punishment in the minds of people – internalisation of the ICTY legacy”, implemented with the support of the British embassy in Serbia, and its goal is to contribute to the processes of reconciliation and stabilization in the region through the analysis of the Tribunal’s work and achievements.

Introductory presentations were made by the former President and judge of the ICTY Fausto Pocar, the director of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, Prof. Vojin Dimitrijević and Dr. Marko Milanović from the University of Nottingham.

The conference participants were eminent lawyers, students, journalists and representatives of non-governmental organizations and embassies who presented their views and assessed whether the Tribunal has justified its existence. Some of the questions concerned the ICTY’s most important achievements, as well as the role of national courts following the conclusion of the Tribunal’s work.

This event was organized by Belgrade Centre for Human Rights and Field Office Belgrade

Some 70 students of first and second year of law at Zagreb University attended 3 presentations via a video-link with the Hague. The students were given presentations on the work of the Office of the Prosecutor and the Office of Legal Aid and Detention. In addition, Judge Morrison gave a lecture on the ICTY and the applicable law.  All presentations were followed by many questions.

This event was organized by Field Office Zagreb

As a part of the regional War Crimes Justice Project, the first peer-to-peer meeting of ICTY judges and their Bosnian counterparts was held on 10 Dec. Around 30 judges from all BiH courts attended the meeting, together with two ICTY judges, Judges Fausto Pocar and Bakone Justice Moloto, to discuss practices in adjudicating war crimes cases. Judge Pocar pointed out that the cooperation with the local judiciaries dealing with war crimes cases was ”our absolute priority and duty“. Hilmo Vučinić, a BiH judge, added: “It is important that the experiences of the ICTY are safeguarded and that the acquired knowledge, collected evidence and proved facts are put to use in new proceedings in our courts.” 

 This event was organised by the War Crime Justice Project

The ICTY hosted a group of twelve judicial officials from BiH. The group included 4 judges and 7 prosecutors from both the state and regional level courts, as well as the Registrar of the Court of BiH. This consultative visit’s general goal was to benefit the visitors mainly from the aspect of exchange of experiences with their ICTY counterparts. The visit was coordinated by the Tribunal’s Outreach, in line with the ICTY’s commitment to reinforce partnership with the Bosnian judiciary.

During the two days visit, Bosnian jurists held a series of peer-to-peer meetings with their ICTY counterparts and attended the hearings.    

This visit was orgnised by UNDP BiH

Legal professionals from the Cantonal Prosecutor’s Offices of Mostar, Orašje, Goražde, Zenica, Livno, Široki Brijeg, Travnik, Sarajevo and Tuzla participated in the two-day training. The goal of the training was to transfer the Tribunal’s institutional knowledge and specialised skills to jurisdictions in the region, thereby enhancing their capacity to handle complex war crimes cases.

The participants learnt how to locate and seek ICTY information and materials relevant to their work as well as how to use databases such as the website, the ICTY Court Records Database and the Appeals Chambers Case Law Research Tool. They were also trained on how to make requests to the ICTY for legal assistance and for variation of protective measures under the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence. 

This event was organised by the War Crime Justice Project

The ICTY team made up of RLO to Croatia and two support staff went to a one day visit to Vukovar to meet with the local authorities and Victims’ associations. The team met with Vukovar Mayor Željko Sabo. The LO provided a brief overview of the new ICTY terms of reference, focussing on Outreach.

The ICTY team made a PowerPoint presentation for Vukovar Victims’ Associations focusing on video of victims’ testimony at the ICTY, and delivered various pamphlets, books and case information sheets. The LO asked the victims to provide advice on how to implement the Outreach Strategy.

Training session for Serbian legal professionals

Legal professionals from Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office and the Higher and Appellate Court participated in the two-day training session. The goal of the training was to transfer the Tribunal’s institutional knowledge and specialised skills to jurisdictions in the region, thereby enhancing their capacity to handle complex war crimes cases.

The participants learnt how to locate and seek ICTY information and materials relevant to their work as well as how to use databases such as the website, the ICTY Court Records Database and the Appeals Chambers Case Law Research Tool. They were also trained on how to make requests to the ICTY for legal assistance and for variation of protective measures under the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence. 

This event was organised by the War Crime Justice Project

The ICTY hosted a group of 10 Serbian editors and journalists from various print and electronic media for a four day visit which aimed to strengthen their capacity to deal with war crimes cases and to introduce them with the work of the institutions dealing with war crimes. The prime purpose of this study visit was to assist in the improvement of the reporting skills of the journalists in the context of war crime trial reporting and other issues within the area of post conflict heritage in the region. Second, it is expected that journalists will be able to convey to their audience the importance and the challenge of facing war crimes. The group followed presentations on various aspects of the Tribunal’s work, focusing on reporting about war crimes, including on journalism and contempt of court, investigations, UN Detention Unit, work with witnesses, defence, military analysis, Tribunal’s legacy and finding information on the ICTY’s website, among others. The group had an informal meeting with the Prosecutor during which lively discussion ensued. The visit was ended with a round table with the Tribunal’s spokespersons.

The visit was organized by OSCE Mission to Serbia

Outreach hosted a one day visit of 15 Kosovo civil servants who are visiting the Netherlands as part of their training at the Clingendael Institute. The group was informed about the work and achievements of the ICTY and the challenges it is facing in the effort to implement its completion strategy. Special focus was given to Kosovo related cases. The group was interested in leadership responsibility, ICTY sentencing practice, Milutinović acquittal and the pending Haradinaj re-trial. The group was also given the tour of the courtroom.

This visit was sponsored by the Clingendael institute

Outreach presentations for high school pupils in Kosovo continued to take place at a rate of two schools per week. The presentations have been conducted in 13 out of the 15 planned schools while the total number of students participating is 640. Information and promotional materials were handed out to students and teachers. A mug with the logo of the ICTY, produced specially for this event, was given to school directors and their deputies. Students received notebooks containing information about the ICTY, together with other promotional material including leaflets, cards, calendars, bookmarks, and a poster mapping the global spread of international justice.  Key-figures and CIS on Kosovo related cases were given to interested students. Each ICTY lecture is followed by a presentation given by a HLC representative about war victims of the respective municipality. The presentations were well received, as both school staff and students have demonstrated a keen interest in the presented information. Four school directors and one professor sent emails praising the presentation. The presentation given at the Pristina gymnasium on 26 November 2010 was followed by a team from the Kosovo Radio Television (RTK). A short interview based on the programme of the ICTY high school presentation was given to the journalists who were also given a hard copy of the press release issue at the start of the project. The TV report was broadcast on the main news programme on the same day at 7.30 pm.   

This project is organised by the Outreach programne and Humanitarian law centre in Kosovo

Outreach and OTP representatives in The Hague talked via a video link with American students participating in a course on human rights advocacy at the Iowa University. The students learnt about the ICTY's establishment, mandate and structure, and the efforts of the Outreach to communicate the work of the ICTY to constituencies in the former Yugoslavia. They were also given the outline of the Tribunal’s contribution to the development of international law. Questions concerned attitudes towards the ICTY in the region and the planned completion of the ICTY’s mandate.

Outreach hosted two groups of journalists and editors from Lebanon, as part of media forums organized by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The forums were intended to provide a selected group of editors and reporters them with an opportunity to familiarise themselves with international justice as a concept broader than what the STL's mandate covers. The programme also included visits to the ICC, workshops and roundtables on various aspects of international justice.

During their visits to the ICTY, both groups heard presentations from all three organs of the Tribunal – the Chambers, the Registry and the Office of the Prosecutor - and attended the trials. During the discussions, it was made apparent that both the ICTY and the STL face similar challenges in providing accurate and unbiased information about their work to the public in the former Yugoslavia and Lebanon, respectively.

This visit was organized by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and Foreign Press Association in the Netherlands

All UN agencies in Croatia marked UN Day under the slogan "Leave No One Behind" in the town of Petrinja.  Petrinja, 60 kilometres southeast of Zagreb, was chosen for this event for its location in an area of special state concern. The purpose was to raise awareness regarding the challenges to development facing Croatia.

President Josipović and former president Mesić attended the event, as well as a number of representatives of the diplomatic community, UN project partners and a wide cross section of Croatian citizens.  At its stand at the event, the ICTY projected an English video titled “Investment in Peace” (2005) and the judgement in the Martić trial, in BCS . The staff also distributed various ICTY materials. 

This event was organised by UN agencies operating in Croatia

Croatian political leaders including President Ivo Josipović, former president Stipe Mesić; UN project partners, representatives of diplomatic community and general public

Outreach Programme launched a new round of its successful high school presentation project in Kosovo. The programme includes a series of presentations at 15 gymnasium high schools during the autumn and winter terms of the school year as part of the Civic Education syllabus.   

The multimedia presentations are designed to introduce Grade 12 students to the work of the Tribunal and its achievements in bringing to justice those most responsible for war crimes committed in the Balkans during the 1990s. The students will also learn about the Tribunal’s contribution to the establishment of facts and post-conflict justice in their region.

In this round of presentations, a representative of the Humanitarian Law Centre in Kosovo will join forces with Outreach and present the relevant information from the Kosovo Memory Book, a database compiled by this nongovernmental organisation, which contains a record of all individual victims of the Kosovo conflict.

This project is organized by Outreach Programme and Humanitarian Law Centre Kosovo

Outreach hosted a group of young politicians from Serbia for a half day visit. The group encompassed 10 young politicians from the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and G17 Plus, who were in the Netherlands on a party exchange organised by the Eduardo Frei Foundation, linked to the Dutch Christian Democrats. The group visited the ICTY to learn about the trials that are so significant for the development of the rule of law in Serbia, and also to learn more about state cooperation with the ICTY which is of interest to them in the context of European integration of their country.

The group attended several presentations and the trial of Radovan Karadžić.

This visit was organized by the Eduardo Frei Foundation

Outreach hosted a group of students from Kosovo, Serbia and the Netherlands for a half day visit. This visit was a part of an ongoing project aimed at students from Kosovo and Serbia, that includes lectures, workshops and discussions with their Dutch colleagues about dealing with the past and how to approach European integration.  

The group attended several presentations and the trial of Radovan Karadžić.

This visit was organised by IKV Pax Christi

YIHR round table on Merčep case

Outreach Assistant attended a roundtable on the topic “The Merčep Unit: The Crime Path” that dealt with the necessity of prosecuting individuals responsible for war crimes, and in this particular case members of the armed unit headed by Tomislav Merčep during the war in Croatia. Participants of the round table included victims, government representatives as well as representatives from political parties, nongovernmental organizations and youth organizations, journalists and intellectuals. The round table was attended by some 50 people. The investigative materials in the Merčep case were forwarded by ICTY to the Croatian Prosecutor’s Office in 2006.

The event was organised by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights

During a two-day event in Belgrade, the ICTY and its partner organisations launched a major regional project aimed at strengthening the capacity of judiciaries in the former Yugoslavia.

The Tribunal will implement this 18-month programme, titled “War Crimes Justice Project”, together with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), and OSCE field operations in the region. The Project was made possible through the generous support of the European Union.

Speaking at the launch in Belgrade, the President Patrick Robinson underlined the importance of building the capacity of the national jurisdictions to achieve justice, peace and the rule of law in the former Yugoslavia. He said that the Tribunal will keep working together with partners in the region and elsewhere to help that process.

The purpose of the project is to facilitate the transfer of the Tribunal’s unique institutional knowledge and specialised skills to jurisdictions in the region and ensure that those jurisdictions have access to the Tribunal’s relevant materials in a useable form.

The project will be centred on a wide-range of activities designed to facilitate the professional development of national legal professionals, including peer-to-peer meetings with ICTY officials.

The first such meeting was held immediately after the launch of the project between a group of judges from the region and the ICTY judges, including judge Patrick Robinson, judge Fausto Pocar, judge Carmel Agius, judge Howard Morrison. 

Other activities will include the translation into local languages of transcripts from selected ICTY proceedings and of the Tribunal’s Appeals Chamber Case Law Research Tool, development of curricula on international criminal and humanitarian law, a manual for defence lawyers and other various research and analysis tools. The Project will also sponsor the hiring of support staff within domestic judicial institutions to assist in prosecutorial analysis and legal research.

This visit was facilitated and coordinated by Outreach office in Belgrade.

Registry Liaison Officer (RLO) in Croatia gave a presentation on the ICTY as part of the United Nations Police Officers Education Programme implemented in Croatia since 2006. The programme includes a two-week training session held once a year in the autumn. The trainings are aimed at the future participants of UN peace keeping missions. The programme is organised for both Croatian and international participants. The Ministry of the Interior invited participants from the region (BiH, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Slovenia) while the UN invited a couple participants from other states. The RLO delivered a presentation on international humanitarian law, and transitional justice in peacekeeping operations. 

This presentation was organised by Croatian Ministry of Defence.

Outreach hosted a group of five final-year journalism students from the Belgrade University. The visit to the ICTY was organised with the purpose to get the students acquainted with the work and achievements of the Tribunal, and to attend trials. The students learnt about a wide range of issues, including the ICTY achievements in prosecuting sexual violence, investigations, contempt of court, legal standards, defence and working with witnesses. The students also met the Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz. Once back in Serbia they will each write a report on the visit to the Tribunal. The visit is part of the Tribunal’s continuing efforts to bring its work closer to the people of the former Yugoslavia and maintain judicial transparency.

This visit was facilitated by the OSCE Mission to Serbia.

The ICTY hosted a high-level group of judges and prosecutors from Serbia, for a visit aimed at strengthening of the cooperation and expertise-sharing between the Tribunal and members of local judiciaries. The group was welcomed by the ICTY President, Patrick Robinson.  The judges and prosecutors followed presentations on a wide range of issues, including ICTY databases, protective measures for witnesses, plea bargaining and sentencing practice, legal standards, case management and appeals. Participants also held peer-to-peer discussions with their ICTY counterparts and greatly enhanced their knowledge about judicial work at the Tribunal.

This visit was facilitated by the OSCE Mission to Serbia

Nerma Jelačić, the Chambers and Registry Spokesperson and acting Head of Outreach participated in three-day workshop that brought together outreach officials from hybrid and international criminal tribunals and representatives of relevant NGOs to discuss lessons learned, best practices, and challenges in doing outreach well.

The aim of the International Outreach Court Workshop was to enable the international criminal justice outreach practitioners to benefit from each others’ experiences; spur new and innovative thinking about outreach methods and thinking; and also helps form the basis for a report to be authored jointly by UC Berkley’s Human Rights Centre and the Open Society Justice Initiative.

The topic discussed include: The Foundation of Outreach, Strategic Development of Outreach Programming, The Opportunity to be Found in Failure, Identifying the Challenges, Focusing on Specific Challenges, Residual Issues, etc.

The event was organised by Open Society Justice Initiative and Human Rights Centre.

This visit was organised by the Zagreb branch of Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) in cooperation with Outreach.

Judge Patrick Robinson, President of the ICTY visited Croatia at the invitation of the President of the Supreme Court, but also took the opportunity to meet the President, Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and other key national and international personalities such as NGO representatives, European Union Delegation to Croatia, UNDP and OSCE representatives, as well as representatives of Judicial Academy.

During the meetings Judge Robinson generally raised the following points: The beginning of the Legacy Project, an ICTY/ODIHR/UNICRI joint venture; Announcing plans for a new Legacy Conference, for September 2011, on Jurisprudence and institutional contributions of the ICTY; The status of the Residual Mechanism, and plans to establish ICTY Information Centres in the Region and Croatia’s processing of domestic war crimes cases.

The visit was facilitated by ICTY Outreach.

Registry Liaison Officer in Zagreb participated in a regional conference in Zagreb, titled "Reconciliation for future – European prospects of the Western Balkans". The conference was organised by the Association of Local Democracy Agencies (LDA), funded by the EC under Instrument for Stability – Peace building Partnership programme.
The Conference adopted a nine-point series of recommendations, for submission to the EC.  The RLO made a presentation on the role of criminal prosecutions in the context of transitional justice initiatives.

This conference was organised by Association of Local Democracy Agencies

Number of civil society groups and organisations from the region, including Local Democracy Agencies from central Serbia, Osijek and Mostar, Centre for Regionalism from Novi Sad, Centre for Peace and Non-violence from Osijek, as well as other civil society partners from BiH, Croatia and Serbia

Registry Liaison Officer (RLO) and Outreach Assistant (OA) gave a presentation on ICTY to the activists of the Zagreb branch of Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR). The presentation on ICTY (including information on its establishment, competence, jurisdiction, achievements etc.), was followed by a video-conference with Nerma Jelačić, Spokesperson for Registry and Chambers who spoke about the work with the media and the ICTY completion strategy.

Activists, who are students of various faculties of the Zagreb University, assessed the presentation as informative and interesting, and were especially pleased with the opportunity to take part in the video-conference with the Spokesperson.

Field Office Sarajevo hosted a group of students from the Uppsala Association of International Affairs. The group visited the FO within their study tour of the Balkan countries and met with BiH information Assistant, who introduced them to various topics related to the ICTY. Among other subjects, the group was presented with information on the establishment and development of the ICTY, the completion strategy and main achievements. Particular emphasis was placed on transfer of cases and assistance provided to national jurisdictions.

This event was organised by Uppsala Association of International Affairs

Judge Fausto Pocar attended the annual Symposium in the field of criminal legislation in Neum. Judge Pocar addressed the audience of around 300 judges, prosecutors and other legal professionals from BiH, and also had bilateral meetings with BiH judges.

The symposium was organized under the chairmanship of the Association of FBiH Judges

27 and 28 May, Sarajevo, BiH

Spokesperson, BiH RLO lecture at BIRN training

Spokesperson for Registry and Chambers and BiH Registry Liaison Officer (RLO) participated in the training on war crimes trials reporting for journalists from the local media in BiH. The training was envisaged to assist reporters and editors from electronic and print media to follow war crimes trials on cantonal and district levels, which are expected to be transferred from the Court of BiH. Apart from skill-development training, several sessions addressed the most relevant issues surrounding war crimes trials and reporting on them.

Spokesperson Nerma Jelačić spoke about the Tribunal's work with the media. She outlined the pioneering steps the Tribunal took towards judicial transparency, as well as the need for the media not to forget about the responsibility of accuracy and objectivity that court reporting brings. Furthermore, she spoke about the challenges facing both international and domestic judicial systems and spoke about the gap between the public expectations and the reality of such trials.

The RLO emphasised the importance of consensus within communities in addressing war crimes, necessary for healthy development of these communities, based on de-legitimising war criminals, openly talking about crimes and educating the young generations about the legacy of war crimes and how it affects their lives. The RLO emphasised the role of local media in initiating public debate, and the need for a much wider coverage of war crimes trials.

The event was organised by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN)

30 reporters and editors of local media from BiH

17-20 May, The Hague  

Visit of journalists from Serbian regional media

Outreach hosted a group of journalists from Serbian regional media. The visit intended to bring the work of the Tribunal closer to the communities outside the capital. Since this was the first time any of the journalists were visiting the Tribunal, Outreach prepared a comprehensive program to introduce them to the key functions and achievements of the Tribunal, keeping in mind specific interests of media workers. The journalists also met with the Chief Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz for an extensive session of Q&A.

This visit was facilitated and coordinated by the OSCE Mission to Serbia. 

Ten journalists of Serbian regional media, including RTV Kragujevac, RTV Čačak, RTV Zaječar, RTV Novi Sad, Radio Novi Sad, Tanjug, TV 5 Niš, FONET and Radio Free Europe

14 May, The Hague

Visit of Serbian students of security studies

Outreach hosted a half day visit of a group of students from the Faculty of Security Studies in Belgrade, Serbia. This visit formed a part of a wider study visit to European institutions in the field of international security and justice. The goals of this annual visit centered on the assistance in building democratic and justice awareness and values in the future Serbian decision-makers and confronting the prejudice and misinformation often present among the young leaders in Serbia. The group was introduced to the history and legacy of the ICTY, as well as cases related to Srebrenica and Kosovo. They also heard a presentation on military analysis in the ICTY.  

The visit was organised by the Club of Students from the Faculty of Security Studies

30 students from the Faculty of Security Studies in Belgrade, Serbia

10-11 May, The Hague

Visit of Serbian law students

Outreach hosted a group of law students from Belgrade for a two-day visit. It was a follow up to a course on international criminal law organised by the OSCE Mission to Serbia in 2009. The trip to The Hague, which apart from the study visit to the ICTY also included short visits to the ICC and ICJ, was the OSCE award to the four best ranking students from this course.

This was an opportunity for them, as some of the most promising law students, to gain more knowledge of the Tribunal, change or improve their perspectives on the Tribunal’s work and disseminate it further to their peers.

The group analysed a number of elements of the ICTY law and procedure, including ways to manage complex trials and ensure equality of arms, weigh evidence and write judgements, practice of prosecuting command responsibility, joint criminal enterprise and the crime of genocide. The group also heard presentations on working with witnesses and on media coverage of the ICTY in the region of former Yugoslavia. The group was also received by the ICTY Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, for an informal conversation

This visit was facilitated and coordinated by the OSCE Mission to Serbia.

Four students and one teaching assistant from the Belgrade University's law Faculty

10 May, Sarajevo, BiH

Judge Moloto speaks at book promotion

Judge Moloto spoke at the promotion of the BCS translation of Guenael Mettraux’s book ‘The Law on Command Responsibility’. Mr Mettraux is a defence counsel before the ICTY and in his prize-winning book he examines the law of command responsibility from its beginnings to the present application, most notably in ICTY cases.

The book will be distributed by the Open Society Fund to all legal professionals in BiH free of charge.

The book promotion was organised by the Open Society Fund (OSF) in BiH

Number of journalists and NGO members from BiH

4 May, The Hague

Visit of law students from Kragujevac

Outreach hosted a half day visit of a large group of law students from Kragujevac, Serbia. The visit was a part of the study visit to institutions of international justice based in The Hague. The group was introduced to the history and legacy of the ICTY, followed by an OTP prosecution guide from an indictment to the appeal. Other topics covered included the command responsibility and joint criminal enterprise.

The visit was organised by the Association of Students from the Kragujevac Law Faculty

50 law students from the Law Faculty in Kragujevac, Serbia, accompanied by one prrofessor and Judge of Constitutional Court of Kosovo, Ivan Čukalović

26 – 29 April, Zagreb, Belgrade

Registrar's Visit to Croatia and Serbia  

On 26 and 27 April, the Registrar accompanied by a number of associates including the Head of Outreach visited Croatia. The Registrar met with a number of high officials, and highlighted the importance of outreach in all meetings:  Office of Cooperation with International Courts, Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court, Chief Prosecutor’s Office, EU, UNDP, OSCE and four NGOs.

The Registrar then continued the tour with a two day visit to Serbia, where he met with government officials (National Committee for Cooperation with the ICTY, Minister of Justice), judges, partner NGOs (YIHR, HLC, Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights) and international organisations representatives (OSCE, UNDP). They discussed ICTY’s completion strategy, legacy efforts, new outreach plans and information centres project.

This visit was facilitated and coordinated by Registry Liaison offices in Croatia and Serbia. 

Number of governmental, international and NGO partners in Croatia and Serbia

26 April, Sarajevo and Srebrenica, BiH

Prosecutor's Visit to BiH  

Serge Brammertz, the ICTY Prosecutor, paid a three-day visit to BiH ahead of his biannual report to the UN Security Council. In Sarajevo, Brammertz met with members of the Bosnian presidency, HR Valentin Inzko and representatives of the BiH Office of the Prosecutor, among others. 

The prosecutor also visited Srebrenica and the Potočari memorial centre for the first time. There he paid his respect to the victims of the 1995 massacre and met with members of survivors’ associations. On the occasion he called on Serbia and the other countries in the region, but also the international community, to do everything to achieve the arrest of Ratko Mladić.

This visit was facilitated and coordinated by the Registry Liaison office in BiH. 

Number of governmental, international and NGO players in BiH

27 April, The Hague

The Outreach Programme hosted a group of students and two accompanying professors of international relations from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of the Ljubljana, Slovenia for a half day visit. They received an introduction to the work of the Tribunal and a presentation on the right to a fair trial. They also attended a session in the Karadzic trial.

This visit was organised by Faculty of Social Studies of Ljubljana University

27 April, Belgrade, Serbia

Visit of French students to Belgrade Field Office

Belgrade Field Office hosted a group of students the International Affairs Society in Paris, France. The group met with the Registry Liaison Officer to discuss the work of ICTY, Serbia’s co-operation with the ICTY and relationship between ICTY and Serbia’s path towards EU accession. The conversation also touched on topics of legal aid, security issues facing field office staff, and the issue of promoting the work of the ICTY in Serbia.

This visit was organised by l'Association Affaires Internationales de Sciences Po

18 students of international relations

12 – 14 April, The Hague

Visit of war crime trials monitor and journalists from Croatia

Outreach office in the Hague hosted a group of journalists and war crimes trials monitors from Croatia for three days. The group consisted of eight war crimes trials monitors from Centre Documenta, Civic Centre for Human Rights, and Centre for Peace, as well as five journalists and two journalism students. In addition to the presentations, the group was welcomed by the Registrar, had a meeting with the Prosecutor and a session with the Vice-President of the ICTY.

This visit was organized by NGO Documenta

Eight war crimes trials monitors, five journalists and two students of journalism

12 April, The Hague

Visit of Slovenian law students

The Outreach Programme hosted a visit of students of law from Slovenia and introduced them to the Tribunal and its main achievements. The students were given answers to a number of legal issues they highlighted as being of special interest to them as law students. The group sat in two presentations, including an overview of the ICTY history and completion strategy, as well as a step by step guide to an ICTY trial.

This visit was organized by ELSA Slovenia

19 law students

12 April, The Hague

Visit of journalists from the former Yugoslavia

The Outreach Programme hosted a visit of journalists from BiH, Croatia and Serbia for the afternoon. The group learnt about the goals and development of the ICTY and the current challenges as the Tribunal is approaching the completion of its mandate during a lively meeting with the Tribunal’s spokespersons.

This visit was organized by European Journalism Centre

12 journalists

30 March, Kragujevac, Serbia

Lecture to students of law from Kragujevac

The Registry Liaison Officer for Serbia participated in a lecture titled “Institutional and Legal Framework for Fighting War Crimes in Serbia” organised by the Law Faculty in Kragujevac. The RLO presented the work of the Outreach Office in Belgrade and discussed Tribunal's co-operation with local judiciaries. Other speakers included Bruno Vekarić, Deputy War Crimes Prosecutor, and Ivan Jovanović from the OSCE Mission in Serbia.

This event was organised by the Law Faculty in Kragujevac.

30 students of law

26 March,  Mostar, BiH

Roundtable on Reconciliation

The BiH Registry Liaison Officer (RLO) took part in the roundtable ‘Reconciliation for the Future: European Perspective of Western Balkans’, organised in Mostar by European Commission and a number of civil society groups and organisation from the region. The roundtable gathered a number of prominent civil society leaders from BiH, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, who discussed the importance of confidence building and reconciliation for the development of societies of the former Yugoslavia and the accession to the European Union. The second part of the roundtable was attended by Gary Robbins, the Head of OSCE in BiH, and Joao Soares, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of OSCE. The BiH RLO spoke about the contribution of the ICTY through establishment of facts in its cases to the process of coming to terms with the recent past in the former Yugoslavia. He drew attention to the responsibility of state organs to promote truth telling and fact-based debate on the crimes committed and their responsibility to ensure the ICTY’s positive legacy in the former Yugoslavia.

This event was organised by the European Commission and a number of regional NGO's.

Number of civil society groups and organisations from the region

02 – 06 March, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

International Roundtable on Outreach by International Courts

The BiH RLO attended an international roundtable on outreach efforts of international courts organised by the International Center for Transitional Justice and Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). Along with international experts Mohammad Suma from Sierra Leone and Wanda Hall, working in DRC and Central African republic, RLO was invited to present ICTY’s experience in establishing its outreach programme and its role in ICTY overall mandate. In addition, the roundtable examined the outreach efforts of the ECCC and explored how the lessons learned in the contexts of ICTY, SCSL and ICC could assist ECCC in further developing its outreach strategy.

This event was organised by the International Center for Transitional Justice and Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).

Number of outreach professionals

26 February, The Hague

Visit of students from Mitrovica

A group of 10 students from the Mitrovica University from Kosovo, accompanied by three representatives of the organising NGOs, came to the Tribunal for a half day visit. The visit focused on Kosovo-related cases that were completed or are currently underway at the Tribunal. The guests were introduced to the challenges that the trial chambers were facing during some of the trials and a summary of findings in completed cases, as well as to judicial and possible wider historical and social importance of the work of the ICTY. The visit was completed by attending a trial session.

This visit was organized by Mitrovica Youth Program.

Ten students and three organisers

25 February, The Hague

Visit of history scholars 

Outreach facilitated a visit of four history scholars from the former Yugoslavia to the Tribunal. The visit focused on the historical context of Tribunal judgments and documentation, as well as web site features of use to researchers.  The guests were briefed on the types of Tribunal documents that contribute to the historical record, such as judgements, witness testimony, transcripts and evidence. In addition, they were introduced to various features of the website that would be very useful to historical researches. After the presentations, the guests attended a public hearing in one of the ICTY trials.

This visit was organised by the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation.

Four scholars (three from Serbia and one from BiH) and two organisers

23-24 February, The Hague

Conference on the legacy of the ICTY  

The Tribunal convened a two-day conference titled “Assessing the Legacy of the ICTY” in The Hague. The Outreach Programme in the Hague as well as all of the field offices provided extensive assistance to the organization of the Conference. Inspired by broader UN efforts to coordinate rule of law activities, and by interest from governments, policy-makers, scholars and others, the conference provided a platform for the Tribunal and relevant stakeholders to share their views of the Tribunal’s legacy and their visions of how best to implement outreach activities that would help utilise legal and institutional legacies of the ICTY. The conference also provided the opportunity to exchange information about the legacy work that is being carried out by the Tribunal, other UN and international organisations, national governments and courts, NGOs and scholars. The conference was also an opportunity to introduce the participants and the public to the ICTY Outreach activities and publications. A wealth of information material was distributed, attracting large interest of the participants.

The Conference was co-sponsored by the Government of the Netherlands and the Sanela Diana Jenkins Human Rights Project at UCLA School of Law as well as the Governments of Switzerland and Finland.

Around 400 participants, mainly from the former Yugoslavia, other countries of Europe and the USA 

10 February, The Hague

Visit of Students from Croatia and the Netherlands

A group of 40 Croatian and Dutch students came to the Tribunal for a joint visit. The purpose of the trip was to help Dutch students better understand what happened in the former Yugoslavia, and to help the Croatian students learn about and experience an organization that is pivotal in their recent history. The students were presented the key information of the ICTY, including its mission, completion strategy, witness statements, and overview of cases of relevance to Croatia. In addition, they were introduced to the differences between the ICTY and other international criminal legal institutions and explained some of the legal considerations in setting up these organizations. Following the presentations, the students were given a short tour of the courtroom.

his visit was organised by the faculty associations from the universities of Zagreb, eSTUDENT and Tilburg, Asset.

40 students of economics and business studies: 20 students from the Zagreb University, Croatia and 20 from the Tilburg University, the Netherlands

1-3 February, Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš, Serbia

ICTY lectures at the New Policy School in Serbia

The ICTY Spokesperson and acting Head of Outreach, Nerma Jelačić, held three lectures about the ICTY at the New Policy School (NPS) in Serbia. The project wants to contribute to changing the system of values in Serbia and to the creation of a strategy for the new policy of facing the war past through education and building of capacities of the new generation of young leaders. The presentations took place in Belgrade, Niš and Novi Sad and were attended by young university students and young journalists. Jelačić spoke about the achievements of the ICTY, its key findings about crimes and chain of responsibilities, work with witnesses, and the challenges the ICTY faced in completing its mission. The students asked many questions, which provoked a lively debate.  

A  fortnight later, between 19 and 21 February, in Niš, Outreach representative in Serbia attended another NPS seminar “Facing the Past” for young students and politicians.

The New Policy School is a project implemented by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights.

More than 60 university students and young journalists