Sarajevo, 19 November 2013
The ICTY Field Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) today hosted a visit by a group of students from the International University of Sarajevo. Twenty students from the institution's International Relations programme actively participated in the two-hour presentation by asking numerous questions of Registry Liaison Officer Almir Alić. The students wanted to know more about the organisational aspect of Tribunal trials and also about the ICTY's sentencing policies. In addition, Almir gave an introduction to work of the ICTY Outreach programme and talked about the experience of interacting with young people in BiH, a subject which proved to be of particular interest to the visiting students.
Commenting on the presentation, student Ajla Smaka said: “My colleagues and I found the lecture very interesting and well delivered ... The information that we received during the presentation and the experience we gained in visiting your office was significant for our studies, and also something we can use in our future careers.”
Busra Dillioglu, a senior assistant at the Department of International Relations, thanked Almir and underlined the importance of allowing the students to get such information first-hand in a safe and open forum. Ms Dillioglu also recognised the role the ICTY could play in community relations: “If we really teach young people that these acts are crimes against humanity - not only as a diplomatic doctrine but as truly horrible acts - I hope that there will be no repetition of such things again.”