Accelerate and improve the quality of processing war crimes cases in BiH

The Supervisory Board for monitoring the implementation of the State Strategy for War Crimes Cases and the European Union Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina/European Union Special Representative jointly organised a Conference on the Processing of War Crimes Cases, in order to discuss the important issue of investigations and verdicts in war crimes cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to review the progress in the implementation of the State Strategy for War Crimes Cases of Bosnia and Herzegovina, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

The conference was held today at the EU Delegation to BiH/EUSR in Sarajevo, and was opened with introductory addresses by Dr. Renzo Daviddi, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to BiH, Milan Tegeltija, President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH, Ambassador Jonathan Moore, Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, and Milorad Novković, Chairperson of the Supervisory Board for monitoring the implementation of the State Strategy for War Crimes Cases.

Over 1200 war crimes cases have been reported in Bosnia and Herzegovina where the identity of the alleged perpetrator is known, and an investigation and prosecution of the crime are required, as well as several hundred crimes where the suspect is still unknown.

In order to accelerate the processing of war crimes cases throughout BiH, as well as to speed up the implementation of the State Strategy for War Crimes Cases, the EU agreed in December 2012 on budget support amounting to 14.876 million euros for prosecutor's offices and courts over a five-year period. This budget support under IPA formally began in February of this year and in the coming months, 137 employees have been engaged for the needs of 16 prosecutor's offices, 6 courts, and the Criminal Defence Section at the Ministry of Justice of BiH. The goal of the EU's budget support is not to replace but to supplement domestic funding sources for the salaries of judges and prosecutors and their associates on war crimes cases. The first six months of budget support concluded in September of this year.

Dr. Renzo Daviddi, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to BiH, stated that he believes that justice and the prosecution of war crimes are key to reconciliation in BiH and in the region.

- The EU supports these efforts by emphasising the importance of this topic within the framework of the structural dialogue on justice and through extraordinary budget support from IPA funds. Although a slight decrease in the number of war crimes cases is noticeable, the quality of investigations and verdicts in war crimes cases is also important - said Daviddi.

In establishing a mechanism for monitoring progress in war crimes cases, the EU Delegation to BiH has entered into a partnership with the OSCE Mission to BiH, whose role is to monitor and report on progress, but also to support and advise institutions that use this support from IPA.

Ambassador Jonathan Moore stated that now is a crucial moment in the pursuit of accountability for wartime atrocities in BiH.

- We are at the beginning of the most comprehensive joint effort to date to reduce the number of unresolved war crimes cases, as foreseen by the State Strategy for War Crimes Cases. A comprehensive legal framework already exists, European Union budget support has enabled an unprecedented increase in capacity, and the detailed monitoring mechanism of the OSCE Mission will serve as a means of verification and analysis that will enable prosecutor's offices and courts to improve their work and make decisions based on relevant information. Most importantly, judicial institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to demonstrate professionalism and dedication to establishing accountability for war crimes.“

Representatives of the Supervisory Board for monitoring the implementation of the State Strategy for War Crimes Cases, prosecutor's offices and courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina that are beneficiaries of budget support, as well as representatives of competent institutions and organisations participated in the Conference.