ICTY delivers transcripts in local languages to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia under OSCE/ODIHR-led War Crimes Justice Project

THE HAGUE, 12 November 2010 - The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) will deliver a first set of trial transcripts produced in local languages to the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina today as part of an OSCE/ODIHR-led project that aims to enhance the capacity of judiciaries in the region to handle complex war crimes cases.

Also today, the second batch of transcripts will be delivered to the Croatian authorities. A first set of transcripts was delivered to Croatia in October. Until the War Crimes Justice Project started, the trial transcripts were available only in the official languages of the ICTY, English and French.

"It was regrettable and unfortunate that these transcripts were not available in the national languages of the countries concerned. I therefore welcome the opportunity to set that right through the War Crimes Justice Project," said Judge Patrick Robinson, the President of the Tribunal.

The sets of transcripts sent today to Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Croatia contain more than 600 pages in total. The two countries are expected to receive additional transcripts in early December, while other transcripts are expected to be delivered in late November to the authorities of Serbia.

In October, the Tribunal delivered 500 pages of transcripts to the Croatian authorities, while 400 pages were delivered to Serbian authorities earlier this month. The Tribunal aims to produce at least 60,000 transcript pages in local languages as part the project.

The War Crimes Justice Project is a 4-million euro regional project funded by the European Union and carried out by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in partnership with the ICTY, the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, and OSCE field operations.

This Project is funded by the European Union.