OSCE Belgrade mission hosts regional roundtable on conducting local war crimes trials

PALIC, 29 November 2004 - Judicial officials from Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina are focusing on regional co-operation in the building of local capacities to conduct war crimes trials at a two-day meeting that started today.

The roundtable, being held in Palic at the Serbian-Hungarian border, is hosted by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro.

Participants in the event, including the Head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, Ambassador Peter Semneby, will discuss current obstacles to regional co-operation in the conduct of local war crimes. One specific issue is the submission of testimony and witness hearings provided by other judicial authorities. This kind of evidence cannot currently be accepted by local courts in different countries.

As an initiative aimed at regional co-operation, the Palic meeting should also contribute to the various initiatives aimed at regional reconciliation.

Opening the meeting, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, Ambassador Maurizio Massari, highlighted the importance for Serbia to gain expertise in conducting local war crimes trials according to international standards.

"A crucial yardstick for the credibility of Serbian institutions is their ability to take ownership of war crimes trials in the near future as part of their full co-operation with the ICTY," he said.

In support of the Serbian Government's efforts to conduct local war crimes, the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro is also financing a three-day study visit for seven senior officials of the Belgrade war Crimes Chamber to the ICTY in The Hague.

Ambassador Massari welcomed recent statements by the Serbian Government, which acknowledged the importance of co-operating fully with the ICTY. He expressed the hope this would be followed by concrete action in the interest of the Serbian people.