HRW: Legacy of War in Bosnia
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In the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, special attention was paid to the “non-harmonized” processing of war crimes before local courts.
In its 19th report on human rights conditions in countries around the world, Human Rights Watch, HRW, an international organization that monitors human rights, claims that Bosnia and Herzegovina is still marked by “the legacy of war”, while processing of war-crimes indictees before local courts “is not harmonized”.
The 564-page report provides a detailed overview of human-rights conditions in more than 90 countries, including the countries of former Yugoslavia.
The 2009 Global Report argues that the arrest of Radovan Karadzic and his appearance before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, was “a major blow against impunity”, but it also states that in Bosnia and Herzegovina local courts’ processing of those responsible for wartime violations of human rights continues to be “uneven”.
“The War Crimes Chamber of the State Court continued successfully to pursue its mandate of prosecuting those responsible for war atrocities.
Local (district and cantonal) criminal courts continue to face challenges in their effort to effectively tackle war crime trials,” the Report states.
HRW says “notable developments” in the State Court include the first-instance verdict for genocide in Srebrenica handed down in the case of 11 former members of the police and army of Republika Srpska.Seven of the former policemen were sentenced to a total of 284 years’ imprisonment, while four others were acquitted of all charges.
The verdict was handed down in late July 2008.
The Report cited the discovery of a mass grave in Kamenica, holding the bodies of about 100 victims from Srebrenica, as a reminder that Bosnia continues to be marked by the legacy of war.
The Report further notes that in September 2008 the War Crimes Chamber of the State Court presented a new state-level war crimes processing strategy, with the aim of “solving a large number of cases, treating up to 10,000 suspects”.
As indicated in the Report, in the course of 2008 Republika Srpska prosecutors filed 21 indictments against 44 indictees, while district courts rendered 12 verdicts. Trials are still underway in nine cases. In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina cantonal and district courts pronounced 85 verdicts against 119 indictees. Sixteen cases are still ongoing.
“The absence of witness support or protection services in most local courts discourages witnesses from testifyng,” the Report says. Other shortcomings noted by HRW in the processing of war-crimes indictees include “an insufficient number of prosecutors and support staff, inadequate cooperation between prosecutors and police, as well as between police across entity lines, lack of legal harmonization and insufficient outreach to affected communities”.
HRW states that the return of refugees and displaced persons to their prewar homes continues to decline, adding that limited economic opportunities and lack of adequate housing constitute two main reasons for this problem.
