The Commissioner for Human Rights: Resolving the fate of missing persons should be priority for governments

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights announced on February 22^nd, 2017 a report titled “Missing Persons and Victims of Enforced Disappearance in Europe”, which summarizes the findings and recommendations for improving the search for missing persons and the protection of rights of victims of enforced disappearances in the member states of the Council of Europe (CoE). The report ensued after a roundtable with human rights defenders held in mid-2016 in Strasbourg and attended by the representatives of the CoE, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, a member of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and human rights defenders from the member states of the CoE, including the Humanitarian Law Center. The aim of the meeting was to exchange information on the situation in European countries affected by the problem of missing persons, based on the findings and recommendations of the Commissioner in March 2016.

HLC Reported to UN Human Rights Committee on the Situation in Serbia

As part of its 119^th session scheduled to take place from March 6^th until March 29^th, 2017, the UN Human Rights Committee (Committee) will discuss the third periodical report by Serbia on the application of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (International Covenant). The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) has sent a report to the Committee on the situation in Serbia and the progress made since the previous reporting cycle in 2011.

In its Report the HLC has focused on the respect for the right to life, the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhumane and humiliating treatment or punishment, and the right to an effective remedy (contained in Articles 2, 6 and 7 of the International Covenant), and concentrated on the list of additional issues that the Committee sent to Serbia regarding the third periodical report and the responses Serbia has given in that regard.

Unpunished Concealment of more than 900 Bodies in Mass Graves in Serbia

On Tuesday, January 31^st, 2017, the HLC presented its eighth dossier in a row about unprosecuted crimes and possiblel perpetrators. The Dossier “The cover-up of evidence of crimes during the war in Kosovo: Concealment of Bodies Operation” shows how the operation of concealing the bodies of Albanians killed during the war in Kosovo in 1999 was planned and executed, and which civilian, military and police institutions were involved in it. The objective of the Dossier is to point to the perpetrators of the concealment of one of the most serious crimes in Kosovo, to enable the citizens of Serbia to hear about the crimes committed in their name, and to encourage witnesses to come out with their knowledge about these events and help the search for the more than a thousand bodies of Albanian civilians who were killed during the conflict in Kosovo and who are still reported as missing.

Dossier: “The cover-up of evidence of crimes during the war in Kosovo: THE CONCEALMENT OF BODIES OPERATION”

Since 2001, mass graves containing the bodies of 941 Kosovo Albanians, mainly civilians killed outside combat situations in Kosovo during 1999, have been found on four locations in Serbia. 744 bodies of Kosovo Albanians have been discovered in Batajnica, on the outskirts of Belgrade, at least 61 in Petrovo Selo, and 84 at Lake Perućac. At least 52 bodies have been subsequently found in the mass grave at Rudnica.

ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN SERBIA GREATEST THREAT TO PEACE IN REGION

With regard to the announced appearance of a war criminal, Veselin Šljivančanin, at a Serbian Progressive Party rally, civil society organizations demand that the ruling political parties stop putting the match to nationalism as electoral fuel, and establish responsibility for preserving and improving peace in the region as their first priority.

These organizations demand that the rally scheduled for Tuesday, January 17^th in Beška be cancelled. Republic of Serbia officials are also expected to take a distance from all individuals convicted of war crimes; otherwise, they would be showing clear support for criminal policies and utter disrespect for victims of war crimes.

Torture in Camps in Serbia Still Unpunished

On December 22nd, 2016, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) presented its sixth dossier in a row on possible perpetrators of war crimes committed during the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. The “Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje” Dossier presents evidence on the treatment of Bosniaks, who sought shelter in Serbia following the fall of Žepa in late July 1995, and on the responsibility of members of the Yugoslav Army (VJ) and the Serbian Ministry of the Interior (MUP) for the crimes committed against the arrested and detained Bosniaks during their stay in Serbia. The Dossier is founded on statements given by surviving detainees, authentic documents of the Republic of Srpska Army, and military and police documents, which were admitted as evidence in a number of cases conducted before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as well as on statements given by representatives of Serbian army and police and members of the international community, before the ICTY, the International Court of Justice and the First Basic Court in Belgrade.

Dossier „Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje“

After capturing Žepa in late July 1995 approximately 800 Bosniaks from Žepa crossed the River Drina and entered the territory of the Republic of Serbia, frightened for their lives after rumours had spread of the crimes committed by the Army of Republika Srpska in Srebrenica. Most of them were members of the Army of BiH, but there were also civilians, including dozens of underage boys. Almost immediately after crossing, the men were taken captive by border guards of the Yugoslav Army and members of Special Police Units.

After registration and interrogation, accompanied by ill-treatment, all detainees were taken to the Šljivovica camp in Braneško Polje, near Čajetina. As there was no room in Šljivovica for such a large number of people, a group of detainees was transferred to another camp, located in Mitrovo Polje (Aleksandrovac municipality). In both camps, detainees were subjected to torture, sexual violence, inhumane treatment, humiliation and starvation, and were robbed of their possessions. Three detainees died as a result of the torture.

The Mitrovo Polje camp was closed in February 1996. The camp in Šljivovica was closed in April 1996, when the last remaining detainees were freed.

To date, no one has been called to account for the torture, abuse and deaths of Žepa male detainees in the camps in Serbia. Although the names are known of the inspectors and guards who were in the camps, no proceedings have ever been brought before any domestic court to establish the criminal responsibility of these individuals for acting contrary to domestic and international law. Neither the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia nor the International Court of Justice has addressed the torture of the Bosniaks in Serbian camps, although both courts were presented with evidence concerning these crimes.

The dossier „Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje“ is available here.

EVENT: Presentation of the “Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje” Dossier

On Thursday, 22 December 2016, the Humanitarian Law Center will present its Dossier “Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje”. The event will take place at the Belgrade Media Center’s Main Hall (Terazije 3, 2^nd Floor) at 11:00 a.m.

After the fall of the protected enclave of Žepa in late July 1995, around 800 Bosniaks sought refuge in the territory of Serbia.  However, immediately after crossing into Serbia they were captured and then taken to two detention camps – Šljivovica near Čajetina and Mitrovo Polje near Aleksandrovac. Until the closure of the camps in April 1996, the detained Bosniaks were subjected to torture, sexual violence, inhumane and degrading treatment, and starvation, and robbed of their belongings.

The “Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje” Dossier is based on the statements of camp survivors, authentic documents of the Army of Republika Srpska, military and police documents and documents that have been admitted as evidence in several cases conducted at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as well as on the testimonies of members of the Serbian Army and Serbian Police, and representatives of the international community before the ICTY, the International Court of Justice and the First Basic Court in Belgrade.

The Dossier presents evidence implicating current members of the Army of Yugoslavia and the Serbian Ministry of the Interior in criminal acts committed against the Bosniaks from Žepa during their captivity in Serbia.

Speakers:

• Milica Kostić, Legal Programme Director, HLC
• Ivana Žanić, Legal Analyst, HLC
• Senad Jusufbegović, former detainee of the Mitrovo Polje camp

Simultaneous translation into English will be provided.  

Human Losses in Wars in Former Yugoslavia: Victims Should Be Remembered By Names Not By Numbers

Following the presentations in Zagreb and Sarajevo, the results from the list of human losses during the armed conflicts in Croatia, Kosovo, and partially in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), as well as the list of detention sites in the armed conflict in BiH, were presented in Belgrade on December 15^th, 2016. According to the research in progress, 13,535 persons were either killed or disappeared during the war in Kosovo, and 2,057 citizens of Serbia and Montenegro were killed or disappeared during the wars in Croatia and BiH, whereas approximately 160,000 citizens of BiH were detained in camps set up throughout the territory of that country.

Presentation of the research of human losses and detention sites during the wars in the former Yugoslavia

On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, the Coalition for RECOM will present its research into the human losses and detention sites during the wars in the former Yugoslavia on December 15th, 2016. The event will take place at the Belgrade Media Center at 11 a.m., and will include the participation of Nataša Kandić, the RECOM Project Coordinator, Slaven Rašković from Center for Dealing with the Past-Documenta (Croatia), Dženana Karup Druško, from the association “Transitional Justice, Accountability and Remembrance” (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Bekim Blakaj, from the Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo.