Serbia violates international law by refusing to grant the status of civilian war victims to the victims of Sjeverin

Regarding the 23^rd anniversary since the crime in Sjeverin

On Thursday, 22^nd of October, the opening of the memorial to the victims in Sjeverin will mark the 23^rd anniversary of the abduction and murders of 16 Serbian citizens of Bosnian nationality. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) and the Sandžak Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms (the Sandžak Committee) caution that, from the point of view of international law, it is unacceptable for the Republic of Serbia not to approve the status of civilian war victims to the victims of Sjeverin. At the same time, the HLC and the Sandžak Committee state that the engagement of the local community and the municipality of Priboj in the commemoration of this crime and their help in constructing the monument are a rare example of responsible attitude on part of the institutions in the former Yugoslavia towards the victims, who come from an ethnic minority community.

Compensation of Damages for Former Detainees of Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje Camps

The First Basic Court in Belgrade rendered a judgment on September 19^th, 2015, upon the completion of the repeated proceedings, upholding in part the claims made by Ahmet Kamenica and Selim Nuhanović, two Bosniaks who were detained in Šljivovica and Mitrovo Polje camps in Serbia during 1995 and 1996, and obliged the Republic of Serbia to pay the amount of 800,000 RSD in damages for the psychological pain suffered by them. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), which represents Kamenica and Nuhanović in these proceedings, emphasizes that this judgment states precise facts about the torture the prisoners in these camps endured, and that the responsibility of the state for the acts undertaken by the members of the Ministry of the Interior (MUP), who managed and protected these camps, was properly established.

Impunity for mass graves, indifference to the families of the disappeared

On the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared

The International Day of the Disappeared is marked on 30 August, and is aimed at raising awareness about the destiny of forcibly disappeared persons.  The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) draws attention to the fact that, according to the findings in 2015 of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (Committee), Serbia has failed to investigate and punish those responsible for the mass graves holding bodies of Kosovo Albanians in Serbia, including high-ranking persons involved, and has failed to provide reparations to the families of the victims.

Compensation to Kosovo Albanians for human rights violations

The First Basic Court in Belgrade passed two judgments ordering the Republic of Serbia to pay compensation to six Kosovo Albanians from Glogovac, in amounts ranging from 125,000 to 370,000 dinars, because of Serbia’s responsibility for torture and unlawful detention committed by members of the Ministry of the Interior (MoI). Although the judgments established the right to compensation for violations of basic human rights, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) emphasizes that the amounts awarded are unjustifiably low and the rationale of the judgments indicates the intention of reducing the state’s responsibility for the widespread torture against Kosovo Albanians in 1999. The HLC lawyers have filed appeals for the judgments to the Court of Appeal in Belgrade.

Only acceptance of facts about judicially proven crimes can make statements about reconciliation trustworthy

At a session held on 8 July, 2015, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) did not pass a resolution proposed by the United Kingdom marking the twentieth anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, as the Russian Federation vetoed it. The vote was preceded by a month of intense negotiations between permanent members of the UNSC who tried to reach a compromise on the text of the resolution. Throughout this period, Serbia’s top officials, in their public statements and through diplomatic activities aimed at preventing the adoption of the proposed resolution, damaged the process of reconciliation in the region of the former Yugoslavia and discredited earlier statements given by Serbian officials stressing Serbia’s commitment to reconciliation and regret for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide.

Court of Appeals in Belgrade: Responsibility of the state for the murder of Croats from Vojvodina not affected by the statute of limitations

The Court of Appeals in Belgrade has rendered a ruling (available only in Serbian) upholding the appeal filed by Stjepan Oskomić against the judgment of the Basic Court in Belgrade in the lawsuit against the Republic of Serbia, on account of of the responsibility of the state in the murder of his parents, a crime committed in July 1993 in the village of Kukujevci, and has remanded the case for a new trial. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), in its capacity of representative of Stjepan Oskomić in this lawsuit, holds that the ruling of the Court of Appeals is just and in accordance with the law, and that it clearly points to the errors in the actions of the first instance court in the case at hand, which has been pending for nine years now.

22 Years since the VJ Crime in Kukurovici

February 18, 2015 marks the 22nd anniversary since the Yugoslav Army’s attack on the village of Kukurovici near Priboj, where the elderly Uzeir Bulutovic, Musan Husovic and Fatima Sarac were killed. To date, the institutions have not identified the perpetrators, nor have the victims’ families received the status of civilian victims of war.

Bill on Rights of Civilian Victims of War should be withdrawn

On 23rd December 2014, the public consultation on the Bill on the Rights of War Veterans,
Disabled War Veterans, Civilian Invalids of
War and their Family Members  (the Bill) prepared by the  Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy (the Ministry) was closed. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) believes that this Bill should be withdrawn from the adoption procedure, because it does not reflect the real needs and diversity of victims who live in Serbia, violates the constitutional principle of equal protection before the law for every citizen, and is deeply inconsistent with international and generally accepted norms relating to the protection of victims of human rights abuses.  

Administrative Court in Novi Sad: Croat From Vojvodina injured by JNA members is not war victim

The Administrative Court in Novi Sad rendered a judgment on October 22nd, 2014, dismissing the lawsuit filed by the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) against the Provincial Secretariat For Health, Social Policy and Demography (Provincial Secretariat), because they refused to grant the status of civilian invalid of war to A.S. from Vojvodina, whom JNA soldiers had attempted to kill at his job in September 1991 not far from Apatin. In view of this judgment by the Administrative Court, the HLC will file a constitutional appeal with the Constitutional Court of Serbia.

Include victims’ rights to reparation in Chapter 23

The European Commission (EC) Screening Report for Chapter 23 – Judiciary and Human Rights, does not contain information on the rights of victims of the war crimes and of mass violations of human rights committed during the 1990’s to material compensation and other types of reparation. The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) calls upon all participants in Serbia’s European Union (EU) accession negotiations to include all norms and international standards relating to the rights of victims of human rights violations, including the requirements of the EU Acquis, into the process of the harmonization of domestic regulations with  EU law.