International Conference on Digital Archives of Civil Society Organizations

The Humanitarian Law Center in cooperation with the Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation consortium is organizing a three-day international conference titled “Enhancing Sustainability of Civil Society Organizations for Digital Archiving”. The aim of this event is to support civil society organizations from around the world in developing their digital archives dedicated to systematic and mass violations of human rights.

The conference will be held from November 1st to 3rd, 2023, in Belgrade, with the participation of experts and representatives of organizations documenting human rights violations from more than 15 countries, including Argentina, Ukraine, Indonesia, Spain, Croatia, Sri Lanka and others. The diversity of participants and the social and political contexts in which these organizations engage in documenting and digital archiving of human rights violations will provide a variety of perspectives and enrich the discussions.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Round table: Public opinion without the public in the courtroom

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) and the daily newspaper “Danas” invite you to a round table “Public opinion without the public in the courtroom” where a policy paper “Public Relations of Institutions Responsible for War Crimes Cases in the Republic of Serbia: Analysis of Key Issues and Improvement Recommendations” and the Public opinion poll on “The Awareness of Serbian Citizens about the Wars and War Crimes of the ‘90s, and War Crimes Trials” will be presented. On this occasion, the findings on the implementation of the National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes during 2020 will also be presented.

Report presented: The legal and institutional framework in Serbia regarding the rights and needs of civilian victims of war

On Tuesday, August 22^nd, 2017, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) presented the report The legal and institutional framework in Serbia regarding the rights and needs of civilian victims of war. This report provides a brief overview of the existing system in Serbia in terms of the rights and needs of civilian victims, and it seeks to ascertain its key shortcomings and identify recommendations for its amendments and improvements.

Report “Judging with impunity: The role of prosecutors and judges in show trials of Kosovo Albanians in the period 1998-2000” presented

On Tuesday, July 25th, 2017, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) presented the report “Judging with impunity: The role of prosecutors and judges in show trials of Kosovo Albanians in the period 1998–2000” . The Report points to a number of violations of fundamental human rights committed during criminal proceedings against Kosovo Albanians in the period 1998-2000, before district courts in Serbia.

The exhibition on the destruction of cultural heritage sites opened in Belgrade

On Saturday, May 27th 2017 the exhibition titled “Targeting monuments-Targeting history and memory” was opened in Belgrade. The exhibition consists of photographs, videos, eyewitness testimonies and documents that speak of the enormous scale of destroyed cultural heritage during the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. The exhibition is based on the eponymous narrative, which shows how serious crimes against the cultural, historical and religious heritage committed during the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo were investigated, reconstructed and prosecuted before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Are war crimes trials in Serbia dying out?

On Thursday May 18th 2017, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) presented its sixth report on war crimes trials in Serbia. The report includes an analysis of 28 cases that were conducted before the courts in Serbia in 2016, placing them in the socio-political context that affects their processing.

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.

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.

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.

Destruction of Cultural Heritage Works to Destroy the Unity between Peoples

A multi-media narrative titled “Targeting History and Memory” was presented in Belgrade on Tuesday, November 29th, 2016. The Narrative was created by SENSE – Center for Transitional Justice from Pula in Croatia (SENSE), and the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) organized the Presentation in Belgrade. Approximately 50 representatives of non-governmental organizations, experts for the preservation of cultural legacy, researchers, scientists, journalists and various other experts attended the Presentation.