Prosecuting War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia: an Update
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The-Prijedor-Genocide 1
PART 1. THE PRIJEDOR GENOCIDE The Prijedor genocide [1][2][3] , refers to numerous war crimes committed during the Bosnian war by the Serb political and military leadership mostly on Bosniak civilians in the Prijedor region of Bosnia-Herzegovina. After the Srebrenica genocide, it is the second largest massacre committed during the Bosnian war in 1992. Around 5,200 Bosniaks and Croats from Prijedor are missing or were killed during the massacre period, and around 14,000 people in the wider region of Prijedor (Pounje). [4] Contents • 1 Background • 2 Political developments before the takeover • 3 Takeover • 4 Armed attacks against the civilians o 4.1 Propaganda o 4.2 Strengthening of Serb forces o 4.3 Marking of non-Serb houses o 4.4 Attack on Hambarine o 4.5 Attack on Kozarac • 5 Camps o 5.1 Keraterm camp o 5.2 Omarska camp o 5.3 Trnopolje camp o 5.4 Other detention facilities • 6 Killings in the camps • 7 References • 8 See also • 9 External links Background Following Slovenia’s and Croatia’s declarations of independence in June 1991, the situation in the Prijedor municipality rapidly deteriorated. During the war in Croatia, the tension increased between the Serbs and the communities of Bosniaks and Croats. Bosniaks and Croats began to leave the municipality because of a growing sense of insecurity and fear amongst the population which was caused by Serb propaganda which became increasingly visible. The municipal newspaper Kozarski Vjesnik started publishing allegations against the non-Serbs. The Serb media propagandised the idea that the Serbs had to arm themselves. -
Embodied Rape: Ethnicity and Gender in the Prosecution of Wartime Rape in the Former
Embodied Rape: Ethnicity and Gender in the Prosecution of Wartime Rape in the Former Yugoslavia Honors Research Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for graduation with Honors Research Distinction in the undergraduate colleges of The Ohio State University by Edward M. Zitnik, Jr. The Ohio State University May 2014 Project Advisor: Professor Jennifer Suchland, Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures Table of Contents Introduction 2 I. The region, the war, and the role of feminism in prosecuting war crimes 5 Former Yugoslavia and its War 5 Feminist Perspectives on Rape 10 International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 15 II. Tetralogy of Rape: Three Cases of ICTY-Convicted Rape and the Case which laid the Groundwork 19 Duško Tadić 19 Dragoljub Kunarac 22 Anto Furundžija 24 Hazim Delić 25 Case Analysis 27 III. Ethnicity is Essentialized and Misunderstood 33 IV. Implications of War 39 V. Conclusion 51 Bibliography 53 - 1 - A child can carry both the shame and honor of a parent. They serve as heavy burdens inherited from one generation to the next and can lay the foundation of a child’s identity coming into adulthood. The Bosnian film Grbavica illustrates these burdens carried by Sara, the 12- year-old daughter of single-mother Esma living in post-war Sarajevo. Growing up, Sara was told that her father died as a war hero during the Bosnian war. She took pride in his death, and used his patriotism to hold herself to a high standard of honor. While noble, this was not her father’s true past. -
Former Yugoslavia
Former Yugoslavia The information below if based on the UN International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia's Landmark cases - Duško Tadić: first-ever trial for sexual violence against men1 This trial of the former Bosnian Serb Democratic Party’s local board president from Kozarac, northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, made history in many ways. It was the first international war crimes trial since Nuremberg and Tokyo. Just as importantly, it was the first international war crimes trial involving charges of sexual violence. The trial proved to the world that the nascent international criminal justice system could end impunity for sexual crimes and that punishing perpetrators was possible. The Trial Chamber found how after taking over the area of Prijedor, in northwestern of BiH, Serb forces confined thousands of Muslims and Croats in camps. In a horrific incident in the Omarska Camp, one of the detainees was forced by uniformed men, including Duško Tadić, to bite off the testicles of another detainee. In May 1997, the Trial Chamber found Tadic guilty of cruel treatment (violation of the laws and customs of war) and inhumane acts (crime against humanity) for the part he played in this and other incidents. Two years later, on appeal, Tadic was additionally sentenced for grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva conventions: inhumane treatment and wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to the body or health. In the Judgement, the Appeals Chamber set out that “Through his presence, Duško Tadić aided and encouraged the group of men actively taking part in the assault. Of particular concern here is the cruelty and humiliation inflicted on the victim and the other detainees”. -
Teacher Information Sheet Genocide in Bosnia
Teacher information sheet Genocide in Bosnia The population of Bosnia and Herzegovina (referred to as ‘Bosnia’ here) consists of: • Bosniaks – Bosnian Muslims • Bosnian Serbs – Serb Orthodox Christians who have close cultural ties with neighbouring Serbia • Bosnian Croats – Roman Catholics who have close cultural ties with neighbouring Croatia Bosnia’s history Flag of Bosnia, adopted in 1998 Between 1991-1994 Yugoslavia disintegrated into five states – Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (later known as Serbia and Montenegro). Bosnia declared independence in 1992. This was resisted by the Bosnian Serb population who saw their future as part of ‘Greater Serbia’, sparking a civil war over land. The Bosnian War Bosnia became the victim of the Bosnian Serbs’ wish for political domination, which they were prepared to achieve by isolating ethnic groups and, if necessary, exterminating them. A campaign of war crimes, ‘ethnic cleansing’ and genocide was perpetrated by Bosnian Serb troops under the orders of Slobodan Milošević. Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia, was under siege for nearly four years - the longest siege in modern warfare. The Serb-controlled army surrounded the city, bombing it, killing more than 10,000 people and destroying cultural monuments. Persecution From 1991, in Prijedor, north-west Bosnia, non-Serbs were forced to wear white armbands and certain newspapers, radio stations and television stations began to broadcast anti-Croat and anti- Bosniak propaganda. Non-Serbs were sent to concentration camps which had been set up in mid-1992. Women were taken to Trnopolje camp where systematic rape took place on a regular basis. -
The International Criminal Tribunal
MICT-13-55-A 2970 A2970-A2901 15 March 2017 AJ THE MECHANISM FOR INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS No. MICT-13-55-A IN THE APPEALS CHAMBER Before: Judge Theodor Meron Judge William Hussein Sekule Judge Vagn Prusse Joensen Judge Jose Ricardo de Prada Solaesa Judge Graciela Susana Gatti Santana Registrar: Mr Olufemi Elias Date Filed: 15 March 2017 THE PROSECUTOR v. RADOVAN KARADZIC Public Redacted Version RADOVAN KARADZIC’S RESPONSE BRIEF ________________________________________________________________________ Office of the Prosecutor: Laurel Baig Barbara Goy Katrina Gustafson Counsel for Radovan Karadzic Peter Robinson Kate Gibson No. MICT-13-55-A 2969 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 4 II. THE PROSECUTION’S APPEAL .................................................................................. 5 1. The Excluded Crimes were Rightly Excluded .............................................................. 5 A. The Trial Chamber committed no legal error in identifying another reasonable inference ...................................................................................................... 7 B. The finding that the Excluded Crimes did not form part of the JCE was reasonable .................................................................................................................... 10 1. The Trial Chamber never found that President Karadzic knew the Excluded Crimes were necessary to achieve the common criminal purpose......... -
Womens Side of War.Pdf
Publisher Women in Black - Belgrade, December 2008 Original title Ženska strana rata, Women in Black - Belgrade, 2007 Edited by Lina Vušković and Zorica Trifunović In association with Tamara Belenzada, Helena Rill, Staša Zajović, Lino Veljak, Indira Topčagić, Sanja Cesar and Luljeta Vuniqi Translation Mirka Janković, Stanislava Lazarević, Dubravka Radanov, et al. Proof reading and editing Jennifer Michelle Williams, Janet Fiona Rabin, Tamara Belenzada Layout Marija Vidić Artistic design Bojana Ban Printing Artprint Circulation 1,000 The publication of this book was made possible by Kvinna til Kvinna, Sweden and Quaker Peace & Social Witness, London The translation and printing of the English edition was made possible by The Balkan Trust for Democracy Acknowledgements First and foremost, our thanks go to all those women, both the undersigned and those who have remained anonymous, who related and wrote accounts of their experiences during the wars in the area of the for- mer Yugoslavia and whose testimonies have been included in this compila- tion. We also thank the women who recorded these testimonies and made possible their publication. We thank the authors with whose consent we have published parts of their works free of charge: Alenka Mirković (91,6 MHZ – Voice Against Cannons), Svetlana Djordjević (Testimony on Kosovo), Miroslava Malešević (Didara – Life Story of a Woman from Prizren), Jusuf Kadrić (Brčko: Genocide and Testimonies), Radmila Sesar (radio drama: Mother Meira – In Search of the Truth) and Brendan MacQuillan (Voices of -
CR 2006/41 (Translation)
BHY CR 2006/41 (translation) CR 2006/41 (traduction) Thursday 4 May 2006 at 10 a.m. Jeudi 4 mai 2006 à 10 heures - 2 - 10 The PRESIDENT: Please be seated. Madame Fauveau-Ivanović, you have the floor. Ms FAUVEAU-IVANOVIĆ: Thank you, Madam President. GENOCIDE I. Genocide was not committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina: the criminal acts were not the consequence of the political objectives of the Bosnian Serbs 1. Madam President, Members of the Court, we have been able to observe during the oral pleadings that the positions of the Applicant and of Serbia and Montenegro do not differ substantially as regards the definition of the constituent elements of genocide enumerated in Article II of the Genocide Convention. 2. We agree that the material elements of the crime of genocide, its actus reus, are enumerated exhaustively in Article II of the Genocide Convention, and that the crime of genocide can only be constituted by the commission of one of the acts enumerated. We have also reached agreement on the fact that such acts constitute genocide only if they are committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religions group, as such. 3. However, we do not agree on the legal characterization of the facts in the present case, since the Applicant alleges that genocide was committed, while we consider that genocide was not committed. Indeed, Madam President, Members of the Court, genocide was not committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Neither Serbia and Montenegro nor the Bosnian Serbs had the intention to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such. -
Concerns in Europe
CONCERNS IN EUROPE January - June 1999 FOREWORD This bulletin contains information about Amnesty International’s main concerns in Europe between January and June 1999. Not every country in Europe is reported on: only those where there were significant developments in the period covered by the bulletin. The five Central Asian republics of Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are included in the Europe Region because of their membership of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Reflecting the priority Amnesty International is giving to investigating and campaigning against human rights violations against women and children, the bulletin contains special sections on Women in Europe (p.76) and Children in Europe (p.79). A number of individual country reports have been issued on the concerns featured in this bulletin. References to these are made under the relevant country entry. In addition, more detailed information about particular incidents or concerns may be found in Urgent Actions and News Service Items issued by Amnesty International. This bulletin is published by Amnesty International every six months. References to previous bulletins in the text are: AI Index: EUR 01/01/99 Concerns in Europe: July - December 1998 AI Index: EUR 01/02/98 Concerns in Europe: January - June 1998 AI Index: EUR 01/01/98 Concerns in Europe: July - December 1997 AI Index: EUR 01/06/97 Concerns in Europe: January - June 1997 AI Index: EUR 01/01/97 Concerns in Europe: July - December 1996 AI Index: EUR 01/02/96 Concerns in Europe: January - June 1996 Amnesty International August 1999 AI Index: EUR 01/02/99 2 Concerns in Europe: January - June 1999 ARMENIA Prisoners of conscience (update to information in AI Index: EUR 01/01/99) At the end of the period under review at least nine young men remained imprisoned because their conscience led them into conflict with the law that makes military service compulsory for young males, and offers them no civilian alternative. -
Perpetrators of Violence Against Non-Combatants in the Bosnian War
Graduate School of Social Sciences MSc International Relations Master Thesis Perpetrators of violence against non-combatants in the Bosnian War Seeking the logic behind the incomprehensible By Yael van Pomeren 10458743 ❖ Under the supervision of Dr. Jana Krause Second reading by Dr. Darshan Vigneswaran ❖ Word count: 21.059 Submission date: 22nd of June 2018 2 een volk dat voor tirannen zwicht zal meer dan lijf en goed verliezen dan dooft het licht… -H.M. van Randwijk 3 Acknowledgments First, I want to thank my supervisor Dr. Jana Krause, both for her encouragement during the process as for her lasting patience with me and my method of working. Additionally, I express my gratitude to Dr. Darshan Vigneswaran, as he kindly accepted taking time of his schedule to be the second reader of this thesis. Lastly, I want to express sincere appreciation, tremendous amounts of gratitude and everlasting gratefulness to whomever has helped me in these past months. Your patience, your listening ears, your time and overwhelming efforts to keep me both mentally sane, inventive and productive have been more than valuable. You know who are: Thank You. 4 Abstract What makes individuals able to perpetrate atrocities and horrible acts of violence, without preceding criminal records or systematic exposure to violence in general? This research, focusing on the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, aims to show both the complex situations perpetrators in which perpetrators operate, to demonstrate the role malicious regimes play in creating the conditions for perpetrators to thrive in and to prove that there should be a focus on the importance of situational factors and context, for there are no personality traits that distinguish genocidal perpetrators from other human beings. -
United Nations
UNITED NATIONS International Tribunal for the Case No. IT-95-10-T Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Date: 14 December 1999 Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of The Former Yugoslavia English since 1991 Original: French IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER Before: Judge Claude Jorda, Presiding Judge Fouad Riad Judge Almiro Rodrigues Registrar: Mrs. Dorothee de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh Decision of: 14 December 1999 THE PROSECUTOR v. GORAN JELISI] JUDGEMENT The Office of the Prosecutor: Defence Counsel: Mr. Geoffrey Nice Mr. Veselin Londrovi} Mr. Vladimir Tochilovsky Mr. Michael Greaves Case No. IT-95-10-T PURL: https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/b3ece5/14 December 1999 CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................1 A. The Indictment ...............................................................................................................1 B. Procedural Background..................................................................................................2 II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND..........................................................................................5 III. THE CRIMES ADMITTED TO BY THE ACCUSED IN THE GUILTY PLEA............6 A. Violations of the laws or customs of war.......................................................................8 1. Murder........................................................................................................................9 2. Cruel Treatment........................................................................................................11 -
Extraordinary Evil, Ordinary Crime: a Framework for Understanding Transitional Justice
Extraordinary Evil, Ordinary Crime: A Framework for Understanding Transitional Justice Miriam J. Aukerman ° I. INTRODUCTION A. The Prosecution Preference The international debate about the use of prosecutions in transitional jus- tice has focused on the conditions that permit prosecuting those who com- mit human rights violations. Some critics suggest that international law imposes a duty to prosecute a former regime's atrocious crimes, and contend that states have overstated claims that prosecutions are impossible.' These critics contend that while governments should not press prosecutions when there is "a genuine and serious threat to national life,"2 states should assume "reasonable risks" associated with prosecution, including military discon- tent.3 Other scholars, however, criticize the proponents of prosecutions for assuming that prosecutions will be possible in the wake of human rights disasters. Not only is an amnesty for human rights abusers often a precondi- tion for securing a smooth political transition,4 they argue, but "tm]any fledgling democracies have simply not had the power, popular support, legal tools, or conditions necessary to prosecute effectively."' * Miriam J. Aukerman is currently a staff attorney for Westem Michigan Legal Services. She has clerked forJudge Pierre N. Leval of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, worked forthe New York and Moscow offices of the Ford Foundation, and served as the United States' rcepmn- tative forthe Gulag Museum, based on the site of the Perm-36 Gulag camp inPerm, Russia. The author would like to thank Alex Boraine, David Garland, Priscilla Hay ne r Charles Pazdernk, John \Witt. and the editors of the HARVARD HumtN RIGHTS JOURNAL for their thoughtful comments on this Article. -
Prosecution of Crimes of Appropriation of Private Property Before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
Awarded Theses 2018/2019 Jasenka Ferizović Prosecution of Crimes of Appropriation of Private Property before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals erma, European Regional Master’s Programme in Democracy and Human Rights in South East Europe JASENKA FERIZOVI PROSECUTION OF CRIMES OF APPROPRIATIONć OF PRIVATE PROPERTY BEFORE THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA AND THE INTERNATIONAL RESIDUAL MECHANISM FOR CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS JASENKA FERIZOVI ć FOREWORD The Global Campus of Human Rights is a unique network of more than one hundred participating universities around the world, seeking to advance human rights and democracy through regional and global cooperation for education and research. This global network is promoted through seven Regional Programmes which are based in Venice for Europe, in Sarajevo/Bologna for South East Europe, in Yerevan for the Caucasus, in Pretoria for Africa, in Bangkok for Asia- Pacific, in Buenos Aires for Latin America and the Caribbean, and in Beirut for the Arab World. Every year each regional master’s programmes select the best master thesis of the previous academic year that is published online as part of the GC publications. The selected seven GC master theses cover a range of different international human rights topics and challenges. The Global Campus Awarded Theses of the academic year 2018/2019 are: • Begalieva, Nuriza, From Democracy to Autocracy? Growing Threats to Civil Society and Media in Kyrgyzstan, Supervisor: Arusyak Aleksanyan, Yerevan State University. Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in the Caucasus (CES), coordinated by Yerevan State University • El-Hawary, Nouran Refugees ad Migrant Access to Health in Transit Countries: Politics of Adaptability, Enactment of Slow Death and Inevitability of Pain: an Ethnography of Poor Urban Neighborhood in Rabat (Morocco), Supervisor: Jeremy Gunn, International University of Rabat (UIR).