As part of the structural dialogue on justice and in accordance with its recommendations, the EU will provide a significant amount of funds for the timely processing of war crimes proceedings in BiH judicial institutions. As part of the annual IPA program for 2012-2013, 16.8 million euros are intended to lend support in the reduction of the number of these cases. However, IPA funds will be not be available until the beginning or middle of 2014.
In order for the work on war crimes to proceed without delay, an agreement was signed between the OSCE Mission to BiH and the BiH Prosecution in order to accelerate the process of strengthening the capacity of the BiH Prosecution for more efficient prosecution of war crimes in BiH.
At today’s meeting of the representatives of OSCE to BiH and the BiH Prosecution, forms of assistance were agreed on, that the BiH Prosecution will lend to the OSCE Mission to BiH, as well as donors from the EU, especially the embassies of the US, UK, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden.
Support will focus on strengthening the capacity of the regional team of the 6 prosecution offices of BiH for work on war crimes cases. The donated funds will be used for the engagement and employment of research assistants, associates and translators in the regional team 6, in order to accelerate the processing of war crimes cases that is covered by this team.
It is expected that in the next month applications will be available for new staff, which will work with new prosecutors whose employment was approved by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council at the request of the BiH Prosecution. The BiH Council of Ministers approved the funds.
The Chief Prosecutor of BiH Goran Salihović also met with Howard Tucker, Head of the Misison of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) from the office in Sarajevo, with whom he spoke on cooperation of the BiH Prosecution and the ICTY Prosecution. Salihović spoke to Tucker on the praises of the Council of Europe regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the structural dialogue on justice, as well as the intensification of regional cooperation in processing war crimes, which leads to reconciliation in the region.
Salihović spoke to Tucker of the four meetings that have been held so far with prosecutors from Serbia, where prosecutors from BiH and Serbia spoke on concrete cases of war crimes, for whose prosecution both sides have expressed interest.
At this meeting a visit of the Chief Prosecutor of the ICTY Serge Brammertz to the BiH Prosecution was agreed on.
(Source: Dnevni Avaz)
