Yesterday in Sarajevo, the President of the Hague Tribunal, Carmel Agius, said that the Hague Tribunal has completed its mandate, but that it is on the people of this region to work on reconciliation.
“The Tribunal has fulfilled its responsibility and brought those responsible for the war in the 1990’s to justice. It is up to you in the region to move forward and not forget the past, but also to work on reconciliation and deliver justice to those who are still waiting for it,” said Agius.
Deputy Head of EU Delegation to BiH Kaldun Sino said that the Hague Tribunal left a huge mark on the international law and had a major impact on the process of building of peace and reconciliation in post-conflict societies.
“Peace and reconciliation will depend on the willingness of those societies and political leaders to follow that path. Or, more specifically, the dialogue must be established, offered a hand to the other side, and everyone must refrain from words and activities that are inducing the hatred and opening the wounds of the past,” stated Sino.
He noted that from the perspective of the EU, everyone must know that the rhetoric of past and hatred, as well as the glorification of war crimes, represent an obstacle to the accession to the EU.
Secretary of the Hague Tribunal John Hocking expressed his satisfaction with the results of the Conference “Dialogues on Inheritance of ICTY,” which gathered a total of 200 participants, and it took place through eight panels with 84 speakers, as well as 10 accompanying events that are directly linked to the conference.
John Hocking noted that the Hague Tribunal established the basic principles in the region regarding the witness protection, as well as the huge archive related to the war in the former Yugoslavia.
(Source: Radiosarajevo.ba)
