12/29/2008 OHR / EUSR

OHR/EUSR statement following the adoption of the “National War Crimes Strategy” by the Council of Ministers of BiH on 29 December 2008

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The OHR and EUSR welcomes the unanimous adoption of the National War Crimes Strategy by the BiH Council of Ministers of within the prescribed deadline given by the Peace Implementation Council at its November 2008 meeting.  The Strategy calls for completing the most complex and highest priority war crimes cases within seven years and other war crimes cases within 15 years from the time of adoption of the Strategy.

The implementation plan requires the BiH Prosecutor’s Office to establish a centralized database on all open war crime cases and the BiH State Court to establish a centralized and updated record on the number of indictments confirmed and rendered.

The BiH  Ministry of Justice and the Council of Ministers, in close coordination with Judiciary authorities, are now responsible for ensuring the implementation of the strategy. The relevant laws must be amended, the necessary resources provided, and a permanent and professional supervisory body to monitor the implementation of the strategy established without delay.