25 Dec Stagnation in dealing with the past in former Yugoslavia threatens reconciliation and peace

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, has recently releasing a report assessing the state of transitional justice in the former Yugoslavia. This comes a decade after the initial thematic report on the same subject produced by the Office of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. The new report examines both achievements and shortcomings in addressing the region’s past, identifying obstacles to more positive outcomes.

Positive strides were made in identifying and finding of wartime missing persons, credited to robust legislative frameworks, modern forensic technologies and the effective involvement of the families of the missing. Both financial support and political pressure of external factors in collaborating with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia have played pivotal roles in securing transitional justice processes. Besides that, post-war efforts in the region have notably brought attention to sexual violence committed in the war, emphasizing the need for gender-sensitive approaches in reckoning with the past.

Civil society organizations have played a crucial role in addressing human rights violations, and Commissioner Mijatović underscores the importance of bolstering political and financial support for them, hailing them as “currently the best hope for a better future based on human rights and the rule of law.” 

However, many challenges persist in dealing with the past. Many transitional justice processes stalled. Thousands of suspects perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the wars of the 1990s awaiting further investigation and prosecution in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. The protection of witnesses remains ongoing challenges as well as access to effective and adequate reparations, especially for survivors of sexual violence. 

Additionally, public officials implicated in gross human rights violations remain in public service positions, reflecting a broader issue of ethno-nationalist discourse, denial of atrocities, and the glorification of war criminals. This narrative’s endorsement by politicians at the highest political levels and its utilisation as a “strategy to gain votes and maintain power” are regarded as “highly disturbing.”

Commissioner Mijatović emphasizes that the failure to fully address wartime atrocities and underlying causes from the 1990s continues to have severe consequences on human rights, the rule of law, social cohesion and it threatens peace in the region. She urges states to revitalize their efforts in in dealing with the past through various measures including regional cooperation, adopting a victim-centered approach, enhancing support for robust civil society engagement in transitional justice, and implementing educational and memorialisation initiatives.