16.11.2014.
The Tenth Forum for Transitional Justice in Post-Yugoslav Countries
Achievements and priorities
The Tenth Forum was dedicated to the achievements of transitional justice, the promotion of the use of facts in works of art, and listening to the voices of the victims. The Forum was held on November 15 and 16, 2014 in Belgrade, and it was organized by the Coalition for RECOM. The Forum was attended by 158 members of the Coalition for RECOM and 150 representatives of civil society organizations, artists, writers, academic researchers of transitional justice, journalists and other professionals or activists dealing with transitional justice in post-Yugoslav countries. At the Forum, twelve panelists talked about the achievements in the field of transitional justice from the perspective of civil society and academia; sixteen panelists discussed the use of facts in works of art; and twelve victims spoke about their personal experiences in the war and about the search for the mortal remains of their loved ones.
The Forum was opened by Natasa Kandic, Project Coordinator of RECOM, and by Professor Zdravko Grebo, the Public Advocate of the Initiative for RECOM. In their key-note addresses, they announced a new phase of the RECOM process, in which the Coalition will monitor, help and encourage state institutions to establish RECOM. They invited the members of the Coalition to prepare for new activities and reminded everyone of the rapidity with which changes take place in the Balkans.
The Seventh Assembly of the Coalition for RECOM
On November 14, 2014, the Coalition held its Seventh Assembly, this time in Belgrade (Serbia), with 104 delegates, representing 1950 members, taking part in it. With one vote against and two abstentions, the delegates supported the Amendments to the RECOM Statute, compiled by the envoys of the Presidents of Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia and Kosovo, and the Bosniak and Croatian members of the Presidency of B&H, in conjunction with the task of examining the constitutional and legal options for the establishment of RECOM in each country.
When informing the public on its support for the Changes to the Statute, the Coalition noted that the Envoys and Presidents and Members of the B&H Presidency reached complete agreement on the Commission’s task of establishing the facts about war crimes and other human rights violations committed during the period from January 1, 1991 through the end of December 2001. The Coalition indicated that two opinions were expressed with regard to RECOM’s task of “exploring the political and social circumstances that decisively contributed to the outbreak of the wars, and to the commission of war crimes and other violations of human rights”: “it is crucial that RECOM investigate the causes of the war” and “investigating the causes of the war is possible only after the facts about war crimes have been established.” Both opinions are in full accordance with the Coalition’s Proposal of the Statute of RECOM.
The Panel on Theater at the Tenth Forum for Transitional Justice
Using facts in art by Bojan Munjin
Using Facts in Film by Lazar Stojanovic
Video from the panel – Victims’ Perspectives (only in CBS)
