Bosnia and Herzegovina prosecutors explore challenges in the processing of war crimes and human trafficking cases
The XV Annual Prosecutorial Symposium took place from 17-20 October 2022 in Neum, gathering over 200 prosecutors and other criminal justice professionals around different panel discussions on criminal matters.
Šeila Heljić, President of the FBiH Association of Prosecutors said, “The Annual Prosecutorial Symposium has become one of the most important training opportunities for prosecutors and other criminal justice professionals. The symposium and the panels provide participants with insight in the present state in this field and enable exchange of experiences. Continuous training is of crucial importance for enhancing the capacity of criminal justice sector, including to effectively process the THB related cases and war crimes cases.”
The OSCE Mission to BiH supported organization of two panel discussions for prosecutors and experts, one on war crimes case processing and another on trafficking in human beings (THB).
During the war crimes panel, jointly organized with HJPC Project “Enhancing war crimes case processing in BiH – IPA 2019” and the Mission’s EU-funded War Crimes Monitoring Project, a particular focus was placed on war crimes case processing in prosecutor’s offices, particularly in relation to an overview of and perspectives on implementation of the Revised National War Crimes Processing Strategy and relevant recommendations from the 2020 report by Judge Joanna Korner, QC. In addition, the peer-to-peer sessions delved into also issues in war crimes processing related to prosecutorial investigations, the presentation of the indictment, and appeals, as well as support and protection to witnesses in war crimes cases.
The panel on combating trafficking in human beings was jointly supported by the OSCE Mission to BiH, the International Organization for Migration, the Council of Europe, and International Forum of Solidarity-Emmaus.
“By organizing a panel on combating trafficking in human beings as a part of the Annual Prosecutorial Symposium, we marked the European Day against trafficking in human beings, underlining the role of criminal justice professionals in ensuring that victims are heard, recognized and taken seriously”, said Boris Topic, National Anti-Trafficking Officer at the OSCE Mission to BiH.