OSCE/ODIHR organizes first training for entity police investigators handling war crimes cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina

BIHAĆ, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 25 May 2011 - A two-day training seminar on investigations for police investigators and prosecutors handling war crimes cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina ended in Bihać today. This is the first in a series of training courses to be held in May and June across the country. 

The courses are a joint initiative of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the War Crimes Justice Project led by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in partnership with the ICTY and UNICRI, and funded by the European Union. They are aimed at strengthening the capacity of police investigators to deal with war crimes cases effectively and efficiently while respecting the rights and needs of witnesses and victims.

"Increasing the capacity for investigation of war crimes throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina’s criminal justice system is of paramount importance in light of the role of cantonal and district authorities in processing war crimes cases, which was affirmed under the National Strategy for War Crimes Processing," said Ambassador Gary D. Robbins, the Head of OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The training course focused on the definitions of the legal categories of war crimes which are processed at the entity level, investigation techniques, and how police investigators approach protection and support of threatened or vulnerable witnesses. Each seminar will be attended by some 30 war crimes investigators and prosecutors from throughout the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, and Brčko District.

The training is organized in co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, State Investigation and Protection Agency BiH (SIPA) and the EU funded project Witness Protection in the Fight against Serious Crime and Terrorism Project (WINPRO).

The War Crimes Justice Project is a 4-million euro regional project funded by the European Union and carried out by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) in partnership with the ICTY, the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute and OSCE field operations.

This project is funded by the European Union.

For more information please call Ms. Sanela Tunović, War Crimes Justice Project Outreach Officer at ++387 61 539 535 or email at [email protected].