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Serbia ICTY cooperation progressing: report

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Serbia is cooperating with the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), according to a report presented Thursday to the UN Security Council by Chief War Crimes Prosecutor Serge Brammertz. Brammertz noted the need to catch two remaining fugitives, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, but praised Serbia for the progress it has made: Since the last briefing to the Council, Serbia's cooperation with my Office has continued to progress. Prosecution requests to access documents and archives are being dealt with more expeditiously and effectively. It is important that the authorities continue to provide this level of assistance, which will remain crucial during current and future trial and appeals work.This progress could put Serbia's bid for EU membership back into motion by unfreezing Serbia's Interim Trade Agreement, said Serbian President Boris Tadic. The Netherlands, which had an integral role in the freezing of Serbia's Interim Trade Agreement until full Serbian cooperation with the ICTY was achieved, responded positively to Brammertz's report, with Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen saying, "he reporting of Brammertz is positive. I will next week with my European colleagues discuss what this means for deciding on the integration process of Serbia."Last year, then-ICTY president Fausto Pocar called for the arrest of of Mladic and Hadzic, while speaking before the UN General Assembly. In September 2008, Brammertz told reporters in Serbia that he was "cautiously optimistic" that Mladic and Hadzic would be brought to justice. International pressure for the capture of the two has increased since the July 2008 arrest of former Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, currently on trial before the ICTY. In August 2008, Tadic said that his country would fully cooperate with the ICTY to find and arrest Mladic and Hadzic. Mladic faces charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for overseeing the Srebrenica prison massacre and other killings of Bosnian Muslims and Croats, while Hadzic faces crimes against humanity charges for killings of non-Serbs and for abuses in Croatian prison camps.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on December 04, 2009 (boomark / email).