PROGRAM DATES: December 5-13, 2015
Transitional Justice (TJ) has been a focus of Bosnia and Herzegovinas (BiH) peace building initiatives since the mid-2000s. However, some TJ mechanisms were introduced much before the discourse of TJ entered the BiH public space: it was 1993 (in the middle of the BiH war) when the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established, it was 2000 when the first initiative for a Truth Commission appeared, the beginning of 2000s when the first ad-hoc commission for investigations of events around specific human rights violations was formed, when a vetting process was applied to police officers and judges/prosecutors and much earlier when state institutions started to ensure monthly incomes to certain categories of recognized victims of war. Each of these mechanisms present in BiH, mainly initiated and sometimes implemented by the international community, has been subject to contestation, debate and struggle over facts, reflecting the ethno-political division of the country.
Unfortunately, despite the huge resources invested in transitional justice, Bosnia and Herzegovina is not an exemplary case of consolidated TJ processes. However, we suggest that it is precisely because of this that BiH, and particularly Sarajevo - where most TJ initiatives and mechanisms are concentrated - represents an excellent location for studying TJ, learning how to draw lessons and how to avoid mistakes, addressing weak points that are usually shared among conflict/postconflict countries. In BiH we find numerous initiatives, existing mechanisms, highly experienced staff for TJ, failures, success stories, challenges and obstacles, since TJ is never easy, but entails complex processes. Sharing with Ukraine a recent/ongoing condition of war, a socio-political legacy and a determination towards an EU path and values, we strongly believe that BiH, with the Peace Academy (PA) as administering organization, is an excellent setting for this training.
The candidates will be selected based on their personal and professional capacities to promote obtained experience, apply best practices and implement modern approaches with regards to the training theme. Candidates for the program will be drawn from active human rights groups and coalitions that engage in transitional justice-type work, as well as rule of law and justice sector professionals, media, and relevant government institutions. A majority of them will be based in Kyiv, and a number of human rights activists will be IDPs from eastern Ukraine, Crimea (members of Crimea SOS, Vostok SOS, and Justice for Peace in Donbas Coalition) and Donbas area.