Statement by H.E. Neven Jurica, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Croatia to the United Nations, in the UN General Assembly on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecuution of Persons Resnsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Mr. President,
At the outset I would like to welcome the Presidents of the ICTY and the ICTR, Judge Pocar and Judge Byron and thank them for presenting their respective reports.
Fifteen years ago the international community established these two ad hoc tribunals with high expectations: to help bring about peace and end impunity; to bring justice to victims and to provide a deterrent for future crimes. They have demonstrated that international criminal justice does exist and that it is inseparable from the values that the United Nations stands for. They were the precursor and inspiration for the establishment of the first permanent International Criminal Court. Their jurisprudence created an historical record, reaffirming our belief that there can be no peace without justice. Individual criminal responsibility is not an obstacle but a catalyst to reconciliation. As the President of the Republic of Croatia, Stjepan Mesic, has emphasized on many occasions, in order to avoid the notions of collective guilt of nations, it is indispensable to establish individual criminal responsibility and this is why the existence of the Hague Tribunal is of assistance to Croatia.
As the mandates of the two Tribunals are drawing to an end and we begin looking into the mechanisms which will allow a number of essential residual functions to continue after the conclusion of the trials, we have to be careful not to lose sight the purpose with which they were established: to close the impunity gap. This is why the international community cannot afford to declare their mandates complete before every effort has been made to bring those most responsible to justice, however long this takes.
Mr. President, allow me to make a few specific remarks regarding the ICTY, given the importance my country attaches to the Tribunal's work.
The arrests this year of the fugitives Radovan Karadžic and Stojan Župljanin are of vital importance for completing the Tribunal's exit strategy and accomplishing the purpose for which the Tribunal was founded. We hope to see an early beginning of their trials.
Without bringing to justice those most senior and most responsible for crimes commited in the wars against Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, we cannot speak about completing the Tribunal's mandate. This is why it is crucial that the remaining fugitives, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadžic, also face justice. We cannot accept that their impunity outlives the existence of the Tribunal. Reasons of expediency should not be allowed to overshadow the fact that these two individuals, who have been evading justice for many years now, held the most prominent military and political positions – Mladic as the Commander of the General Staff of the Bosnian Serb Army and Hadžic as President of the self-proclaimed “Republic of Serbian Krajina” in Croatia – and that they have been indicted for the some of the most atrocious crimes committed in post World War II Europe, namely the massacres committed in Srebrenica and Vukovar.
Last week, the ICTY Appeals Chamber confirmed the 35 year sentence for Milan Martic, a former so-called president of the self-proclaimed “Republic of Serbian Krajina” in Croatia, who has been sentenced for war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated against the civilian population in Croatia.
The appeals proceedings with respect to the judgment rendered a year ago in the case of the so-called “Vukovar three” (Radic, šljivancanin and Mrkšic) are still ongoing. Notwithstanding the understandable reactions of the victims' families and the general public, both in Croatia and elsewhere, to the initial verdicts in this case I would like to limit myself to expressing our hope that the appellate proceedings will bring about a just judgment which corresponds to the gravity of the crimes committed.
As the Prime Minister of Croatia, Ivo Sanader, said in this Assembly last fall, “a just outcome of the prosecutions is the only way to discourage those who today, or might in the future, consider repeating such crimes. Just punishment is the best deterrent. Just punishment must also be a measure of respect for the victims. Just punishment must also serve truth and open the way to lasting peace, security and reconciliation“.
By the same token, credible justice must not leave any impunity gaps. And this is why it remains crucial that the Tribunal does not close its doors before trying the remaining fugitives.
Mr. President,
The war imposed on Croatia in 1991 has left a sad legacy of war crimes. The Croatian government has invested serious efforts into prosecuting those crimes, by adjusting its judicial structure and material laws, by continuously consolidating its judicial capacities and strengthening cooperation with authorities in the region. Croatia's judiciary has clearly demonstrated its ability to conduct trials of even the most sensitive cases, including the one case that was transferred to it by the ICTY.
Similarly, Croatia's judiciary has developed an excellent working relationship with the Tribunal's organs, including the Transition team within the Office of the Prosecutor on so-called Category Two cases, as well as in ongoing domestic investigations and trials. We find this relationship of vital importance and we are confident that it will continue in the future. Croatia is dedicated and sincere in assisting and cooperating with the Tribunal to complete its mandate at an early date. Over the years we have processed 804 requests for assistance from the Office of the Prosecutor and delivered tens of thousands of documents, over 19,000 of which are from the Ministry of Defense alone, including those emanating from the highest ranking military officials.
The government's commitment to cooperate fully with the Tribunal remains strong and unequivocal. I can assure you that the Croatian authorities have and will continue to do everything within their competencies to ensure a prompt response to OTP's requests. In this regard, let me clarify with respect to paragraph 79 of the Tribunal's Annual Reports (A/63/210), that the relevant Croatian authorities continue to work on the pending issue and expect to present the results shortly to the Tribunal. The Tribunal's decision of 16 September granted Croatia the request to continue its investigations in order to establish the existence of the documents sought by the OTP, the Trial Chamber not being in the position to draw any conclusions as to whether such documents do exist.
As we are discussing the fifteenth annual report of the ICTY, I would like to draw your attention to the issue of the serving of sentences. We find it difficult to justify the discrepancy that exists between the practice of the ICTR and that of the ICTY. Whereas the former did conclude an agreement on the serving of sentences in Rwanda this year, the ICTY still does not allow for the possibility that sentences can be served in the country where the crime was committed. While we understand that such an approach may have been dictated by the security considerations prevailing at the time of the inception of the Tribunal, today, 15 years later, such practice seems outdated and is adversely affecting the humanitarian conditions for the sentenced persons and their families. I would like to repeat that my government is ready to accept its citizens to serve their sentences in Croatia.
Thank you, Mr. President.
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