LOCAL PRESS

Vucic meets Ban Ki-moon (Tanjug)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic talked in New York with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about the situation in the region, Serbia’s EU path and the dialogue with Pristina. Vucic thanked Ban Ki-moon on the constructive contribution to peace in the world during his mandate at the helm of the UN, as well as for UNMIK’s participation in Kosovo and Metohija, whose presence and functioning is of key importance for the Republic of Serbia, since the UN framework is a guarantor of status neutrality of international presence in the province. Ban pointed out that Serbia had a constructive role in the region and praised progress in the negotiations with the EU, the government Media Office announced. He thanked Vucic for the support on the opening of the UN House in Belgrade and congratulated him at the re-election as the Serbian Prime Minister.

Vucic addresses UN General Assembly: We are prepared to create a future with the Kosovo Albanians (RTS)

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic stressed that his country refuses to recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and is committed to find a political settlement through the European Union-facilitated dialogue.

“I take this opportunity to underline that national priority of the Republic of Serbia is reaching political solution to the issue of Kosovo and Metohija,” said Vucic. By defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Serbia defends not only international law, the UN Charter and the supreme authority of the UN Security Council in maintaining international peace and security, but also its national and historical identify, he added. Unilateral actions seriously threaten to jeopardize international order and serve a cautious tale for other regions facing similar attempts of secession and change of internationally recognized state borders. Economic and social development cannot be achieved without decisively confronting with security challenges of the modern world, he said, warning that Serbia is located in a region that has strong centers used for affirmation of aggressive ideology of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other terrorist and extremist organizations, including recruitment and sending foreign terrorist fighters to crisis spots. “Territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija is a particular challenge; foreign terrorist fighters’ phenomenon is very visible there. Observed in percentage compared to the number of inhabitants, Kosovo Albanians are the most represented in ISIL,” he said. Serbia gives special importance to activities of the UN Mission in Kosovo and Metohija, he said, underlining the status-neutral presence of the Mission. Creating the conditions for the sustainable return of those displaced from Kosovo and Metohija is a key element of the reconciliation process, he explained. Unfortunately, he said, even 17 years after the end of conflict and despite many years of the international community’s presence, there are no conditions in Kosovo for undisturbed and sustainable return of internally displace persons. For the past 17 years, only 1.9 per cent managed to achieve sustainable return, and there are still about 204,000 displaced persons within Serbia, he added. Serbia will continue the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in the interest of regional stability and better Serbian-Albanian relations, he stressed.

Vucic: Migrant crisis yet to come, EU unlikely to find solution (Tanjug/Beta)

Serbia is facing biggest problems since migrants started arriving in Europe, Vucic said at the East West Institute in New York on Wednesday. He stressed that the migrant crisis has not yet began and that he was not optimistic about the EU finding a solution. “We have been facing biggest problems since the beginning of the crisis, because we have 7,000 people in Serbia who are not leaving our country, who don’t know what to do with themselves, while we don’t know what to do with them – because they don’t want to stay in our country,” Vucic said. According to him, 83 percent of migrants coming to Serbia are from Afghanistan, 99 percent of them being men without families – wives, children, parents. The prime minister said that his interior minister joked after he arrived in New York that Serbia had already built a kilometer of a wall, but reiterated that our country does not want walls and fences because that will not protect our borders and our country – but we cannot become a parking lot for Afghanis. Serbia treats migrants very well, he continued, showing solidarity and its humane face, and the country agreed earlier to a system of permanent refugee distribution quotas. “But the problem is that these people don’t want to stay, and that nobody within the EU has agreed to the quota system,” Vucic stressed. “We’ve lost time, and we have also been left without conclusions and a solution to the problem. There are differences between the Visegrad Group and Austria and Bulgaria on one, and Germany and the Benelux countries on the other side. Those are completely different approaches,” Vucic said.

Vucic stressed that Serbia was constantly discussed as balancing, but that it was not balancing and that the country was on a European road and wanted to maintain good ties with Russia.

“We have succeeded in increasing commodity trade with Russia, but much more with countries in our region. We have advanced relations with the US too, and I hope that in the future they will be even better. We have stabilized our position in the world, but there are still many walls that we need to take down, due to prejudice and our history,” Vucic said. Former US Ambassador to Serbia Cameron Munter, who opened the discussion, stressed that Serbia was an anchor of stability in the Balkans.

Vucic: Why is West silent on messages coming from Bosnia? (B92)

Aleksandar Vucic told B92 on Thursday he has been receiving messages from world leaders not to react to the rhetoric coming out of B&H. However, he added, it was unclear why they do not say it publicly. Vucic said he received countless messages from big and smaller leaders that advised him not to pay attention to Sefer Halilovic’s statements. “They say he is irrelevant, that he is a madman. Still – why isn’t anyone reacting, either from the West, or from B&H? I ask why they don’t say it publicly. I’m afraid it’s because there are more than a few who share his attitude,” said Vucic. He said that Serbia respects B&H’s integrity and will not take part in any kind of games with anyone, but will also not allow the RS to be destroyed and disappear. Vucic sees this as part of the issue of regional stability that he is due to once again discuss with top NATO officials, including the alliance’s secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg. “We have talked about everything and we will talk about everything, including the Russian influence in the Balkans. However, we have our own worries. The question of what we want is being posed more and more often. We want to talk about peace and stability, we work on that diligently, and on creating security for people,” said Vucic.

As for his participation in a panel organized by the Clinton Foundation, and thus his taking sides in the ongoing presidential campaign in the US, Vucic said he was not doing that.

Dacic holds bilateral meetings at UN GA (Beta)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic held bilateral meetings during the 71^st U.N. General Assembly with the foreign ministers of Madagascar, Lebanon, Trinidad and Tobago and

Kyrgyzstan. During a talk with Madagascar Foreign Minister Beatrice Atallah, Dacic stressed the importance of deepening cooperation, especially in the areas of education, culture and the economy, the Foreign Minister said in a statement. The foreign minister of Lebanon, Gebran Bassil, stressed during a meeting with Dacic that Lebanon could always be counted on regarding the question of Kosovo and Metohija and that Lebanon understood Serbia’s position, considering that there were similar problems in Lebanon. At a meeting with Kyrgyz Republic Foreign Minister Abdyldaev Erlan, Dacic underlined the importance of friendly ties between the two countries and thanked Kyrgyzstan for its strong support for questions of great importance to Serbia. Dacic met with Trinidad and Tobago Foreign Minister Dennis Moses with whom he agreed on the need to work on improving bilateral cooperation and deepening cooperation within international organizations. Dacic also held bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of Nepal, Cape Verde, Cameroon and the state minister of India at the U.N. General Assembly.

Djuric: The people saved me from the arrest in Gracanica (Politika)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric says that none of the officials from Pristina had apologized for the fact that Kosovo special units Rosu, attempted on Wednesday evening, in full war equipment, with several vans, to kidnap him in Gracanica. Moreover, Kosovo Deputy Foreign Minister Valon Murtezaj tried to justify the operation by saying that Djuric didn’t respect the agreement on visits of Belgrade officials and that this was the reason why he was returned to Serbia. “It is not true that I didn’t respect the agreement, because my arrival was announced and it is a lie that I was expelled. Nobody can limit my movement in Kosovo and Metohija, nor would I accept something like that. After the failed attempt at expelling me from Kosovo and Metohija, I continued, according to plan, my visit to the southern Serbian province, and one day later I went from Gracanica to an official visit to Raska and Kraljevo,” Djuric said in an interview to Politika.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik: Putin wished us luck in terms of referendum and upcoming elections (RTRS)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday. Dodik and Putin discussed the situation in the Balkans and political, economic and various other international issues. Following his meeting with Putin, Dodik stated that he is very satisfied because of the fact that he had an opportunity to meet again with Mr. Putin. “The most important topic that we discussed was our economic cooperation and economic relations between the RS and Russia,” Dodik underlined, adding that Putin and he agreed that economic relations between the RS and Russia should be further developed. Dodik stressed that he informed Putin about the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) of three percent recorded in the RS this year. Dodik underlined that Putin and he also discussed political issues that are primarily related to implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA). “President Putin said that the Russian Federation is very interested in the stability, good relations and peace in the region, and that it is ready to give its contribution to the development of such a situation,” Dodik said, adding that he also informed Putin about the referendum on the Day of the RS which will be held on Sunday. “I told him that the referendum caused certain unnecessary approaches and dialogues in the region and that from the aspect of law and the right of peoples to decide on issues important to them, this is absolutely a right that is above all rights and even above some institutions. I also informed him about the upcoming local elections in B&H, and President Putin wished us luck in terms of the referendum and elections, and wished everything to pass without any problem and in peace,” Dodik underlined.

Ahead of the meeting, Dodik said that meeting with Putin will be another opportunity to discuss all economic issues and relations between Russia and the RS. “It will also be an opportunity for me to thank President Putin for the support we received from Russia, especially when it comes to certain economic projects, but also in addressing the issue of clearing debt,” Dodik underlined. Dodik stressed that he will also inform Putin about the political relations in B&H, reasons for holding of the referendum on the Day of the RS, but also about other political issues. “I regularly inform President Putin about the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA). Some from the West have a distorted approach and they are trying to force us to violate the DPA through their interpretation of the spirit of the Dayton Agreement. Those are the topics that we will discuss and I am looking forward to this meeting, which does not have a speculative character. With its principled attitude of respect for international law, Russia is contributing to the stabilization of the situation in the region, but also across the world. Regardless of the fact that some are irritated by this, Russia is becoming a global player in all segments of structural policies,” Dodik said.

Brief encounter of Vucic and Izetbegovic assessed as message that common sense must prevail; Izetbegovic says stance of Russia is unacceptable (Dnevni avaz)

Both B&H Presidency member Bakir Izetbegovic and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic confirmed on Thursday they briefly met in New York, despite tensions triggered by warmongering statements of politicians of Serbia and B&H. Namely, Vucic said it was a private conversation, while Izetbegovic stated for TV1 it was only a brief encounter and that they did not discuss current situation. According to the daily, the many assessed this meeting as a message that the common sense must prevail. “Vucic is a brave politician, because he could have avoided participation in panel discussion on Srebrenica, but he did not, and he listened to a speech of a Srebrenica victim,” said Izetbegovic. Vucic said that he accepted in dignified manner an unannounced presence of Izetbegovic at the panel discussion. “I talked to Izetbegovic and I am always ready to talk to him”, he added. Izetbegovic stated that stance of Russia is unacceptable, stressing that this country is one of the signatories of the Dayton Peace Agreement and should stand behind his agreement and institutions formed in Dayton. “Russia should not support opposing to decisions of the Constitutional Court of B&H, which is a Dayton category. Nobody who is responsible needs a new cycle of problems, for which we know may get out of control. Russia should take side of reconciliation”, underlined Izetbegovic.

Inzko: There is no need to use Bonn Powers now that B&H CC banned referendum on RS Day (BHT1)

Guest of BHT1 Central News was High Representative in B&H Valentin Inzko. Asked if he will use the Bonn Powers to ban holding of the referendum on the Republika Srpska (RS) Day following the decision of the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H that provisionally suspends the decision of the RS National Assembly (RSNA) on holding of the referendum on the RS Day, Inzko confirmed that the Bonn Powers still exist and they can be used anytime, but there is no need to use them now that B&H CC banned the referendum. Commenting on the RSNA’s conclusion from Wednesday that the decision of B&H CC on January 9 as the RS Day will be implemented but that the referendum will not be cancelled, Inzko deemed that it is impossible to implement B&H CC’s decision jointly with holding of the referendum. “The Peace Implementation Council (PIC) clearly concluded at the meeting few days ago that no referendum can change the CC’s decision. Therefore, the referendum is unnecessary, it has no constitutional ground or legal importance, as already ruled by B&H CC,” Inzko explained, noting that the referendum will cost a lot and will not have legal consequences. Reminded that Russia usually opposes any kind of stricter action towards the RS at the PIC sessions, Inzko was asked if other PIC member states support banning of the referendum or possible removal of some of the officials in B&H. Inzko said that he always gets Russia’s support in the UN General Assembly with regard to preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of B&H, every six months when he presents the report on the situation in B&H. “However, it seems that when it comes to the referendum people want for the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) to be a sort of a buffer breakfast from which they can choose whatever they want. Basically, the referendum represents an attack on the constitutional-legal order. It is not just a matter of some holiday but it is an attack on B&H CC, and we would like that Russia confirms that, but at least Russia says that B&H should be preserved within its current borders. It is clear that Russia has it interests, which is also visible from this meeting in Moscow,” Inzko said. Asked to say what will be his future attitude towards RS President Milorad Dodik in case that the referendum takes place on September 25 after all, Inzko said that the referendum has caused numerous tensions, stories about the war and re- tailoring of borders. “The PIC clearly said that there will be no re-tailoring of borders. I harshly condemn the aggressive and threatening rhetoric and I even damn every man who mentions the war. That is very dangerous,” Inzko emphasized. He urged all Serbs who temporarily moved out from the RS to Serbia, as well as Bosnaiks who moved out from the RS to the Federation of B&H to come back. “The war will not and must not take place and why should not we speak more about good neighbors, love, mercy or a joint future. The EU has a good role here since all citizens want to access Europe. Let us work on these good topics and not only on negative ones,” Inzko stated. Asked to assess when the time for closing of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) will come, Inzko reminded that the OHR was actively present in B&H in the first 10 years of its term and large progress was achieved during that decade. “Then the second phase came where the OHR was in the background, and we were more focused on local responsibility and B&H politicians. Maybe this has to be reviewed because there were no new solutions or establishment of some new institutions in that 10-year period. This means that the OHR’s role has changed but jurisdictions remained the same”, Inzko concluded. Asked to assess if the recent accepting of B&H’s application for membership in the EU might be a response to intensified political tensions in the country, Inzko said that the EU took an excellent move by formally accepting B&H’s application. “B&H will now receive a questionnaire with several thousand questions, which means that it can now take efforts to become the EU candidate country. The most important thing now is that B&H’s European path is irreversible,” Inzko stated, reminding however that people are still faced with problems in everyday life but their path is clear now – it is the Brussels path.

Izetbegovic meets Ban Ki-moon (TV1)

Chairman of the Presidency of B&H and leader of SDA Bakir Izetbegovic paid an official visit to New York, where he took part in the 71^st session of the UN General Assembly. Izetbegovic also attended a reception hosted by US President Barack Obama and held a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Ban and Obama congratulated Izetbegovic for the progress that B&H has made on the EU road and they expressed pleasure over efforts that the country exerts with regard to reform processes. In his speech before the UN General Assembly, Izetbegovic stated that B&H will always give its full contribution to the world’s peace, fight for human rights and solving of global challenges. He also noted that peace and security, human rights and development are pillars of the UN, but that the world today is neither peaceful nor safe. The Chairman of the Presidency of B&H emphasized that B&H is strongly committed to combating terrorism in all its forms and that the country is concerned about the increase in violent extremism. Furthermore, Izetbegovic emphasized that the world is facing the worst crisis of forced migration since the World War II, because 60 million people have left their homes because of war, persecution and violations of human rights, which is why they are struggling now in refugee camps. “World peace and stability was dramatically undermined by violence and crimes against the people of Syria. The fact that no influential global and regional actors managed to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria so far is disturbing, but B&H supports peace talks in Geneva and the efforts of the International Group for support to Syria in finding a political solution to this conflict,” added Izetbegovic. He also pointed out that the conflict between Israel and Palestine is having a destabilizing effect on the Middle East, stressing that a solution to this issue needs to be found as well.

Officials: Croatia supports B&H’s sovereignty (Hina)

Croatia does not support any action that would jeopardize the survival of B&H, Croatian Foreign Minister Miro Kovac said on Thursday in a comment on a referendum to be held in the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska (RS) on September 25. “We want a unified and strong B&H where all three peoples are constituent and equal,” Kovac said in New York, where he was attending a UN General Assembly session. As a signatory to the Dayton peace agreement, Croatia will work to help B&H survive as a state and it will support its integration with the European Union, said Kovac. In the referendum B&H Serb authorities have set for this Sunday, entity residents will vote on whether to comply with a ruling of the Constitutional Court of B&H that declared the commemoration of January 9 as RS Day unconstitutional. Despite the Constitutional Court’s decision to ban the referendum, the vote will be held. Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) president Andrej Plenkovic said he was against the referendum because it could lead to a referendum on the Serb entity’s secession from B&H. “I’m against that referendum. It could be the first step towards a referendum that would lead to the separation of RS from B&H, which isn’t good. That’s also the uniform position of the international community, Croatia and all key political stakeholders in the country,” Plenkovic told reporters. He said it was necessary to work on defusing tensions and focusing more on decisions of the Council of the European Union, which tasked the European Commission with drawing up an opinion on B&H’s membership application. “It is through that European path that we can best protect the constitutionality and equality of Croats in B&H as well as the well-being of all other peoples.”

Serb representatives: Pupovac, SDSS, SNV breaching constitutional law on ethnic minority rights (Hina)

Representatives of Serb ethnic minority councils in four Croatian counties in which a fourth of the minority lives on Wednesday sent a letter to the caretaker government, the president of the Croatian Democratic Union party as the likeliest prime minister designate and the media in which they wish to inform them “about the unlawful practice which the Serb National Council (SNV), a non-governmental organization under Milorad Pupovac’s control, systematically carries out.” The letter was signed by the chairmen of Serb ethnic minority councils in Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Pozega-Slavonia and Karlovac counties. The signatories claim the SNV was never formally registered as a national coordinating body of Serb ethnic minority councils and that it systematically presents itself as a coordinating body and receives funds from the state budget. “SNV president Pupovac then distributes them according to political criteria, ignoring the actual program needs of regions,” the letter says. “The government is misled because there exists a serious conflict of interests, since the same actors appear in three roles, as political representatives of a minority, as leaders of the SNV non-governmental organization which presents itself as a national coordinating body, and as members of the government’s Ethnic Minorities Council, three persons from the SDSS (Independent Democratic Serb Party), which decides on the allocation of public funds for the financing of minority organizations,” the letter says. This is about the dangerous practice of subordinating a minority civil society and non-governmental organizations to one political party and one ideology, about abusing the power of a member of parliament and about the unacceptable practice of mixing roles in politics and civil society, the letter says.

Macedonian Interior Minister met Head of EU Delegation in Skopje Samuel Zbogar (Telegraf.mk)

Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski held Thursday a working meeting with the Head of the EU Delegation in Skopje, Samuel Zbogar. Talks focused on the state of play in the Ministry of Interior Affairs, the upcoming elections and the issue involving migrants, the Ministry (MoI) said in a press release. Expressing thanks for the cooperation established with the European Union, Minister Spasovski said the goal of the Ministry of the Interior was to become a service of the citizens, i.e. ‘to free itself from partisan influence, criminal activity and to become more professional,’ read the press release. The Head of the EU Delegation said he concurred that these three processes were crucial and that the EU was interested in supporting their realization. He said he expected that the December 11 elections would be credible, which would be considered the first step towards stabilizing the situation in the country. Zbogar said he also expected all institutions in the country, including the MoI, after the elections to get back of the path of reform implementation, which would be of exceptional importance to resume the Euro-­Atlantic integration process, stated the press release. As regards the migrant issue, Zbogar announced the Interior Ministry would be provided with 31 vehicles equipped to monitor the borders.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Connection, Communication, Cooperation in South East Europe (European Western Balkans, 22 September 2016)

NEW YORK – Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Secretary General Goran Svilanovic attended the informal meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), organized on the margins of the 71st Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York. ‘Connection. Communication. Cooperation.’, motto set by Croatian Chairmanship of the SEECP in period 2016-2017, set the themes for this year’s informal discussion of the ministers, highlighting the main focus of the continued regional cooperation efforts – political dialogue, solidarity, connectivity, transport, energy and European integration. “Now we have a sound basis and a political support from the region for translating ideas discussed in our meetings into interventions that can contribute towards making the region better connected, more competitive and increasingly integrated with the EU”, said Secretary General Svilanovic at the meeting.

In focus: Increased mobility, enhanced connectivity and improved competitiveness in SEE

The RCC transitions towards the implementation of its new three-year Strategy and Work Programme (SWP) for 2017-2019 and stands ready to capitalize on the interlinked regional efforts to ensure progress in meeting the agreed regional goals, under the SEECP guidance.

“For us, the RCC, this means focusing over the next three years on reducing – and where possible removing – the obstacles to increased mobility, enhanced connectivity and improved competitiveness in SEE but the RCC will also work to contribute to better governance, improved functioning of the rule of law and augmented security in SEE”, Svilanovic concluded.

The role of regional cooperation: Boosting economic growth and connectivity of the region

The Paris declaration adopted at the Western Balkans Summit in July reaffirms the role of regional cooperation in boosting economic growth and connectivity of the region as well as the role of the RCC in addressing common challenges. A follow-up to the Paris Summit took place the day earlier in New York, hosted by the RCC Secretary General, in the format of the Western Balkans six with the participation of the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn, emphasizing the implementation of the measures agreed in Paris, streamlining of regional organisations and the pilot project on Young Professionals.

During the New York visit, the RCC Secretary General also met Ms. Cihan Sultanoğlu, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The two looked back on the past cooperation and discussed new potentials for mutual cooperation.

Prosecutors at BIRN War Crimes Conference Urge Cooperation (BIRN, by Sven Milekic, 22 September 2016)

Prosecutors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro, as well as the Hague Tribunal and the EU’s Kosovo mission, told a BIRN conference that states must work together to prosecute war crimes.

Prosecutors from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro told a conference on war crimes prosecution organised by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network on Thursday in Sarajevo that cooperation between states and international organisations is crucial for successfully bringing cases to court. At the conference, which was also addressed by representatives from the OSCE, the EU-rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, EULEX and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, prosecutors who usually debate behind closed doors spoke about challenges to war crimes prosecutions in the Balkans, particularly in light of the ICTY closing its doors next year. Croatian deputy state attorney Jasmina Dolmagic said that “regional cooperation in absolutely indispensable” as many cases are cross-border ones. “This is how Croatia prosecuted the war crimes committed in Srebrenica by the former members of the Scorpions [Serb paramilitary unit],” she said. She explained how France did not want to extradite suspect Milorad Momic, who had joint French-Croatian citizenship to Serbia, but only to Croatia. After extradition, Croatia successfully prosecuted him using evidence and documents received from the Serbian prosecutor’s office. Gordana Tadic, deputy to the chief prosecutor at the Bosnian state prosecution and head of its war crimes department, said that a large number of war crime cases have either suspects, witnesses or victims from other states, which “makes cases further complicated”. “There is also a problem when one state takes a case from the other to meet the witness protection standards for persons coming from another state,” she explained. Lidija Vukcevic, special prosecutor at the Montenegrin Special State Prosecutor’s Office, said that Montenegro has prosecuted six war crimes cases from the 1990s thanks to mutual agreements between prosecution offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. Kevin Hughes, legal adviser to the chief prosecutor at the ICTY, said however that “political barriers” were preventing extraditions in the region. Hughes argued that the documentation and evidence established by prosecutors and courts in the region should be shared and recognised as valid by other former Yugoslav countries in the “same way the ICTY evidence is used in courts across the region”. Charles Hardaway, war crimes prosecutor at the EULEX mission in Kosovo, meanwhile highlighted “political obstacles” to prosecuting cases in Kosovo which require cooperation from Serbia. “According to the laws, if EULEX needs something from the Serbian justice ministry, it first sends a demand to the Kosovo justice ministry. When the Serbian ministry receives an inquiry from the Kosovo one, you don’t have to be a genius to know what will happen: nothing,” he said. He also said that Kosovo faced problems because it is not party to regional cooperation protocols. “By not having access in regional mechanisms and agreements, Kosovo is left out. These are challenges that international prosecutors – locals in the future too – have to defeat,” he said. The head of rule of law at the OSCE mission in Bosnia, Francesco de Sanctis, said that “one third of all war crimes cases” have either suspects, witnesses or victims living abroad, which make prosecutions more complicated. The initial panel will be followed by one entitled ‘Are Transitional Justice Strategies a Way Forward?’, which will be addressed by Ivan Jovanovic, an expert in international humanitarian law, Goran Simic, professor of criminal law and transitional justice at the International University of Sarajevo, Nemanja Stjepanovic from the Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Centre, Dzenana Karup Drusko from the Sarajevo-based Association for Transitional Justice, Responsibility and Remembrance, and Teuta Hoxha from Kosovo’s Youth Initiative for Human Rights. As well as experts and prosecutors, 20 journalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro and Serbia are atending the conference. Following the conference, the journalists will have a two-day training course aimed at boosting their skills in transitional justice reporting. As part of the training session, BIRN has launched its War Crimes Verdicts Map – an interactive tool intended to provide an overview of court rulings on the crimes that were committed during the wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Comprising a total of 386 verdicts, it represents a unique database of publicly-available final judgements issued by national courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Serbia. It also includes verdicts handed down by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague. The conference and the training session are part of BIRN’s Balkan Transitional Justice initiative, funded by the European Commission, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland and the Robert Bosch Stiftung. The project aims to improve the general public’s understanding of transitional justice issues in former Yugoslav countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.