Tag: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Richard Rogers, expert on International Law and a member of Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, talking about the International Protocol on Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict, pointed out three main problems on prosecuting sexual violence crimes.

“The first problem is the lack of criminalization of those acts. The second concern is victims who are scared to talk about what they survived. And the third challenge is gathering evidence of those acts,” he said.

Bozica Zivkovic Railic, from the Association of Women War Victims, who was featured in the film, expressed her deep dissatisfaction with how the victims of Serbian ethnicity are perceived. Along with several people from the audience she stated her discontent with presentation of facts.

Nada Golubovic, president of the “United Women Banja Luka” said that society has to change the discourse when it comes to supporting survivors of sexual violence in the past war.

“We have to be aware that every time when a victim comes to court, that presents re-traumatization, and we have to ensure that they will receive all necessary support,” she said, also expressing that the Protocol is the most important thing that could have happened to the victims.

After Sarajevo, Mostar and Banja Luka, the presentation of the Protocol and film screenings will be organised in Brcko District and Zenica.

“Sexually-violated women from the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton do not want to speak about because of they do not enjoy the support from their communities or the State for that matter,” said Zeljka Zovko, a former detainee.

According to Teufika Ibrahimefendic, a psychotherapist from Vive Zene, an NGO from Tuzla that provide mental help to rape victims says many professionals and family members want to help but they often do not know how.

At the event, the British Embassy in BiH presented the International protocol on documentation and investigation of sexual violence in conflict.

“The protocol was supported by 155 countries from all over the world, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is the first country where it is being launched on the State level,” said John O’Shaughnessy, second political secretary of the British Embassy.

The event gathered students from the Faculty of Law who, after viewing the film, expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that they know more about sexual violence in Africa than from the war in BiH.

After Mostar, the presentation of the protocol and film screenings will be organized in Banja Luka, Brcko District, and Zenica.

The film, ‘The Silent Scream’, features account of several men and women who were raped during the Bosnian war. Their stories portray a wide range of issues that the victims of sexual abuse face today.

“One of the most challenging things for the victims of sexual violence is speaking up. We hope their testimonies will motivate other silent victims to step out,” says the executive producer of the film, Mirna Buljugic.

Victims of sexual abuse are often stigmatized in their local communities. Their trauma is passed on to their children and their status is still not regulated by the State. They are often unaware of their rights when invited to testify before courts.

“The film explains the entire process, from the moment when victims are invited to testify, through to the identity protection measures they are entitled to, and the support that they can get from professional associations,” says Buljugic.

Earlier this year BIRN BiH hosted a panel discussion on the topic and presented several testimonies at the End Sexual Violence in Conflict Global Summit in London, which is part of a worldwide initiative launched by the UK government.

The film is the second documentary to be produced by BIRN BiH, and supported by the Foreign Commonwealth Office.

The aim of the meetings is to improving cooperation between local media and judiciary representatives.

Local journalists and representatives of the Cantonal Court in Novi Travnik, the prosecutor’s office in Travnik and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe had a productive debate on a set of guidelines introduced by High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council that regulate the publishing of indictments and verdicts on official web pages.

Although the guidelines are not obligatory, both court and prosecutor’s office representatives said that they were very useful and will be adopted and implemented in their internal rulebooks.

“We do support the initiative that name and surname of the accused should be published, but not before the indictment is confirmed. Although it is hard to give a statement using only initials, we have to protect the investigation process,” explained Edina Jaganjac, spokeswoman of the prosecutor’s office in Travnik.

Dragana Sivonjic, a journalist from Radio Vitez, asked the court and prosecutor office’s spokespeople to simplify the language they use in official news and public statements.

“It happens quite often that we receive a press release full of technical and legal phrases which even we cannot understand. It would be very helpful if we could receive statements in more appropriate language for the general public, so we can transfer the news to a wider audience,” Sivonjic said.

Participants also agreed on the necessity of following professional and ethical standards in reporting in order to inform the public in an objective way, but also to secure the rights of participants in a legal process – the accused, victims and witnesses.

“The wrong interpretation of information from the court can cause lots of damage, both to the institution and trial participants,” judge Zuhdija Cosic said.

By the end of November, BIRN BiH will organise three more meetings with local representatives in Brcko, Banja Luka and Sarajevo.

The movie will be screened for students of human rights and transitional justice and historical dialogue practitioners.

A discussion is planned after the screening because the movie, produced earlier this year, explores the issue of missing persons not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but in a global context too. 

The documentary also raises important questions about what the search for missing persons entails for those who have survived, and what it means in terms of the practical challenges and DNA analysis that define these searches on a technical level.

The documentary produced by BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina was first screened in July in Sarajevo. This is its first US screening. 

“The film draws attention to the issue of missing persons not just as a result of armed conflict, which was the case in the former Yugoslavia, but organized crime and human trafficking as well,” said Anisa Suceska – Vekic, the director of BIRN BiH and the film’s executive producer.

The film shows the process of the search for a missing person in detail, its key actors and their roles. It underlines the importance of DNA analysis for speeding up the process of identification.

“Painful though it is, it must be seen, and we have a duty not to look away,” says the deputy head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, Nina Suomalainen.

One of the main characters of the film, Fikret Bacic, has spent 22 years looking for the remains of his wife and two children who were executed in Prijedor during the war.

“I came back to BiH not just to find my family’s bodies but to make sure those who killed them are brought to justice,” said Bacic.

Alongside OSCE and Bacic the crowd had a chance to hear from the ICMP’s General Director, Kathryn Bomberger, at the Q&A panel that was held right after the screening.

“The issue of the missing is a global problem, many countries are facing it as people disappear almost every day,” said Bomberger.

The film is dedicated to all those who are still looking for their family members, regardless of their ethnicity, their national background or the cause of the disappearance.

‘Missing You…’ follows the stories of several people searching for missing members of their families.

For the past 22 years, Fikret Bacic has been searching for the remains of his wife and children, who were killed in Prijedor. Blazenka Djumic also lives in hope that she will find her daughter who went missing four years ago. They are just a few among many who are seeking lost loved ones.
 
The film charts the search for missing persons in detail, follows key actors and highlights their roles, and explains how DNA analysis is carried out.

The documentary discusses how to ease the pain of people looking for their family members in war and peacetime in the region and across the world.
 
Following the screening, BIRN BiH with the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) will host a panel discussion about the significance of the search for missing persons.
 
The speakers will be Fikret Bacic, the director of the ICMP, Kathryn Bomberger, and the deputy chief of the OSCE mission to BiH, Nina Suomalainen. It will be moderated by Anisa Suceska-Vekic, the director of BIRN BiH.

The entrence to the event is free of charge.