After three days of discussions and exchanges the ICTY today concluded its final Legacy Conference, which took place from 22 to 24 June 2017 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
The Tribunal’s Principals, President Carmel Agius, Prosecutor Serge Brammertz and Registrar John Hocking, delivered welcoming remarks, after which His Excellency Dragan Èoviæ, Member of the BiH Presidency, spoke on behalf of the Presidency and the host country.
In his opening speech, President Agius emphasised that the aim of the Conference was “to ‘pass on the baton’ to stakeholders in the region, because it is [they] who will, in many ways, be responsible for carrying the Tribunal’s legacy on beyond 2017.” Prosecutor Brammertz highlighted the crucial role played by national jurisdictions in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, stressing that: “Ensuring that national courts have the capacity to prosecute international crimes is therefore of paramount importance.” Registrar John Hocking stated that: “In our courtrooms, the shields that protected Heads of State, Ministers, or Generals were pierced by the humble truth of their often powerless victims”, and explained how the Tribunal’s legacy will live on through efforts inside and outside courtrooms in the region and across the world.
During the Conference, regional and international participants discussed key areas of the Tribunal’s legacy, engaging in an active dialogue. In addition to eight main panel sessions, the Conference hosted ten side events, including book launches, a documentary premiere, the opening of an exhibition, and discussions of various regional transitional justice initiatives.
