Foreign Policy Forum hosted a panel discussion on reconciliation policies in Western Balkans over the last 30 years, with a particular emphasise on the role of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY, 1993-2017) and its successor, the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
20 October 2021, Croatian Journalist Association House, Zagreb.
Participating:
Professor Jasna Dragović-Soso, Goldsmiths, University of London
Professor Eric Gordy, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London
Vesna Teršelič, Documenta, Zagreb
Professor Ivo Josipović, President of the Republic of Croatia (2010-2015), University of Zagreb
Moderated by Professor Dejan Jović, Foreign Policy Forum and University of Zagreb
Discussion focused on following issues:
• What is the legacy of ICTY's trials and judgments for reconciliation policies in the Western Balkans? Has ICTY done enough – or not – with regards to its stated objectives and expectations?
• Where are the countries of the Western Balkans – and where is Croatia – with regards to reconciliation after the wars of the 1990s? Are they oriented towards creating solid grounds for permanent peace? Or, on the contrary, are they using previous conflict(s) as an obstacle to reconciliation?
• What issues remain open from previous conflicts and need to be addressed by states involved? In particular we would like to discuss the issue of the missing persons. How should the states approach this issue?
• Is there anything we can recommend to states of the Western Balkans (and Croatia) in order to further encourage them to promote peace and cooperation, and to move beyond negative narratives?
The event was organised within the Public Diplomacy grant that Foreign Policy Forum has received from the British Embassy in Zagreb.
