EU calls for extension to Hague mandate

A proposal to extend the Hague’s mandate by at least two years has received support from the European institutions. The European Parliament, EU leaders and the European Commission (EC) have expressed support for the idea. EU calls for extension to Hague mandate A vote on a resolution calling for an extension of the Hague Tribunal’s mandate for war crimes by two years will be held at a plenary session of the European Parliament today. The purpose of the proposal is to ensure that gross crimes against humanity do not go unpunished and to fully confirm the respect for international law and EU democratic benchmarks in Western Balkan states on the path to EU membership. The proposal at the European Parliament in Strasbourg calls for the EU to ask the UN Security Council for an emergency extension of the Hague Tribunal’s mandate, including funding for its continued work. According to the resolution, coordinated in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the EU Parliament, it is essential that remaining war criminals Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic are extradited to the UN ad hoc tribunal. Additionally, it is essential that the entire “legacy” and structure of the Hague court be preserved, which, it is stated, brought new justice practices to international law regarding war crimes and crimes against humanity. The resolution, which will be voted on today, also underlines that the EU must clarify how it will evaluate whether the justice systems in Western Balkan states have, in the meantime, acquired the capacities for impartial investigations and for trying crimes against international law, once the Hague finishes its work. In that context, it is pointed out that the Serbian government must do its utmost to track down the remaining criminals and extradite them to the Hague, while the Croatian government must satisfy the Hague prosecutor’s demands in connection with documents on war crimes, particularly in the case of Ante Gotovina. At the debate in the European Parliament, EU Commissioner Olli Rehn supported the idea of extending the Hague’s work, emphasizing that full cooperation with the Hague “reflects European values, laws and activities of a legal state, which is at the heart of the policy to extend the EU to the Western Balkans.” The European Parliament (FoNet, archive)

EU calls for extension to Hague mandate

A vote on a resolution calling for an extension of the Hague Tribunal’s mandate for war crimes by two years will be held at a plenary session of the European Parliament today.

The purpose of the proposal is to ensure that gross crimes against humanity do not go unpunished and to fully confirm the respect for international law and EU democratic benchmarks in Western Balkan states on the path to EU membership.

The proposal at the European Parliament in Strasbourg calls for the EU to ask the UN Security Council for an emergency extension of the Hague Tribunal’s mandate, including funding for its continued work.

According to the resolution, coordinated in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the EU Parliament, it is essential that remaining war criminals Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić are extradited to the UN ad hoc tribunal.

Additionally, it is essential that the entire “legacy” and structure of the Hague court be preserved, which, it is stated, brought new justice practices to international law regarding war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The resolution, which will be voted on today, also underlines that the EU must clarify how it will evaluate whether the justice systems in Western Balkan states have, in the meantime, acquired the capacities for impartial investigations and for trying crimes against international law, once the Hague finishes its work.

In that context, it is pointed out that the Serbian government must do its utmost to track down the remaining criminals and extradite them to the Hague, while the Croatian government must satisfy the Hague prosecutor’s demands in connection with documents on war crimes, particularly in the case of Ante Gotovina.

At the debate in the European Parliament, EU Commissioner Olli Rehn supported the idea of extending the Hague’s work, emphasizing that full cooperation with the Hague “reflects European values, laws and activities of a legal state, which is at the heart of the policy to extend the EU to the Western Balkans.”