Brammertz attends prosecutors’ conference

Hague Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz said that the goal of his visit to Belgrade on Tuesday was to exchange experiences with his Serbian colleagues. “I am not here to talk about political questions and Hague cooperation. The goal of the visit is to exchange experiences with my colleagues from Serbia,” Brammertz said. Brammertz attends prosecutors’ conference He was addressing the “Independence and Challenges of the Work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia” conference, organized by the Association of Prosecutors and the OSCE mission. In the part of the conference open to the public, he said that he knows that Serbia is going through various reforms, which he said is a difficult job. “It is not an easy job, but I believe that the results will be positive,” Brammertz. Addressing the participants in the conference, Brammertz said that he held various prosecutor positions during his career, both international and in his native Belgium, where he worked a prosecutor for increasing international cooperation and as a coordinator for organized crime. Brammertz also told reporters that he believed in professionalism and work of the Serbian Action Team for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. However, he continued, the prosecution has high expectations and insists on completion of cooperation which includes arresting the remaining fugitives – Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic. “I have not received a single reason so far which would make me believe that Ratko Mladic is not in Serbia. But, we trust appraisals and work of the local authorities,” the chief Hague prosecutor said. “I said in my last report that the cooperation had improved and that I believed that the Coordination Team was doing a good job. But I also said that we needed additional results because the arrest of the fugitives was of great importance,” he pointed out. “As you know, there is still a large number of victims awaiting the arrest of the Hague fugitives in order to bring them to justice. It is also important for the tribunal and the end of our mandate, but also for the credibility of the international community which has to help both us and Serbia to reach the main goal, which is arresting the indictees,” the prosecutor said. Brammertz noted that he was aware of the importance which the report he is submitting to the UN Security Council has, but he did not wish to go into the political consequences of Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. “We are distinguishing between the progress in cooperation, which is a technical issue, and its political importance that Brussels is deciding on. What we are doing and what we will do once again in six months is estimating all the aspects of the cooperation in order to see where we stand,” he explained. “We are hoping that there will be some concrete results before the next report regarding the fugitives. We will submit a six-month report to the UN Security Council and the EU if they requested it. Everything will depend on the EU political level to decide on the consequences,” he said, in reference to the fact that Serbia's EU integration ambition depends on the level of cooperation with the Hague. Brammertz added that there had been an improvement regarding access to the archives and different documents, but also when it came to access to witnesses and their protection as well. The Hague prosecutor stressed that he was pleased with the progress made in cooperation with Serbia's security agencies, especially in the context of efforts to apprehend the Hague fugitives. Addressing the same conference in Belgrade today, Dutch Ambassador Ron van Dartel – whose country has put full cooperation with the tribunal as a condition for Serbia's EU integration – said that he expects that the two remaining Hague fugitives will be brought to justice. “Prosecutors in Serbia have a key role for charging criminals that are responsible for crimes committed in the past and in that way, remove barriers standing in Serbia’s path,” Van Dartel said. War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said that the Serbian prosecution and the Hague Tribunal have the same goal, to prosecute all war criminals and to exchange data, documents, and witness testimony they uncover in their investigations. “Cooperation between the Hague Tribunal and Serbia is a key topic,” Vukcevic said, adding that everyone in the region must be aware of the legal and moral obligations towards the victims and their families. Brammertz and Vukcevic in Belgade today (FoNet)

Brammertz attends prosecutors’ conference

He was addressing the “Independence and Challenges of the Work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia” conference, organized by the Association of Prosecutors and the OSCE mission.

In the part of the conference open to the public, he said that he knows that Serbia is going through various reforms, which he said is a difficult job.

“It is not an easy job, but I believe that the results will be positive,” Brammertz.

Addressing the participants in the conference, Brammertz said that he held various prosecutor positions during his career, both international and in his native Belgium, where he worked a prosecutor for increasing international cooperation and as a coordinator for organized crime.

Brammertz also told reporters that he believed in professionalism and work of the Serbian Action Team for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal.

However, he continued, the prosecution has high expectations and insists on completion of cooperation which includes arresting the remaining fugitives – Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić.

“I have not received a single reason so far which would make me believe that Ratko Mladić is not in Serbia. But, we trust appraisals and work of the local authorities,” the chief Hague prosecutor said.

“I said in my last report that the cooperation had improved and that I believed that the Coordination Team was doing a good job. But I also said that we needed additional results because the arrest of the fugitives was of great importance,” he pointed out.

“As you know, there is still a large number of victims awaiting the arrest of the Hague fugitives in order to bring them to justice. It is also important for the tribunal and the end of our mandate, but also for the credibility of the international community which has to help both us and Serbia to reach the main goal, which is arresting the indictees,” the prosecutor said.

Brammertz noted that he was aware of the importance which the report he is submitting to the UN Security Council has, but he did not wish to go into the political consequences of Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague Tribunal.

“We are distinguishing between the progress in cooperation, which is a technical issue, and its political importance that Brussels is deciding on. What we are doing and what we will do once again in six months is estimating all the aspects of the cooperation in order to see where we stand,” he explained.

“We are hoping that there will be some concrete results before the next report regarding the fugitives. We will submit a six-month report to the UN Security Council and the EU if they requested it. Everything will depend on the EU political level to decide on the consequences,” he said, in reference to the fact that Serbia's EU integration ambition depends on the level of cooperation with the Hague.

Brammertz added that there had been an improvement regarding access to the archives and different documents, but also when it came to access to witnesses and their protection as well.

The Hague prosecutor stressed that he was pleased with the progress made in cooperation with Serbia's security agencies, especially in the context of efforts to apprehend the Hague fugitives.

Addressing the same conference in Belgrade today, Dutch Ambassador Ron van Dartel – whose country has put full cooperation with the tribunal as a condition for Serbia's EU integration – said that he expects that the two remaining Hague fugitives will be brought to justice.

“Prosecutors in Serbia have a key role for charging criminals that are responsible for crimes committed in the past and in that way, remove barriers standing in Serbia’s path,” Van Dartel said.

War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukčević said that the Serbian prosecution and the Hague Tribunal have the same goal, to prosecute all war criminals and to exchange data, documents, and witness testimony they uncover in their investigations.

“Cooperation between the Hague Tribunal and Serbia is a key topic,” Vukčević said, adding that everyone in the region must be aware of the legal and moral obligations towards the victims and their families.