Recommendations to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Yugoslavia

 

1. To initiate a wide public discussion in the country on the program and the powers of the Commission, and on the issues of confronting truth and establishing responsibility for all violations of human and minority rights, war crimes and other criminal acts committed from 1991 to date;

2. To make every effort to hear the testimonies of the victims in public;

3. To extend the membership of the Commission and include in its work a larger number of representatives of minority ethnic groups, members of different religious communities, NGOs and professional associations;

4.  To publish all relevant documents which could help reveal who made and enforced the decisions which directly contributed to the preparations for, and the waging, outbreak and conduct of, the wars; and when and where these decisions were taken;

5.  To establish close co-operation with similar commissions and ombudsmen in the region, including exchanging documents and testimonies of the victims and witnesses both in written and electronic form;

6.  To establish co-operation with the Hague Tribunal as well as with the specialised non-governmental organisations engaged in human rights work;

7.  To review the situation in the fields of culture, education, the judiciary and the media, and to determine their role in and responsibility for spreading religious and national hatred and intolerance, violations of human rights, and warmongering;

8. To establish co-operation with different social bodies, and particularly with the media, NGOs, religious communities, interest groups and professional associations.

 

Recommendations to the Federal Parliament and Government, and to the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

1. It is recommended that the Federal Parliament and Government consider, in co-operation with the President of Yugoslavia as the founder of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the possibility of enacting a law which would regulate the jurisdiction and the powers of the Commission;

2. It is recommended that the possibility be considered of jointly establishing an international Truth and Reconciliation Commission with the countries that emerged after the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia.

 

Recommendations to the Federal Parliament and Government, and to the republics’ parliaments and governments:

1. To allow the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to work independently and in public;

2. To allow access to all relevant documents and information in the state’s possession;

3. To grant the Commission the powers to summon witnesses who have knowledge about the relevant events;

4. To ensure complete legal and physical safety for the witnesses and victims;

5.  To accept the obligation to compensate those individuals who were the victims of state violence, according to the findings of the Commission;

6.  To provide direct and unimpeded links and co-operation with the commissions and ombudsmen from other countries.

 

Belgrade, May 20, 2001 

On behalf of conference organiser B92  

Veran Matic