“Assessing the Legacy of the ICTY” Conference

The Sanela Diana Jenkins Human Rights Project co-organized and co-sponsored the “Assessing the Legacy of the ICTY” conference in partnership with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the Government of the Netherlands. The conference took place in February 2010 in the Hague and afforded a unique opportunity for stakeholders from the Balkans and other relevant international actors to comment on the Tribunal’s legacy vision in the former Yugoslavia, exchange information about the legacy work that is being carried out by the Tribunal and other UN and international organizations in the former Yugoslavia, and explore ways to improve cooperation in the pursuit of common goals.

Particular attention was paid to building the capacity of national war crimes courts in the former Yugoslavia and to enabling their access to the ICTY’s records and archives, without compromising witness security.

The Sanela Diana Jenkins Human Rights Project at UCLA School of Law is committed to organizing major conferences that take advantage of important historical moments and opportunities to advance human rights.

A book published by Martinus Nijhoff contains conference essays.

“This collection of essays assesses the legacy established by the most important international criminal tribunal since the Nuremberg and Tokyo war crimes trials, and considers what might be done to enhance or modify the legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), including improvement of the capacity of state courts in the region to prosecute violations of humanitarian law by using the Tribunal’s documents, evidence, law, and practice. The essays are derived from a conference, Assessing the Legacy of the ICTY, which was convened in The Hague. Participants included over 375 stakeholders from the former Yugoslavia; officials from the Tribunal’s Chambers, Registry, and the Office of the Prosecutor; justice ministers and other government officials from Europe; and all elements of civil society—representatives of nongovernmental organizations, lawyers, and academics.”

More information on the conference is available at the ICTY’s website.