War crimes processing

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina monitors and reports on domestic war crimes proceedings to provide an objective and accurate assessment of the commitment, capacity and willingness of the judicial system to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate war crimes in an effective, human rights compliant and expedient manner. The Mission draws on these monitoring findings to identify systemic issues in the judicial response to the legacy of war and to design targeted technical assistance, capacity building, and advocacy strategies support the judiciary in addressing these issues. 

The Mission has also increased its focus on transitional justice beyond the courtroom, recognizing it as an essential complement to criminal proceedings. Related Mission war crimes and transitional justice programming includes capacity-building, promoting transparency, targeted advocacy and technical support.

Since 2004, under the auspices of its trial monitoring program, the Mission has monitored all cases concerning war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide processed before domestic courts across all jurisdictions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Based on this data and analysis, the Mission regularly underscores the need to increase the capacity and efficiency of courts and prosecutor’s offices across BiH and to ensure the provision of adequate support, including to victims and witnesses, and resources to address these sensitive cases.