ICTY Evidence Shows Discriminatory Policies Preceded Bosnian War Violence
“The ICTY investigated crimes committed during the Bosnian War and found evidence that discriminatory policies existed before and during large-scale violence. Bosnian Serb political leaders and local authorities began creating separate Serbian-controlled governments before the war officially escalated. In territories controlled by Bosnian Serb forces, non-Serbs — especially Bosniaks and Croats — were increasingly excluded from political power and public life. Many non-Serbs were removed from jobs in: local government, police departments, schools, hospitals, and public businesses. Serbian authorities often replaced removed workers with ethnic Serbs to strengthen Serbian political control in those areas. Local governments and military leaders used ethnicity as a basis for determining who could safely remain in certain towns and who was considered a threat. The ICTY described these actions as part of organized campaigns of “persecution,” which included discrimination based on ethnicity and religion. Propaganda spread by Serbian nationalist leaders portrayed Bosniaks and Croats as enemies of the Serbian population. Fear and distrust between ethnic groups increased because political leaders encouraged ethnic division rather than cooperation. In some towns, non-Serb civilians were pressured to: sign loyalty statements, surrender weapons, leave their homes, or give up property. These discriminatory actions happened before many of the mass killings and ethnic cleansing campaigns fully developed. The ICTY concluded that these policies helped prepare areas for later forced displacement and violence against non-Serb populations. The tribunal later used this evidence in prosecutions against leaders connected to ethnic cleansing campaigns.”
Summary
The ICTY investigated war crimes committed during the Bosnian War and concluded that Bosnian Serb leaders pursued policies of persecution and ethnic discrimination, including removing non‑Serbs from public positions and replacing them with Serbs. These actions were presented as part of organized campaigns that prepared the ground for later forced displacement and mass violence, and the tribunal used this evidence in prosecutions of senior Bosnian Serb officials.
Sources 60 searched
- Pursuing Justice in the Midst of War: The International Criminal Tribunal
Two of the ‘‘biggest fish’’—Republika Srpska President Radovan Karadzic and General · Ratko Mladic, commander of all Bosnian Serb forces—were indicted in July 1995. The · indictments charged Karadzic and Mladic with genocide, crimes against humanity, and ... The ICTY’s concern ...
- International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia - Wikipedia
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was an ad hoc court of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal was located in The Hague, Netherlands ...
- About the ICTY | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Those indicted by the ICTY include heads of state, prime ministers, army chiefs-of-staff, interior ministers and many other high- and mid-level political, military and police leaders from various parties to the Yugoslav conflicts. Its indictments address crimes committed from 1991 to 2001 against members of various ethnic groups in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
- History | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The overwhelming majority of accused persons were of Serb ethnicity, plus a dozen of Bosnian Croats in a cluster of early indictments. The Serbian and Croatian authorities repeatedly accused the OTP of ethnic bias and failure to recognise the suffering on all sides in the conflict. The prosecution had always asked that observers wait until all indictments are issued before levelling such allegations. Starting in 2001, the OTP’s investigations against senior leaders suspected of crimes committed against Croats and Serbs started to yield results and several indictments were confirmed for the Croatian operations Medak Pocket and Operation Storm, the atrocities committed by mujahedins in central Bosnia, the killings of Bosnian Croat civilians in Grabovica and Uzdol (BiH), and the crimes against Kosovo Albanian and Serb civilians committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army.
- Investigations | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The Prosecution began by investigating crimes committed in the northwestern Bosnian municipality of Prijedor, the location of the most notorious detention camps in the war - Omarska, Keraterm, and Trnopolje. The Prosecution had inherited a wealth of information about crimes in Prijedor from ...
- International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia « World Without Genocide - Making It Our Legacy
The proceedings at the ICTY prosecuted people on two levels: (1) individual acts; and (2) in a position of authority for acts to be carried out.[3] The Tribunal indicted 161 individuals for crimes committed against thousands of victims during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.
- The War Crimes Chamber in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The ICTY had also identified 2,379 Category B cases where evidence was deemed · “insufficient” to issue an indictment. Category C cases would require further investigation. In · all, the ICTY identified 702 cases in Category C; they also were to be processed by the War ... Obstacles,” March 2005. ... According to the Orientation Criteria for Sensitive Rules of the Road Cases, adopted by the Collegium · of Prosecutors on 12 October 2004, and annexed to the Book of Rules on Review of War Crimes Cases (28
- International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia
Although, the court has extensive evidence from witness testimonies against the 54 year old Seselj, the ICTY judges believe the safety of the witnesses cannot be guaranteed so the trial remains suspended. (Associated Press) The Chief Prosecutor of the ICTY, Serge Brammertz, investigates Serbia's ...
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