MIP participates in the Summer School ‘Wars of the 1990s”

Sekretarijat
Vest
Divčibare, Serbia
A collage of images from one of the workshops during Summer School

On 14 June 2024, the Mechanism Information Programme for Affected Communities (MIP) participated in the Summer School entitled “Wars of the 1990s”. The Summer School was held over five days in Divčibare, Serbia, and gathered 20 historians and social scientists. The school is organised by the Association of Citizens for Democracy and Civil Education, Civic Initiatives, and is part of a wider project supported by the United Nations Development Programme. 

MIP Researcher Mr. Nemanja Stjepanović held two sessions. In the first session, he introduced the judicial archives of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism), highlighting the wealth of information they contain related to the 1990s conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. He added that the ICTY/Mechanism archival material is a precious source of information for historians, scientists, and researchers interested in the events of the 1990s conflict.  

During the second session, participants learned how to access the evidence available in the ICTY’s and the Mechanism’s Unified Court Records database. Mr. Stjepanović explained the search tools for the databases, after which participants had the opportunity to acquaint themselves with transcripts of witness testimonies before the ICTY and the Mechanism, as well as material collected and admitted into evidence during trial proceedings before the two courts. 

This participation in the summer school forms part of the MIP’s efforts to support projects and events implemented by civil society organisations active in the field of transitional justice in the region of the former Yugoslavia. 

The aim of the MIP is to improve the knowledge and understanding of citizens and communities in the countries of the former Yugoslavia about the crimes committed during the conflicts of the 1990s, based on the jurisprudence of the ICTY and the Mechanism. The MIP is funded by the European Union.