Lecture on Dubrovnik crimes held for young people from Montenegro

On 16 November 2021, the Mechanism Information Programme for Affected Communities (MIP) held an online lecture for 20 young political leaders, civil society activists and journalists from Montenegro on judicially-established facts concerning the crimes committed during the Yugoslav Peoples’ Army attack on Dubrovnik in 1991. The lecture was held as part of a School of Political Studies programme organized by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights from Montenegro.

MIP Researcher Nemanja Stjepanović presented a timeline of events that took place during the attack on Dubrovnik between October and December 1991 and provided an overview of the ICTY cases dealing with the crimes committed during this period. He explained that the intentional damage caused to the city’s UNESCO World Heritage site — namely the Old Town of Dubrovnik — played a central role in these trials, but that the cases also involved charges of murder and inhumane treatment of civilians that should not be overlooked.

During his lecture, Mr. Stjepanović presented a selection of evidence from the trials before the ICTY, including witness testimonies, audiovisual recordings, maps, photographs and other documents on which the judicially-established facts concerning the attack on Dubrovnik were based.

The lecture formed part of the MIP’s efforts to support projects and events organised by civil society organisations in the region that are active in the field of transitional justice.

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 ICTY and Mechanism cases. The MIP is generously supported by the European Union and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.