MIP presents its online exhibition Srebrenica: Timeline of a Genocide to BiH journalists

On 5 July 2022, representatives of the Mechanism Information Programme for Affected Communities (MIP) presented its online exhibition Srebrenica: Timeline of a Genocide to 20 journalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The event was held at the Information Centre on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in Sarajevo, and was organised in cooperation with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in BiH (BIRN BIH) as part of a series of MIP events marking the 27th commemoration of the Srebrenica Genocide.

MIP Youth Outreach Coordinator Ms. Anisa Sućeska and MIP Researcher Mr. Nemanja Stjepanović explained that the online exhibition guides visitors through the events that took place in Srebrenica in July 1995. The exhibition shows how the Genocide was planned and carried out, as told through the testimonies of survivors as well as insider witnesses from the Bosnian Serb Army, and provides visitors with the opportunity to gain knowledge about related court findings in an accessible and interactive way.

In addition to the online exhibition, Ms. Sućeska and Mr. Stjepanović presented to the journalists other public information material produced by the MIP. They explained that the purpose of this material is to help journalists and the general public better understand the findings of the ICTY and the Mechanism on the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s conflicts. The material, in the form of the Digital toolkits, contains an overview of the cases before the ICTY and the Mechanism, a selection of the archive material, videos, and infographics produced by the MIP for its social media campaigns. This material has proved to be a useful source of information for journalists.

Following the presentation, Mr. Stjepanović and BIRN BiH Director Mr. Denis Džidić talked about the possibilities and challenges of using the archives and legacy of the ICTY and the Mechanism for media projects related to transitional justice. They also talked about media reporting on the Srebrenica Genocide and use of judicially-established facts in such reports.

During an interactive Q&A session, the participating journalists discussed the challenges of reporting on the work and legacy of the ICTY and the Mechanism, and ways to establish better access to the judicial archives for journalists in BiH.

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 funded by the European Union and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.