NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Hina) - Croatia advocates that war crime indictees should be tried before domestic courts while the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) should be exclusively reserved for high-level
perpetrators, Croatia's permanent representative with the United Nations, Ivan Simonovic, said during a UN General Assembly debate on ICTY's annual report in New York on Monday.
NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Hina) - Croatia advocates that war crime indictees
should be tried before domestic courts while the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) should be
exclusively reserved for high-level perpetrators, Croatia's
permanent representative with the United Nations, Ivan Simonovic,
said during a UN General Assembly debate on ICTY's annual report in
New York on Monday. #L#
"We firmly believe that the Tribunal should follow the model of the
Milosevic case in its future proceedings," Simonovic said. "In this
respect, it is very important to note two main features of the
model: the high profiles of the indicted and besides command
responsibility their individual criminal responsibility."
Simonovic reiterated that all criminals must be prosecuted,
irrespective of their national or other affiliation.
"The (ICTY) President's report has rightly acknowledged the
critical role that domestic courts should have in this respect. The
purpose of the ICTY is not to replace national justice systems
permanently, but to encourage them to do their job and fully respect
the rule of law," Simonovic stressed.
He demanded that the Vukovar Three be immediately handed over to the
ICTY not only for the sake of establishing their responsibility but
because they were important witnesses in the trial against
Milosevic for crimes against humanity and genocide.
Simonovic also commended the government of Montenegro for
facilitating a recent voluntary surrender to the Tribunal of
generals indicted for war crimes committed in Dubrovnik.
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