UN Resident Coordinator in Belgrade Lance Clark, who is also resident representative of the Belgrade office of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), underlined the importance of transition justice in the process of the region's integration with European associations.
Clark said that development programmes in the region were oriented towards EU integration processes, and added that the legacy of the conflicts from the 1990s was still very much present. He cited as examples the current stalemate in Serbia's integration with Europe, caused by the failure to extradite Ratko Mladic to the Hague tribunal, the status of Kosovo, and compensation for war damage which Montenegro was expected to pay Croatia.
The settlement of those issues can be facilitated with a set of legislative and other measures which are known under the term transition justice, he said.
With a number of actions, such as the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes, unbiased testimonies, and a reform of institutions in charge of restoring trust, the concept of transition justice has become an irreplaceable means for post-conflict societies in our region, Clark said.
Speaking about the main goals of the UNDP programme "Transition Justice", which was launched this year in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, Clark also mentioned the re-establishment of a transnational civil society in the region to help deal with the common legacy of the recent past through an open reconciliation process.
The Belgrade conference, which was organised by the UNDP, is being attended by representatives of the UNDP and other international organisations, and representatives of governments and judiciaries, NGOs and associations of missing persons from the region.