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OSCE: Safe Environment for Witnesses

Selma Ucanbarlic

OSCE BiH

Round table participants called for urgent implementation of the legal provisions pertaining to strategic measures included in the State Strategy for war-crimes cases, which was adopted in December last year. However, very few things have been implemented until now.

The State War Crimes Processing Strategy proposes arrangements for improving conditions for the protection of and support to witnesses and victims during and after trials.

As per the Strategy, NGOs working with war victims should cooperate with social work and mental health centers. In addition, the strategy foresees the engagement of psychologists with prosecutors' offices, who would work with witnesses testifying at war-crimes trials.

The Strategy states that courts, prosecutors' offices, the non-governmental sector and social work and mental health centers are responsible for organizing a witness support network.

James Rodehaver, Director of the OSCE Human Rights Department, said the witness and victim support system has not been established at the entity level, adding that the OSCE's programme for judicial system monitoring accentuates the importance of protecting witnesses in war-crimes cases and strengthening confidence in the work of the local judiciary.

"All withheld human rights have a negative effect on witnesses. Those who testify at trials need special support. We are here to see what the current situation is and to give recommendations to the Regulatory Body on the future procedure for ensuring protection measures," said Alma Dzaferagic, Chief of the War Crimes, Genocide and General Crime Sector with the Cantonal Prosecution in Tuzla.

Milorad Novkovic, President of the District Court in Banja Luka, pointed to the same problem, saying that "not even minimum" protection of witnesses is secured in entity-level judicial institutions. He said it was necessary to create an environment in which witnesses will give objective statements with no doubts or fear.

"The OSCE's observations point to a number of problems: identifying witnesses, locating them and witnesses failing to respond to invitations to testify or changing their statements once they have been located... Whether a person will be convicted or acquitted of charges often depends on the will and motivation of witnesses. Witnesses give more than one statement, so they become tired. They are taken care of during the course of court proceedings only," said Nela Sefic, Legal Advisor with the Human Rights Department of the OSCE Mission.

The Round Table participants agreed that society as a whole must help witnesses, because, as stated by Murat Tahirovic, President of the Association of Detainees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, "you cannot bring a witness to the court and then let him go back home. When the witness returns home, he will tell other people what happened to him and this will discourage other witnesses from testifying." This approach does not help witnesses, who are less and less willing to testify.

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only institution in which a witness support section has been formed. Despite the fact that the Law stipulates that social work centers are obliged to provide this kind of assistance, it has been determined that those centers lack financial and human resources to do that.

As explained by Tanja Tankosic Kelly, an expert associate for witness support with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, this Section starts with its activities once the Prosecution has provided it with data on the particular witness. The Section then establishes contact with the witness and tries to make the testifying process as easy as possible for that person.

"Psychological support has to be provided before the person enters the whole process and also during the course of the trial. When they have finished their testimonies, people are disturbed, so we have to work with them. My job is to deal with their trauma, enabling people to speak about this instead of collapsing during the trial," says Besima Catic-Suljevic, a psycho-therapist with the "Prijateljice" non-governmental organization.

Although an integral support network envisages the training of mental health and social work centers and prosecutors' offices, no representatives of health institutions attended the round table.

Selma Ucanbarlic was BIRN Justice Report intern from September to December 2009.