ICTY to establish information centre in Sarajevo

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) exchanged memoranda of understanding with the city of Sarajevo on Tuesday, a crucial step towards the creation of an ICTY information centre in Sarajevo.

The information centre, to be located in the City Hall of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), will be the first centre of its kind in the area and will offer access to documents and video materials from the ICTY.

Speaking at the ceremony, Judge Fausto Pocar from the ICTY highlighted the significance of the creation of information centres.

"Only a society that is at peace with its past can hope to build peace in its future. It is my sincere wish that the information centre in Sarajevo will contribute to this process and provide one additional step of understanding on which to build a better and more peaceful future," said Pocar.

Sarajevo Mayor Ivo Komsic stressed that the ICTY's archives were very important for the city of Sarajevo and BiH.

"It is crucial to deal with the past because without dealing with the past, we cannot build our future," said Komsic.

The memoranda of understanding set out the necessary procedures to be completed before the centre is formally established.

Following the exchange of the memoranda, the tribunal and the city of Sarajevo will work together in the coming year to formally establish the centre in the BiH capital. Endit