ICTY closes its doors after 24 years

THE HAGUE, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- In presence of among others United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Dutch King Willem-Alexander, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) closed its doors after 24 years with a closing ceremony in the "Ridderzaal", or Hall of Knights, in The Hague on Thursday.

The UN chief emphasized on the importance of upholding accountability and justice for victims. "The Tribunal has pushed international expectations of accountability beyond what was anticipated in 93, transforming how we speak about and address situations in which serious international crimes are committed," said Guterres.

"Today it is common practice for the United Nations Security Council to call for the perpetrators of atrocities to be held accountable," he added. "We see this, too, in the statements of heads of state; in the work of journalists; in the efforts of national courts; and in public opinion. Accountability has taken root in our collective consciousness."

In May 1993, the Tribunal was established by the UN in response to mass atrocities taking place in former Yugoslavia. The Tribunal was the first court to prosecute and adjudicate the gravest international crimes since the post-World War II Nuremberg and Tokyo trials.

Since its establishment the Tribunal indicted 161 persons for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed between 1991 and 2001, of which 90 were sentenced. None of them remained at large.

"The victims were our strongest supporters," ICTY chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz said. "I want to pay tribute to him. It is because of you this Tribal was set up." He received applause from the relatives of victims in the hall.

However the ICTY also received heavy criticism over the past years, including that it was biased, against Serbs mainly, with Serb convicts and politician claiming the court was unlawful, that it made reconciliation in the Balkans even harder.

The landmark life sentence for former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic on Nov. 22 was the last trial judgement delivered by the ICTY. Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was convicted with 40 years of imprisonment on March 24. Both cases continue in the appeals phase at the United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT).

The last appeal's judgement of the ICTY on Nov. 29 this year had a shocking outcome. Slobodan Praljak who was accused of war crimes passed away in the HMC Hospital in The Hague after he poisoned himself in the courtroom. During the public pronouncement of his appeal judgement the appeals chamber had confirmed his conviction and affirmed a sentence of 20 years of imprisonment.

The most well-known deceased in the UN detention unit was former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, who died in his cell on March 11, 2006.

"War criminals must and shall be convicted," judge Carmel Agius, President of the ICTY said. "That is the lesson of this Tribunal."

"The ICTY set the bar," John Hocking, ICTY Registrar, added. "Let us now raise the bar higher. We must raise the bar higher for justice every day. Every day monuments turn into rubble and bodies into corpses. A judicial process is the way forward." Enditem