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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Guaranteed witness safety precondition for efficient trial

Belgrade, 6 May 2011

Deputy Minister of Justice Jelica Pajovic said today at the first regional meeting of providers of support to witnesses and victims that witness protection is a key to establishing the truth and a prerequisite for achieving justice and reconciliation in the region.

Pajovic said that witness’ fear to testify against the defendant, especially when it comes to serious crimes, is one of the biggest problems in court cases.

All countries of the region must make greater efforts and provide conditions for full protection of witnesses and their free disclosure of statements, she said and reiterated that the guarantee of safety to all witnesses is necessary in order to have a fair and effective war crimes trial.

Pajovic warned that the intimidation of witnesses in Kosovo must be stopped and that a full investigation into the illegal trade in organs cannot be conducted unless a full protection of witnesses is provided.

During the eight years of work of judicial institutions that deal with war crimes, Serbia has done a lot on trying those responsible and we expect others to do the same, she concluded.

The meeting was organised within the project "Support to the transfer of knowledge and materials of war crime cases from the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague (ICTY) to national organisations" (Justice and war crimes).

The project is funded by the EU and implemented by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) together with the ICTY, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and OSCE missions in the region.