YouSaid · the spoken record

Stevanović

lines on the record
69
first
2021-11-03
most recent
2023-12-12
sittings or episodes
8
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “I am confident that the aforementioned objectives will be realized through an efficient implementation of this strategic document, while contributing to resolving other remaining and painful issues from the time of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia. The burden of armed conflicts and their devastating consequences on citizens, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity or religion, has been obstructing the improvement of good-neighbourly relations and regional cooperation for many years now. At the same time, in order to continue the process of reconciliation, to foster good-neighbourly relations and to maintain lasting peace and stability in the region of former Yugoslavia, it is essential to invest additional efforts in nourishing the culture of remembrance and dialogue.”

    2021-12-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8927 (2021) · source

  2. “I would like to emphasize that the commitment of the Republic of Serbia has been demonstrated through years of effort, striving to ensure that all parties responsible for war crimes are brought to justice. Serbia has prosecuted many war criminals before its courts, as well as in cooperation with the ICTY and the Residual Mechanism. Our new national strategy for war crimes proceedings (2021-2016) is aimed at strengthening all mechanisms for combating war crimes impunity, to protect and support victims, to establish the fate of missing persons and to build a social environment of tolerance and reconciliation.”

    2021-12-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8927 (2021) · source

  3. “The witness stated that he was exposed to threats, blackmail and verbal assaults and that he was ordered to testify against Jojić and Radeta. Allow me to recall that, back in 2018, a single Judge ordered that the case against Jojić and Radeta be referred to the judicial authorities of Serbia for trial. The Amicus Curiae Prosecutor appealed the decision, based on the issue of witness protection and the witnesses’ fears for their own safety and the safety of their families, especially after their cooperation with the Prosecutor. The incident of 29 September entirely devalues the sole foundation of the request that this case be processed before the Mechanism. Such actions of the Amicus Curiae Prosecutor’s team must be disclosed and sanctioned.”

    2021-12-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8927 (2021) · source

  4. “On 3 September, a single Judge reached a decision on the preservation of evidence by special deposition for the purposes of future legal proceedings. The Amicus Curiae Prosecutor was obliged to file an ex parte submission, including a list of witnesses whose evidence she seeks to preserve, prior witness statements and a summary of topics for which the proposed witnesses are expected to provide evidence. In September, a team of three individuals arrived in Belgrade, authorized by the Mechanism to assist the Amicus Curiae Prosecutor. However, on 21 October, one of the witnesses made a request for urgent assistance to our Ministry of Justice. The witness provided a detailed description of an incident that took place on 29 September, involving the aforementioned individuals.”

    2021-12-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8927 (2021) · source

  5. “The first concerns the harassment of convicted persons and witnesses; specifically, two of our citizens who are serving prison sentences are facing harassment by the representatives of the so-called Republic of Kosovo. I am referring to attempts to interrogate Mr. Pavković and to extradite Mr. Đorđević. I take this opportunity to plead with the Security Council not to allow those acts to happen. The doctrine non bis in idem is one of the fundamental postulates of the civilized society, and as such can be found in article 7 of the Statue of the Mechanism. We find it unacceptable that they should be tried twice for the same crime, especially by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Pristina. The second issue is related to threats and intimidation of the witnesses in the Jojić and Radeta case.”

    2021-12-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8927 (2021) · source

  6. “Serbia has submitted a large number of documents to the Office of the ICTY Prosecutor, defence attorneys and the Trial Chambers of the Tribunal. Our position is that documents that have been submitted to the Office of the Prosecutor, but have not been used as evidence during ICTY and Mechanism proceedings, should be returned to source institutions. That is extremely important not only because of the responsibility to record the events that happened in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, but also because of its enormous volume. We are talking about millions of pages, according to professional assessments. I wish to address two specific current issues.”

    2021-12-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8927 (2021) · source

  7. “One is our request that the sentences passed by ICTY and the Mechanism be served in Serbia. A large number of the convicted persons who are currently serving their sentences are either of Serbian nationality or citizens of Serbia. I would like to repeat that Serbia is ready to assume the obligations and responsibilities for the sentence-serving of its citizens who were convicted by the Tribunal. We accept international supervision and are therefore ready to offer strong guarantees that the convicted persons will not be released early without corresponding decisions of the Mechanism, in cases in which they are serving their sentence in Serbia. Another unresolved issue is the fate of the archives of the Tribunal.”

    2021-12-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8927 (2021) · source

  8. “Ratko Mladić, and the first-instance judgment in the case of Prosecutor v. Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović. We would like to request that the humanitarian aspect be taken into consideration when selecting a country in which Mr. Mladić will serve his sentence. We are talking about an elderly individual who suffers from a number of serious health issues. We have seen that, in certain countries, convicted persons are being held in inadequate facilities, in spite of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners — the Nelson Mandela Rules — and even though formal requirements have been met before the Mechanism for the convicted persons to be handed over to those countries. I would like to recall Serbia’s initiatives, which so far have not been supported either by the Security Council or by the Mechanism.”

    2021-12-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8927 (2021) · source

  9. “I would also like to point out that it is necessary to respond as soon as possible to all requests submitted to the Mechanism by the citizens of Serbia who meet the requirements for early release. In addition, I wish to emphasize the importance of the meetings between the President and Minister of Justice of Serbia with Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz during the reporting period. Being in close contact with Mr. Brammertz and taking into consideration the extraordinary circumstances due to the coronavirus disease pandemic, exceptional results were achieved and almost all the requests that the Office of the Prosecutor presented to the Government of Serbia were responded to. During the past six months, two judgments have been rendered by the Mechanism, both in June: the second-instance judgment in the case of Prosecutor v.”

    2021-12-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8927 (2021) · source

  10. “Furthermore, the final decision reached by the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 (ICTY) was entered in the criminal records of Mr. Sreten Lukić in Serbia. It is evident that Mr. Lukić, as well as the others who requested early release, were closely investigated by other institutions as well, primarily the Office of the Prosecutor of the Mechanism and the Association of Victims and Witnesses. I would like to express our gratitude to President Agius and to present our firm assurances that Serbia will comply with the requirements listed in the aforementioned decision.”

    2021-12-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8927 (2021) · source

  11. “I thank you, Sir, for the opportunity to speak to the Council on behalf of the Republic of Serbia and to present the most important instances of its cooperation with the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. At the outset, I would like to recall the decision on the application for early release of Mr. Sreten Lukić, reached by President Carmel Agius on 7 October. We believe that the decision has shown that the efforts made by Serbia have been successful. Our Government issued binding guarantees for the early release of Mr. Lukić, itemized and in accordance with indicated requirements.”

    2021-12-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8927 (2021) · source

  12. “War and conflicts are long behind us; that chapter of our history is closed and all countries have moved forward. Therefore, we believe that this new language should not be used in relation to the current security situation in the region. The meeting rose at 4.40 p.m.”

    2021-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8896 (2021) · source

  13. “We are strongly convinced that, together, we can prosper if there is mutual trust and respect for diversity, the lack of which has too often been a stumbling block in our history. Today, we have the historic opportunity to bridge our differences and to build lasting peace and prosperity for our citizens, which all of us in the region deserve. In closing, allow me to make a brief remark on resolution 2604 (2021), on the renewal of the mandate of the EU Military Operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was just adopted by the Council. My Government notes new language introduced in the first preambular paragraph of the resolution — a reference to the “situation in the region of the Former Yugoslavia”. We believe that this language is not appropriate in the current context, since it was used in the 1990s and contains negative connotations.”

    2021-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8896 (2021) · source

  14. “We are especially interested in expediting the process of European integration for Bosnia and Herzegovina and we stand ready to offer our maximal contribution. We are convinced that the Open Balkans initiative is the prime example of successful regional cooperation and joint efforts towards common goals. As such, it represents the best way for our countries to prepare for EU membership. Serbia fully respects the right of every country to have an independent foreign policy, including its right to join military-political alliances, as well as to take concrete individual steps that may or may not lead towards membership in those alliances. As one of the guarantors of the Dayton Peace Agreement, Serbia will support any agreement or arrangement reached by the two entities and three constituent peoples in a legal and legitimate way.”

    2021-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8896 (2021) · source

  15. “In that respect, besides its good relations with Sarajevo, Serbia maintains harmonious relations and good cooperation with Republika Srpska, in accordance with the 2006 Agreement on Special Parallel Relations, which provides a basis for a dynamic high-level political dialogue and active cooperation between Serbia and Republika Srpska. Allow me to reiterate — the road to the future we want is paved with good-neighbourly relations and active regional cooperation in various areas of mutual interest. Serbia will continue to call on all political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina to further engage in that direction. Serbia strongly supports all countries of the Western Balkans in their efforts to join the European Union (EU).”

    2021-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8896 (2021) · source

  16. “As a guarantor of the Dayton Peace Agreement, Serbia supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In accordance with the Agreement, we seek good and productive cooperation with both the central Government and the authorities of the two entities. We support any agreement reached among the two entities and the three constituent peoples. We are strongly against the imposition of decisions that have not been reached by consensus. We believe that such actions pose a threat to the stability of not only Bosnia and Herzegovina but of the wider region as well. For Serbia, the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina is of the utmost importance. We are convinced that balanced relations between its central Government and its entities is the precondition for such stability.”

    2021-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8896 (2021) · source

  17. “The Republic of Serbia expects the international community to take an unbiased and balanced approach to this issue. We believe that dialogue within the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only way to build trust and reach a compromise solution on the issues important for the future development of the country and the stability of the wider region. Furthermore, in the interest of peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we believe that decisions related to the work of the Office of the High Representative should be reached in the spirit of cooperation, mutual respect among all actors and with the consensus of the members of the Security Council, in line with the long-standing rules and practices. For its part, Serbia will continue to engage constructively.”

    2021-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8896 (2021) · source

  18. “Above all, Serbia wants peace and stability in the region. We believe that all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina want the same. We call on all parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina to act responsibly and in accordance with the Dayton Peace Agreement, the only legal framework for Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is of the utmost importance that the key actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina — both domestic and international — exhibit restraint and assume responsibility for the situation in the country. The mechanism for changing the Dayton Agreement is clearly defined and well known. It requires the consent of both entities and the three constituent peoples. Any attempt by any other party to impose a solution is therefore unacceptable for Serbia.”

    2021-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8896 (2021) · source

  19. “Mr. Stevanović (Serbia): I am grateful for the opportunity to address the Security Council today on behalf of the Republic of Serbia and to present my country’s position on the current situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the Western Balkans region. This meeting is being held at a very delicate moment not, only for Bosnia and Herzegovina but for the whole region. Recently, my country has been the victim of unilateral actions taken by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Pristina — actions that pose a direct threat to the peace and stability that we have been building together in the region over the past couple of decades. In that context, Serbia once again calls upon all sides in Bosnia and Herzegovina to lower tensions and rationally, through dialogue, address open issues.”

    2021-11-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8896 (2021) · source