Loading...
Please wait, while we are loading the content...
Similar Documents
Introduction. Reconciliation in the Western Balkans: New Perspectives and Proposals
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Petričušić, Antonija Blondel, Cyril |
| Copyright Year | 2012 |
| Abstract | Dealing with a legacy of war crimes and human rights violations is a common challenge in post-conflict societies. This is particularly the case in the Western Balkan countries in which, as Sisson (2010: 172) puts it, a "decade of internecine war in the region had left behind not only a terrible legacy of human losses and material destruction, but also an unprecedented level of traumatization among the population at large, which contributed to a widespread and generalized sense of victimhood on all sides of the conflict". The violent conflicts cemented deep ethnic cleavages that were, as a result of peace settlements, mirrored in institutional mechanisms, which further contributed to a preservation of ethnic divides. Post-conflict integrative normative solutions, such as assurance of minority participation in public life and power-sharing mechanisms, have contributed to the re-emergence of cooperation and, to a certain degree, to the normalization of relations between different ethnic communities across the region. However, the guarantee of minority rights means little for interethnic rapprochement and the reduction of the social distance between formerly warring communities if policy makers hold that minority legislation should merely allow for the preservation of minority identities and assure proportional political participation in decision-making processes. In a post-conflict scenario policy-makers should also focus on the rectification of ethnic homogenization and the increase of interethnic tolerance. In addition, advanced normative frameworks on minority protection in the Western Balkans can only be effectively used if accompanied with a thorough implementation and support by political actors at all levels of governance, which still is not a case in the majority of the countries that were involved in the conflict. This brings the conclusion that current domestic normative and institutional mechanisms are not yet sufficient to foster reconciliation and the systemic acceptance of tolerance.The internationalization of transitional justice, societal reconstruction and reconciliation, which is being pursued through the EU Stabilization and Accession Process, serves as the most promising incentive for the enhancement of post-conflict reconciliation in the region (Rupnik, 2007). The (potential) candidate countries in the Western Balkans are being exposed to a threefold post-conflict conditioning. The first part of conditionality entails the normative-institutional requirement set in the Copenhagen criterion requiring "respect for and protection of minority rights". The second component of conditionality, aimed at the systematic elimination of impunity for war crimes and human rights abuses, requires the (potential) candidate countries' commitment to judicial prosecution of war crimes in domestic criminal courts and cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Finally, the third component of the conditionality requires the countries of the region to, inter alia, foster reconciliatory efforts through the return of refugees, by settling disputes over property rights and compensating refugees, by developing neighbourly relations and regional cooperation, establishing truth and reconciliation commissions, and through public apologies by political leaders. By insisting on reforming and building these societal structures, the EU is, in a way, exporting the values upon which it has been built on: peace, reconciliation, democracy, rule of law and respect of human rights, including the rights of national minorities.In the course of the EU accession, a (potential) candidate country is expected to foster a spirit of tolerance towards its minorities and take appropriate measures to protect those who are subjected to threats or acts of discrimination, hostility or violence. War crime trials should have provided accountability and individualized guilt, since the truth-finding component of this transitional justice mechanism had the objective of contributing to the creation of a climate of trust that would facilitate reconciliation. … |
| Starting Page | 1 |
| Ending Page | 6 |
| Page Count | 6 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 11 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/621478.Petricusic_Blondel_JEMIE_volume_introduction_Reconciliation_in_the_Western_Balkans.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
