IB History International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Notes

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

1. Creation and mandate
   1. The ICTY was created by the UN Security Council in May 1993 through Resolution 827, amid escalating atrocities in the Balkans.
   2. It was the first international war crimes tribunal since Nuremberg and Tokyo.
   3. It had jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the Geneva Conventions committed in the former Yugoslavia since 1991.

Activity, prosecutions, and challenges

1. Indictments and convictions by 2017
   1. By the end of its mandate in 2017, the ICTY had indicted 161 individuals for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001.
   2. 90 individuals were convicted and sentenced for crimes including genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the laws or customs of war.
2. Investigations during the Kosovo conflict
   1. In 1999, during and after the Kosovo conflict, the ICTY investigated crimes such as the Račak massacre (see corresponding section) and others.
3. Indictment of Slobodan Milošević
   1. On 27 May 1999, it indicted Slobodan Milošević (see next section), the Yugoslav president, and four top officials for crimes against humanity in Kosovo.
   2. This marked the first time a sitting head of state was charged by an international tribunal (ICTY, 1999).
4. Operational resistance and field work
   1. The tribunal encountered significant resistance: Serbian authorities denied access to crime scenes, refused entry to investigators like Chief Prosecutor Louise Arbour, and obstructed forensic teams.