Not Beyond the Reach of Justice! How to locate war criminals

Geneva / Sarajevo, 7 February 2013

For ten years now, TRIAL (Swiss association against impunity) has been fighting against the impunity of perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Towards that goal, TRIAL undertakes various activities, including the submission of cases to the authorities of countries which can exercise “universal jurisdiction” to investigate and prosecute suspected war criminals residing on their territory. To date, numerous countries, including Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the Scandinavian countries have successfully investigated, judged and sentenced offenders who sought to escape justice by fleeing their home countries.

In accordance with its role in helping victims obtain justice, promoting the importance of fair trials and the rule of law and its belief in the equality of all victims, regardless of their ethnicity of nationality, TRIAL has started a project in the Balkan region aimed at gathering information on suspected perpetrators who have moved to other countries where they are currently enjoying impunity. TRIAL will strive to collect and analyze information from victims, victims associations, witnesses and other reliable sources and develop dossiers regarding suspected perpetrators, with a view to submitting them to the competent authorities for further investigation and prosecutions.