CAT/C/BIH/CO/1
page 3
C. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
9.
The Committee is concerned at the lack of congruity between the definitions of torture in
the State and entity laws and that the definitions, particularly in the laws of the Republika Srpska
and Brcko District, do not accord fully with the definition contained in article 1 of the
Convention.
The State party should incorporate the crime of torture, as defined in the
Convention, into the domestic law throughout the State and ensure that the legal
definitions in the Republika Srpska and Brcko District are harmonized with the
Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina
through any necessary legal amendments.
10.
In connection with the well-documented torture and ill-treatment that occurred during
the 1992-1995 conflict in the former Yugoslavia, the Committee is concerned about:
(a)
The reported failure by the State party to carry out prompt and impartial
investigations, to prosecute the perpetrators and to provide fair and adequate compensation to
victims;
(b)
Alleged discriminatory treatment in criminal proceedings whereby officials
belonging to the ethnic majority often fail to prosecute alleged criminals belonging to the same
ethnic group;
(c)
Reported harassment, intimidation and threats faced by witnesses and victims
testifying in proceedings and the lack of adequate protection by the State party;
(d)
The failure to recognize survivors of torture, including sexual violence, as victims
of the conflict, a status which would enable them to obtain redress and exercise their right to fair
and adequate compensation and rehabilitation; and
(e)
The failure to cooperate adequately with the International Criminal Tribunal on
the Former Yugoslavia, in particular on the part of the Republika Srpska, by failing to arrest and
transfer indicted persons, including Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, accused of genocide,
torture and other international crimes.
The State party should:
(a)
Take effective measures to ensure prompt and impartial
investigations into all allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment, the prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators, irrespective of their
ethnic origin, and the provision of fair and adequate compensation for victims;
(b)
Extend full cooperation to the International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia, inter alia by ensuring that all indicted persons are
apprehended, arrested and transferred to the custody of the Tribunal, as well as
granting the Tribunal full access to requested documents and potential witnesses;