SIPA

Today (01/26/2016), a three-day training for 22 police officials of the Federal Police Administration, Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska, B&H Brcko District Police and Cantonal Ministries of Interior officially began in the premises of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) in East Sarajevo.

The training was organized by SIPA and ICITAP, with the support of the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the training will cover various topics related to the methods of investigation and proving of criminal offences of war crimes and crimes punishable under international humanitarian law.

Director of SIPA, Perica Stanic; Director of ICITAP, Charles W. Bennett; Director of the Human Dimension Department of the OSCE Mission to BiH, Ken Palmer, and Head of the Special Department for War Crimes and Deputy Chief Prosecutor, Gordana Tadic, addressed the participants. SIPA Director emphasized the importance of training and said that its goal is exchange of good practices and the improvement of cooperation between all law enforcement agencies in B&H, as well as other national and international actors, which in any way can contribute to the investigation and prosecution of these crimes, as well as the search for missing persons and providing adequate support to victims.

Representatives of ICITAP, OSCE Mission to BiH and the B&H Prosecutor’s Office extended gratitude to the Director of SIPA for the organization of training, as well as other local and international partners for the training support and contribution to the investigation of war crimes and search for missing persons. Director of ICITAP stressed the importance of working together on these cases and said that only impartial and professional investigations of war crimes lead towards justice and the justice to peace, and the peace in turn leads to progress and prosperity for all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He praised the efforts of SIPA in this area. Ken Palmer pointed out that this training is an excellent example of the role of SIPA as the key state actor in the improvement of expertise and quality in criminal investigations, and that the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina is extremely satisfied with the cooperation with SIPA. Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the B&H Prosecutor’s Office, Gordana Tadic, also stressed the importance of training to improve the knowledge of police officers in the field of investigation and proving war crimes and contribute to the exchange of experiences. Representatives of the B&H Prosecutor's Office will hold lectures relating to the domestic and international legal framework in this area.