Establishment of RECOM Contributes to a Lasting Peace in the Balkans

Sarajevo, Zagreb, Belgrade, Pristina, Banja Luka Podgorica, Skopje September 19, 2014

On the occasion of the International Day of Peace on September 21, the Coalition for RECOM reminds that governments in the post-Yugoslav countries have an obligation to ensure peace, without fear of a new war breaking up or the repetition of war crimes. The governments also have an obligation to build good neighborly relations based on respect for the personal dignity of the victims. RECOM has the potential to help the governments meet and fulfill these obligations.

The Coalition for RECOM calls, therefore, on all countries-successors of the former Yugoslavia to initiate the process of founding a commission to establish the facts about war crimes and other serious human rights violations committed during the period from 1991 – 2001 (RECOM). The Coalition for RECOM gathers 2,050 non-governmental human rights organizations, associations of war prisoners, refugees, families of the missing persons, artists, writers, lawyers, and other individuals who believe that only a regional approach can provide a comprehensive historical record of what happened in the past, and help establish a sustainable and lasting peace in the former Yugoslavia.