Background

The Project aims to increase accountability for war crimes in the Western Balkans region, strengthen overall support of the public for these processes as well as to foster dialogue within societies and between ethnic groups about crimes committed during the 1990s, all with the vision of achieving sustainable peace in the region and leaving more resilient communities with stronger social cohesion.  This will strengthen the rule of law, thereby helping the EU accession process and establishing a more favorable environment for social solidarity, reconciliation, and sustainable peace in the region.

Objectives

• Better equip judicial and law enforcement authorities in handling war crimes cases at the domestic level including through a multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral approach.  
• Improve conditions for regional cooperation in handling war crimes cases through bilateral and multilateral high and technical level peer-to-peer meetings and policy dialogue. 
• Provide expertise and support to enhance a stronger victim-centered and gender-sensitive approach in the handling of domestic war crime cases with a focus on increasing the delivery of support services to victims and witnesses and strengthening the capacities of CSOs through the rolling out of a sub-granting scheme.  
• Support grassroot actors through provision of low value grants to better raise public awareness of past crimes, including dialogue and exchanges amongst and between a wide range of stakeholders (judicial sector, journalists, historians, professors and students, local community actors), especially youth and future opinion leaders.