Healing from the past in the Western Balkans requires building a common narrative of the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s. Key tools to help achieve this include education and the proper addressing of intergenerational trauma. 25 years after the final guns fell silent in Kosovo, this goal is yet to be fully realized.
The survivors of the 1990s Yugoslav Wars are central to peacebuilding. Their testimonies serve as a reminder of the broken imperative, “never again”. Recognizing their rights includes reparations. Reparations are crucial for reconciliation and the prevention of recurring atrocities. Moreover, reparations will allow post-conflict societies to pull out the marginalization of war survivors from its roots.
Genocide denial and revisionism continue to hinder reconciliation in the Western Balkans. This is despite ongoing efforts from civil society and the international community. To counter this trend, joint action by representatives of civil society and the international community is necessary to build a sustainable system for atrocity prevention and reckoning with the past.
The Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC) and the non-profit Impunity Watch held in March this year a two-day conference on atrocity prevention. Entitled, “Building a Common Agenda for Prevention in the Western Balkans”, the conference took place in Montenegro’s capital of Podgorica. The conference gathered representatives from civil society across the ex-Yugoslav region and beyond. This was a conference with a multi-pronged aim: strengthening regional cooperation, identifying future joint actions, and fostering solidarity with and among post-conflict societies.
Tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and the absence of violence, along with respect for universal life values, are necessary for building sustainable peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Understanding, non-violence, love, respect, tolerance, health, and friendship are just some of the words used by 50 young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina to describe their understanding of peace. The fourth Peace Festival was opened on February 22 in the Čardaci ethno-village in Vitez.