Although the Spid swimming club was founded with the goal of developing inclusive sports, over the last eight years, it has become a gathering place and a source of unbreakable friendships for children from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), regardless of their ethnicity or any other differences. This club has also been a place where children with developmental difficulties or disabilities, who are often referred to as “water heroes,” have won numerous awards.
In the last 50 years, there have been no death penalty verdicts or known blood feuds in Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite the country’s violent history of atrocities and genocide.
Nataša and Elvir Čelebić, born in 1976 and 1978 respectively, embarked on their love story 20 years ago. Today, it is crowned with two children, Boris (born in 1997) and Ena (born in 2003), demonstrating that love knows know boundaries.
Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) has lasting consequences not only for survivors but also their families and communities. According to reports published by NGOs in BiH, memorialization and public acknowledgement of these crimes are an important part of securing justice for victims, facilitating their healing and reintegration into society.
Criminal convictions are an important aspect of achieving justice and accountability in the aftermath of conflict-related sexual violence. Indeed, BiH has recognized that fighting impunity and facing the past through this legal avenue is the basic precondition for the gradual reconciliation of society (Moratti, 2022). The second part of this series on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) will therefore explore the good and bad practices related to the legal response to CRSV.