Written question asked by Lord Hague of Richmond (Conservative) on Monday, 3 March 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 5 March 2008. It was answered by David Miliband (Labour) on Wednesday, 12 March 2008 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Serbia's co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the detection and arrest of fugitive indictees.

Answer: The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) made an assessment in June 2007 which highlighted some improvement in the level of co-operation from Serbia, such as the establishment of a National Security Council; better access to documents requested by the Prosecutor's office; and co-ordinated action resulting in the arrests of General Tolimir and Vlastimir Dordevic in 2007. Since then, the Serbian government has also offered a €1 million reward for information leading to the capture of Ratko Mladic.However, the ICTY Chief Prosecutor's latest assessment, delivered in December 2007, was that Serbia had failed to build on this initial progress and was not fully co-operating with the Tribunal. We agree that sustained improvements in co-operation from the Serbian authorities together with an increased political commitment are needed in order to locate the remaining fugitive indictees, particularly Mladic and Karadzic. The Government continue to deliver this message to the Serbian government at every opportunity.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 473 c494W; 191984
Session: 2007-08
Subjects: War crimes Yugoslavia International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk