Balkan Cooperation on War Crimes Issues: 2005 Update. Updated March 28, 2005; Congressional rept

摘要

A combination of intensified international pressure and deadlines associated with Euro-Atlantic integration processes has prompted a spate of transfers of persons indicted for war crimes to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague in late 2004 and early 2005. Full cooperation with The Hague tribunal has been established as a key prerequisite to further progress toward a shared long-term goal for the western Balkan countries: closer association with and eventual membership in the European Union (EU) and NATO. The Euro-integration efforts of Croatia, Bosnia- Herzegovina, and Serbia and Montenegro have stalled (to varying degrees) over ICTY cooperation, although recent evidence of progress in turning over indicted persons may prompt further consideration. Limited cooperation with ICTY has also held up some U.S. bilateral assistance to Serbia. Some top-ranking war crimes suspects remain at large; meanwhile, the Tribunal is preparing to wind down its operations and has issued its final indictments. This report will be updated as events warrant. See also CRS Report RS21686, 'Conditions on U.S. Aid to Serbia.'.