Initiative for RECOM

The Initiative for RECOM is a regional civil-society process focused on transitional justice, historical fact-finding, and reconciliation among the successor states of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Its formal objective was to establish a Regional Commission for establishing the facts about war crimes and other serious human-rights violations committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia between January 1, 1991, and December 31, 2001. The proposed commission was conceived as an independent, extrajudicial, interstate body. It would have documented war crimes and other serious violations, created a name-by-name register of war victims, recorded detention sites and cases of unlawful detention and mistreatment, investigated the fate of missing people, and organized public hearings for victims and other witnesses. The initiative grew out of regional discussions on transitional justice. A significant starting point was a May 2006 forum in Sarajevo organized by the Humanitarian Law Center in Belgrade, the Research and Documentation Center in Sarajevo, and Documenta – Center for Dealing with the Past in Zagreb. Participants from civil-society organizations and associations representing victims and families of missing persons favored a regional mechanism rather than exclusively national approaches to establishing facts about the wars of the 1990s. The idea subsequently developed into a broad consultation and advocacy process. The Coalition for RECOM was formed in Pristina on October 28, 2008, by approximately 100 organizations from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Serbia, and Montenegro. Organizations from North Macedonia and Slovenia later joined. At its height, the coalition described itself as a network of more than 2,200 nongovernmental organizations, victims’ and families’ associations, former detainee and refugee groups, youth organizations, lawyers, artists, writers, journalists, and other public figures. The Humanitarian Law Center, Documenta, and the Research and Documentation Center initially provided administrative and technical support, although the Research and Documentation Center later withdrew from the coalition’s coordination structures. Between 2006 and March 2011, the coalition conducted an extensive public consultation involving thousands of civil-society participants, victims, veterans, refugees, families of missing persons, legal professionals, researchers, and cultural figures. The process included local and regional meetings and multiple regional forums. A draft statute was adopted by the Coalition for RECOM Assembly in Sarajevo on March 26, 2011. A petition supporting the creation of RECOM collected 542,660 signatures in May and June 2011, and an open letter by artists and intellectuals followed later that year. The initiative then shifted from civil-society consultation toward political institutionalization. Public advocates promoted the proposal and sought support from governments and political leaders. Representatives appointed by regional political institutions examined the draft statute and the legal conditions for establishing the commission. A harmonized set of amendments was delivered to the coalition in October 2014 and endorsed at its November 2014 assembly. Political changes and uneven support among the successor states subsequently stalled the process. Efforts to place RECOM within the Berlin Process received civil-society and some regional political support, but the proposed intergovernmental declaration was not adopted as planned in 2018. In December 2019, the Coalition for RECOM restructured itself as the RECOM Reconciliation Network. Rather than continuing to insist on the establishment of an intergovernmental commission, the network assumed responsibility for producing a regional, name-by-name list of victims of the wars associated with the breakup of Yugoslavia. The network’s methodology draws on judicially established facts, including findings from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and domestic courts, as well as research collected by coalition members. Nataša Kandić is identified as the coordinator of the RECOM Reconciliation Network. The initiative therefore continues as a documentation and reconciliation network even though the proposed state-established commission has not been created.

The Initiative for RECOM emerged from postwar debates about how the successor states of Yugoslavia could establish a shared factual record of the conflicts and human-rights violations of the 1990s. Its proposed Regional Commission for establishing the facts about war crimes and other serious violations was intended to be an independent, extrajudicial commission created through an agreement among the states formed after the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The mandate covered the period from January 1, 1991, through December 31, 2001. The process began with a May 2006 regional forum on transitional justice in Sarajevo. Humanitarian Law Center, Documenta, and Research and Documentation Center brought together civil-society groups, victims’ associations, and families of missing persons. The participants favored a regional mechanism capable of addressing the interconnected nature of the conflicts and the movement of victims, perpetrators, refugees, and displaced people across borders. The proposed commission would have documented victims by name, investigated detention and disappearance, recorded places of detention, and held public hearings. The Coalition for RECOM was formally created in Pristina on October 28, 2008. It initially brought together approximately 100 organizations from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Serbia, and Montenegro. North Macedonian and Slovenian organizations later became involved. The coalition developed into a large network of civil-society organizations and representative groups, reportedly reaching more than 2,200 members. Its work combined research, public consultation, legal drafting, petitioning, public advocacy, and engagement with political institutions. From 2006 to March 2011, the coalition organized a broad debate on the proposed commission’s mandate. The process involved thousands of participants and included local meetings, regional meetings, and regional forums. These discussions produced a draft statute, approved in Sarajevo on March 26, 2011. The coalition then pursued political support. A 2011 petition obtained 542,660 signatures, while a public letter signed by artists and intellectuals added cultural and public visibility. The initiative also created public-advocacy structures and sought appointments of political representatives who could assess the proposal’s constitutional and legal feasibility. In 2014, representatives connected with the process submitted harmonized amendments to the draft statute, which the coalition endorsed later that year. Political turnover and disagreements among governments then weakened the prospects of an interstate agreement. The coalition sought to connect RECOM with the Berlin Process. Although the initiative received attention in the context of the 2017 Trieste summit and continued advocacy around the 2018 London summit, the proposed declaration was not signed by the required group of governments and was removed from the agenda. The initiative’s organizational strategy changed in December 2019. The Coalition for RECOM Assembly decided to create the RECOM Reconciliation Network and to stop making the establishment of an intergovernmental commission its central demand. The network instead accepted responsibility for preparing a regional list of victims of the wars resulting from Yugoslavia’s breakup. This work uses court-established facts, including judgments and findings associated with the ICTY and domestic courts, together with research gathered by coalition organizations. The change preserved the documentation and reconciliation objectives of RECOM while acknowledging that the political conditions for creating a joint state commission were no longer present. The network is coordinated by Nataša Kandić.

• 2019

  Creation of RECOM Reconciliation Network

  [1]Initiative for RECOMen.wikipedia.org

  The coalition restructured as a network focused on compiling a regional list of victims.

• 2017

  RECOM receives Berlin Process visibility

  [1]Initiative for RECOMen.wikipedia.org

  The recommendation to establish RECOM was referenced in the civil-society contribution to the Trieste summit.

• 2014

  Harmonized statute amendments submitted

  [1]Initiative for RECOMen.wikipedia.org

  Political representatives and coalition experts produced an amended legal framework for the proposed commission.

• 2011

  Draft statute adopted

  [1]Initiative for RECOMen.wikipedia.org

  The Coalition for RECOM Assembly adopted a proposed statute after an extensive regional consultation.

• 2011

  Regional petition campaign

  [1]Initiative for RECOMen.wikipedia.org

  A petition supporting RECOM collected 542,660 signatures across the post-Yugoslav region.

• 2008

  Coalition for RECOM is formed

  [1]Initiative for RECOMen.wikipedia.org

  Organizations meeting in Pristina established the coalition that would lead the consultation and advocacy process.

• 2006

  First regional transitional-justice forum

  [1]Initiative for RECOMen.wikipedia.org

  A Sarajevo forum initiated sustained regional discussion of a common mechanism for establishing facts about the wars and their victims.

A cross-border, evidence-based civil-society platform for documenting wartime abuses and victims and promoting reconciliation through shared regional facts.

• Transitional-justice mechanism

  Proposed RECOM Regional Commission

  The central institutional proposal was an independent, extrajudicial commission jointly established by the successor states of Yugoslavia. Its proposed mandate included establishing facts about war crimes and serious human-rights violations, documenting victims and missing persons, identifying detention sites and detainees, and holding public hearings. The commission was intended to complement, rather than replace, judicial proceedings.

• Documentation project · 2019

  Regional victim list

  Following the 2019 restructuring, the RECOM Reconciliation Network took responsibility for preparing a regional, name-by-name list of victims of the wars connected with the breakup of Yugoslavia. The project is based on judicial findings and research assembled by coalition organizations and is intended to provide a shared factual foundation for remembrance and reconciliation.

• 2017Berlin Process advocacy

  Western Balkans

  The coalition advocated for RECOM to be considered within the Berlin Process and promoted a regional agreement among successor states.

  Outcome. The 2017 summit declaration highlighted the civil-society recommendation, but governments did not complete the proposed agreement.

  Source
• 2011Petition for the establishment of RECOM

  Bosnia and Herzegovina · Croatia · Kosovo · Montenegro · North Macedonia · Serbia · Slovenia

  The coalition organized a regional petition to demonstrate public support for an interstate commission. It collected 542,660 signatures in May and June.

  Outcome. The petition strengthened the initiative’s public mandate but did not lead directly to creation of the commission.

  Source
• 2011RECOM for the Future

  Former Yugoslavia

  The coalition formed a public-advocacy team and launched RECOM for the Future to build political and public support for the proposed commission.

  Outcome. The campaign contributed to political engagement, including the appointment of representatives to examine the proposal, but institutionalization remained incomplete.

  Source

• 2019

  Shift from an interstate commission to regional victim documentationStrategy

  Background

  Political support for establishing RECOM had weakened, with governments and political actors in the region divided over the initiative’s mandate, evidentiary basis, and priorities.

  Action taken

  The Coalition for RECOM Assembly restructured the organization as the RECOM Reconciliation Network and transferred its principal responsibility to compiling a regional list of war victims.

  Aftermath

  The initiative continued its reconciliation and documentation work through civil society, while the proposed intergovernmental commission remained uncreated.

  Source

1. 1Initiative for RECOMen.wikipedia.org
2. 2RECOM Reconciliation Networkrecom.link