It has been my honor and pleasure to extend my most sincere welcome on behalf of the Institute for Research of Crimes Against Humanity and International Law of the Sarajevo University and my own behalf and wish you to be fully and timely informed on the relevant scientific, researching, and other activities of the Institute.

The seat of the Institute has been located in Sarajevo, European city marked with rich history, cultural tradition, and tolerance, which cherished several century long tradition of common living of various and versatile ethnic and religious communities.

Unfortunately, Bosnia and Herzegovina and its capital Sarajevo are at the same time symbols of suffering of people based on their national and religious belonging and occupation of the territory in which they live, as well as persistent orientation and the conquering aspirations towards Bosnia and Herzegovina and the extermination of some of its constituent nations. It has at the same time been an example of paradigm of antifascist resistance and the defense of Europe from the worst evil known by human mankind – the crime of genocide. Moreover, at the end of XX century, Europe remained silent to the cry for salvation by helpless people, whereas the world, particularly the big Western Nations’ Governments took their neutral, indifferent, passive and hypocritical position against the victims of Genocide, thus depriving them of their legitimate rights to defend their biological and physical survival.

Genocide was committed again against Bosniacs in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of XX century, just because of their national and religious belonging. Genocide was, in view of the fascist by nature Great-Serbian and/or Great-Croatian project, carried out with genocidal intention to destroy Bosniacs as an ethnic and religious group aiming to “resolve the Muslim issue“ and spread Serbian and Croatian lebensraum /living space/, and at the same time Bosniacs were meant to be exterminated and their space occupied and incorporated in ethnically clean Serbian and/or Croatian state.

Studying (scientifically-and-theoretically and scientifically-and-empirically) genocide and other forms of crimes against humanity and international law, we at the same time raise our voice against genocide, and we send the message that will significantly affect and influence the world and moral of the powerful, aiming to save the modern mankind and civilization, preserve the utmost human values, human freedoms, human rights, and lives of the small, weak and helpless groups, human societies and peoples. The current and future generations will finally have to learn, from all the so far crimes of genocide and in the interest of future of contemporary world and civilization, the historical lesson on the need to strengthen, develop and unify all the antifascist forces, irrespective of their national, ethnic, racial, religious, ideological, or political affiliation and determination in the strategy of prevention and punishment of crime of genocide. It is only the scientific knowledge obtained through the research that can serve as a permanent basis for the improvement of our abilities to detect, identify, prevent, and punish the crime of genocide, in which the researchers of holocaust, genocide, and other forms of crimes against humanity and international law play historical role and bear the responsibility. It is the duty of these researchers, as Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel noted, to talk in the name of these victims, to remind the world of their suffering and tears and suppress the fear of oblivion. The researchers must have professional responsibility and sufficient moral courage to research and share with public the scientific truths about genocide.

Having considered all of this, in addition to its researching activities and obtained results, the Institute has been striving to influence the consciousness of people and their societies on the need to join all the democratic, progressive, and antifascist forces to combat the genocide and other forms of crimes against humanity and international law, wherever and whenever these occur on the Earth. Based on the comprehensive research activity, research efforts, endeavors and results obtained through an organized, targeted, systematic, permanent and continuous work, the Institute has learned new knowledge and scientific truths, adequately and timely shared with the domestic and international public, thus advising of numerous and versatile scopes of holocaust, genocide and other forms of crimes against humanity and international law that may take place at any time and at any place, which is one of possible adequate forms of preventive strategy.

Unfortunately, we live in a world of scrupulous fight for power and the influence of stronger over the poor, and at the same time we keep listening to the stories of human freedoms and rights, which we have less and less. Furthermore, the hedonism for which the money is needed is acquired even in the area of science through quasi-science, quasi research, manipulation, lies, deceiving of public, which ultimately insult the dignity of victims. Ever since its early days, the Institute has been acquiring new knowledge through research and the application of scientific methodology and scientific methods; and it has presented all of it to the scientific and general public attempting to reduce the space for numerous lies, forgeries, history fabricators, and influence the consciousness, attitude, statements and actions by the individuals, social entities and groups which deny genocide.

Institute for Research of Crimes Against Humanity and International Law of the Sarajevo University was established in 1992, with the aim to study, analyze and present the findings of research of crimes against humanity and international law, as well as the crime of genocide committed on the Bosnian Muslims, that is, Bosniacs, which stands out by its ideology, policy, and practice that entered in blood the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the world consciences at the end of twentieth century. Using the methods of scientific knowledge and research while studying genocide on a global level, the Institute has collected, analyzed, and systematically elaborated the results to the general public, as well as scientific and professional, which were ultimately accepted as valid by the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (hereinafter referred to as ICTY) in The Hague. The Institute has also successfully organized academic debates and discussions in form of counseling, round tables, debates, seminars, all related to the historical, social, legal, political, psychological and other aspects that encompassed the crimes committed at the end of the twentieth century and unfortunately made a part of current Bosnia and Herzegovina reality, as well as subject of analysis of various and versatile scientific disciplines.

As a member of the Sarajevo University, the Institute is the only academic establishment in Bosnia and Herzegovina whose essential and scientific interest and focus of research are crimes against humanity and international law. Even during the hardest times of barbarian siege of Sarajevo and after, the Institute has housed prominent experts not only from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, but also from the renowned circles of experts for holocaust and genocide, such as professors: Eric Markusen, Gregory Stanton, Deborah Lipstadt, Israel Charny or Peter Balakian. The special recognition to the Institute was awarded by giving it a role of a host and organizer for the Seventh Biennial Conference of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (hereinafter referred to as IAGS), which was in 2007 held in Sarajevo. The results and findings of research surrounding holocaust, genocide and other forms of crimes against humanity and international law were presented during the Conference, followed by a dynamic, intensive, interesting, very useful discussion that invoked, in addition to the world authorities for the matter, the student of the Sarajevo and other world-wide Universities, which was a novelty and a qualitative precedent in the practice of the organization of such conferences and the structure of participants at them.

In its rich publishing activity, the Institute published a series of papers which represent the results of scientific, empirical, theoretical findings relative to the crimes committed throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, which analyze the phenomenon of aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from political, military and other aspects, along with its planning, preparation, and execution. It also published papers relative to specific aspects of crime of genocide, committed not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina but worldwide as well. The exchange of experience in studying scientific research of genocide and other forms of crimes against humanity and international law during the Seventh Biennial Conference of Genocide Scholars resulted in a knowledge that numerous and relevant scientific and empirical studies have been organized world wide, even though they lack valid scientific projects serving as an operative document that will guide and manage the course of empirical research. This knowledge, based on the current best practices, inspired the Institute to initiate the making of standard for of project that can serve as a model for studying holocaust, genocide, and other forms of crimes against humanity and international law within the framework of the international exchange, already used by the Institute to enforce its empirical studies. At the same time, the Institute has, based on numerous original, genuine, authentic, credible, and relevant documents, created and used the database for all types of scientific studies.

The Institute has established and maintained cooperation with various relevant establishments and institutions throughout the world, which study holocaust and genocide. We particularly underline the Agreement on the cooperation with the Universities in Charlotte, North Carolina and Rutgers in New Jersey (USA); cooperation with the International Association of Genocide Scholars, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and other.

The Institute experience and knowledge acquired in the area of studying the holocaust, genocide and other forms of crimes against humanity and international law constitute a relevant basis for profiling and leading all the scientific, thus educational, current, and future projects of the Institute, and its scientific-based activities. The Institute shall pay special attention to the education and further development of young scholars in the area of studying the holocaust, genocide and other forms of crimes against humanity and international law.