“Any efforts to help a society regain health, wealth and capacity to profit from its own resources must include accountability for past atrocities and strengthening of the rule of law,” according to International Criminal Court (ICC) President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, (Photo Above). Speaking at the opening of the 2011 Law, Justice and Development Week in Washington D.C., Judge Song stressed the importance of synergies between general justice reforms and more specific development efforts to address atrocity crimes. Civil War Costs 30 Years of GDP Growth: “Where impunity is allowed to reign, it leaves a desire for vengeance among populations who have been victims of massive crimes, and provides fertile ground for the recurrence of conflicts,” he said. According to this year’s World Development Report, the average cost of civil war is equivalent to more than 30 years of gross domestic product (GDP) growth for a medium-sized developing economy, making it essential for various sectors to collaborate among themselves to ensure peace and economic development go hand in hand. Bosnia & Herzegovina as Example of Stagnating Justice & Consequently Economic Growth: Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) faced a combination of internal conflict and external aggression along with the exacerbated effects of genocide and ethnic cleansing. BiH still has not recovered in comparison to many former ex-Yugoslav Republics (Slovenia for example). Further, it has fallen substantially behind countries from the former Soviet/”Warsaw Pact” that were far behind BiH in the early 1990’s. The unremedied consequences of ethnic cleansing and continuing disregard for the rule of law and return of those displaced from their homes continues to act as an anchor on BiH to sail beyond the recent past and effects of conflict and particularly efforts to recapture economic and development momentum. The ICTY (UN established ad-hoc Tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia) has tried to deliver justice at the level of individual perpetrators. However, institutional accountability, actual reintegration of society/country and translating judgments to actual remedies for victims and broader society has not moved forward, and in my view in large part because the international community is aligned with a regressive status quo. Courts/prosecutions within BiH also reflect fear of international powers and reluctance to challenge status quo. Ironically BiH has probably evolved one of most unjust judicial systems as a whole, (even if there are many individual exceptions). The rule of law seems to be less important than who is funding and effectively dictating the course of legality funding and directives come from outside than in almost any other European society – in part because it is effectively ruled by EU /US political interests but is kept separate from the values of those societies including rule of law, transparency and open societies. . (Read Article by Kurt Baussener – Democratization Policy Council” - www.europesworld.org/Home_old/Article/tabid/191/ArticleType/articleview/ArticleID/21732/language/en-US/Default.aspx National Courts as Effective Tools for Rule of Law & Justice: Judge Song appealed to development agencies to support the empowerment of national jurisdictions to prosecute and prevent war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. He also provided examples of how international justice organizations can help improve the living conditions of those affected by conflict and violence. He pointed to the Trust Fund for Victims set up by the ICC, which empowers war victims through its provisions and helps them obtain sustainable livelihoods, making it an important element that complements humanitarian and developmental initiatives. “Lasting peace and prosperity in post-conflict societies can only be achieved if development challenges and justice enforcement are addressed in a coordinated manner.” By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey Facebook – Become a Fan at “Diplomatically Incorrect” Twitter – Follow us at DiplomaticallyX "WarCrimesJustice" Channel diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/war-crimes-justice