On 29 April 2014, the European Commission hosted the signing ceremony for the “Protocol on Cooperation in Prosecution of Perpetrators of War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and Genocide” concluded between the Prosecutor’s Offices of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. The protocol was signed by Mr. Goran Salihovic, Chief of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Mr. Veselin Vučković, acting Supreme State Prosecutor of Montenegro.

The signing ceremony was hosted for the European Commission by Mr. Jean-Eric Paquet, Director for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo issues and Serbia in the Enlargement Directorate General, and Mr. Dirk Lange, Head of Unit for Montenegro, who welcomed the finalisation of this agreement as an important step for the strengthening of regional cooperation in dealing with war crime cases. The agreement is designed to facilitate and support the two countries’ efforts to more effectively investigate and prosecute war crimes and it is thus expected to contribute to addressing impunity for war crimes and fostering reconciliation throughout the Western Balkans region.

This protocol on cooperation between prosecutor’s offices completes the scope of existing regional cooperation arrangements in the area of war crimes investigations. The two countries have already in place similar bilateral protocols with both Croatia and Serbia.