Research and Documentation Center in Sarajevo
Encyclopedia
The Research and Documentation Center (RDC) is an institution based in Sarajevo
, which aims to gather facts, documents and data on genocide
, war crime
s and human rights violations, in Bosnia and Herzegovina
. It describes itself as an independent, non-governmental
, non-profit
, professional and nonpartisan
institution. RDC investigates issues regardless of the ethnic, political, religious, social, or racial affiliation of the victims.
The Center is made up of independent members, intellectuals and professionals from different fields of interest. All of RDC's documents (witness
statements, photo and video material, etc.) have been at the disposal of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) in The Hague
, as well as to the Bosnia
n courts, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), scientific institutions and the media.
, titled The Bosnian Book of the Dead. This database includes 97,207 names of Bosnia and Herzegovina's citizens, killed and missing during the 1992-1995 war. An international team of experts evaluated the findings before they were released. More than 240,000 pieces of data have been collected, processed, checked, compared and evaluated by international team of experts, in order to get the final number of victims, belonging to all nationalities. Of the 97,207 documented casualties, about 60 percent were soldiers and 40 percent civilians. 65 percent of all victims were Bosniak
s, 25 percent were Bosnian Serbs, and just over 8 percent Croats. 83 percent of civilian victims were Bosniaks, 10 percent of civilian victims were Bosnian Serbs, and more than 5 percent of civilian victims were Bosnian Croats, followed by a small number of others such as Jews
or Roma. The percentage of Bosniak victims would be higher had survivors of Srebrenica
not reported their loved-ones as "soldiers" to access social services and other government benefits. The figure could rise by a maximum of another 10,000 due to ongoing research.
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, which aims to gather facts, documents and data on genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s and human rights violations, in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. It describes itself as an independent, non-governmental
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
, non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, professional and nonpartisan
Nonpartisan
In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....
institution. RDC investigates issues regardless of the ethnic, political, religious, social, or racial affiliation of the victims.
The Center is made up of independent members, intellectuals and professionals from different fields of interest. All of RDC's documents (witness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
statements, photo and video material, etc.) have been at the disposal of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
(ICTY) in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, as well as to the Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
n courts, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), scientific institutions and the media.
The Bosnian Book of Dead
On June 21 2007, the RDC published its research on Bosnia-Herzegovina's war casualtiesBosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
, titled The Bosnian Book of the Dead. This database includes 97,207 names of Bosnia and Herzegovina's citizens, killed and missing during the 1992-1995 war. An international team of experts evaluated the findings before they were released. More than 240,000 pieces of data have been collected, processed, checked, compared and evaluated by international team of experts, in order to get the final number of victims, belonging to all nationalities. Of the 97,207 documented casualties, about 60 percent were soldiers and 40 percent civilians. 65 percent of all victims were Bosniak
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
s, 25 percent were Bosnian Serbs, and just over 8 percent Croats. 83 percent of civilian victims were Bosniaks, 10 percent of civilian victims were Bosnian Serbs, and more than 5 percent of civilian victims were Bosnian Croats, followed by a small number of others such as Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
or Roma. The percentage of Bosniak victims would be higher had survivors of Srebrenica
Srebrenica
Srebrenica is a town and municipality in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska. Srebrenica is a small mountain town, its main industry being salt mining and a nearby spa. During the Bosnian War, the town was the site of the July 1995 massacre,...
not reported their loved-ones as "soldiers" to access social services and other government benefits. The figure could rise by a maximum of another 10,000 due to ongoing research.