ICTY Digital Archives

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The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Digital Archives provide access to a range of documents and other records associated with the work of the ICTY.  The result of an ongoing collaboration between Dodd Impact Programs, the UConn Libraries, the Connecticut Digital Archive, and individual scholars, witnesses, and others involved in the Tribunal, the ICTY Digital Archives seek to make the work of the tribunal accessible to researchers, educators, students, and others. The project continues to work to identify, evaluate, process, and make available additional materials with the goal of advancing a better understanding of the work of the ICTY and the history of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia.

ICTY Archives’ Path to The Dodd Center for Human Rights

The following publications outline the call for open ICTY archival access, beginning in 2012.

View the Publications

Truths, Memories and Historians in the Archives of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
Robert Donia
pp. 223–228 in H.G. van der Wilt, J. Vervliet, G.K. Sluiter. J.Th.M. Houwink ten Cate (eds), The Genocide Convention: The Legacy of 60 Years (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden 2012)

OTP-ICTY Digital Archives Project Proposal
Complete documentation on file with Predrag Dojčinović
2014-2016

Safeguarding the Hague Tribunal’s Unique War Archives, Balkan Transitional Justice 
Richard A. Wilson, Robert J. Donia, Saskia Baas
March 30, 2016

Op-ed: Preserve the Archives of the Yugoslavia Tribunal, NRC Handelsblad
Saskia Baas and Richard Ashby Wilson
April 4, 2016

The Truths of the War, Leuven Transitional Justice Blog, Institute of Criminology at the University of Leuven
Predrag Dojčinović
October 11, 2018

Explore the ICTY Digital Archives Collections

 

Robert Donia Collection

Robert Donia

The documents in the collection were admitted into evidence on July 22, 2010, in the case of The Prosecutor v. Radovan Karadžić, subsequent to being referenced in the testimony of Robert Donia. Robert J. Donia served as an expert witness at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Access the Donia Collection

Predrag Dojčinović Collection

Predrag Dojčinović

The records from The Prosecutor v. Ratko Mladić offer multifaceted historical, political, military, cultural and legal narratives, covering the time frame before, during and after the crime of genocide was committed against the Muslim population of Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995.

Read more about the collection. 

Access the Dojčinović Collection

Ellen Elias-Bursać Collection

The Ellen Elias-Bursać Collection offers an overview of translation and interpreting challenges that arose during the trials at the ICTY. The archive includes administrative documents, trial transcripts, official memoranda, judgements and other documents related to dilemmas and disputes posed by translations and interpreting of Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS) terms.

Read more about the collection. 

Access the Ellen Elias-Bursać Collection

Upcoming Collection: The Dan Saxon Collection

The Dan Saxon Collection is a compilation of records and materials from the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia's (ICTY) trial of General Momčilo Perišić. The collection contains prosecution and defense exhibits, trial transcripts, legal briefs, documents, videos and photos describing the coordinated assistance in men and materiel provided by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to the armies of Republika Srpska and Republika Srpska Krajina from 1992 - 1995.

Read more about the collection. 

Access The Dan Saxon Collection

Upcoming Collection: The Andras Riedlmayer Collection

Testifying about cultural destruction in BiH at the ICTY in the case Prosecutor v. Ratko Mladić (Oct. 2013)

András Riedlmayer's Collection is an extensive archive documenting the systematic destruction by nationalist extremists of the cultural heritage of the former Yugoslavia during the series of international armed conflicts between 1991 and 1999. It includes meticulous records, photographs, and expert reports from Mr. Riedlmayer’s extensive fieldwork undertaken for the ICTY, detailing the destruction of libraries, archives, mosques, churches and other cultural sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and beyond. His expert testimonies at the ICTY and his legacy as a whole remain crucial resources in the international efforts to bring those responsible for these war crimes to justice, and to preserve and restore the region’s diverse cultural heritage.

Read more about the collection. 

Access The Andras Riedlmayer Collection

The Goražde Legacy-ICTY Pilot Collection

The Goražde - ICTY Pilot Collection is a joint project established between the Human Rights Dodd Impact initiative and the filmmakers of the documentary UNCONQUERED: Goražde - City of Heroes. This forthcoming digital archive will incorporate interviews, footage, and still images from the acclaimed feature film documenting firsthand testimony of the Bosnian Serb attacks and occupation of Goražde during the Bosnian War between 1992-1995.

The pilot collection will enrich the existing ICTY Digital Archives by providing additional primary source materials that convey experiences during the prolonged siege of Goražde, including war crimes, and post-conflict justice. The archive holds significant educational value for research purposes and will continue expanding through student multimedia projects and materials from the documentary’s production archive.

Learn more about the project and the archive here.

Access The Goražde Pilot Collection

 

Meet Our Student Curators

Emma presenting work on the Digital Windham project to the university in the Spring of 2023.

Emma Dashnaw

Emma Dashnaw is a passionate advocate for digital history and archiving, with a focus on preserving the memory of genocides. As a Master of Arts student in Human Rights and a graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in History, Emma has dedicated the past three years to digitizing and preserving documents and artifacts. Their work with projects like Digital Windham and the ICTY Digital Archives demonstrates skills in using digital tools to bring community history to life and preserve important records for future generations. 

Gamze Ozker (right) during the Oral History Interview Sessions at UConn.

Gamze Ozker

Gamze Ozker is a graduate student in the Human Rights program, whose work demonstrates a deep commitment to preserving and organizing historical and legal records. Through her archival work, Gamze aims to showcase the complexities of political violence, seeking to highlight the human cost and the lasting impact of these events while addressing denial. 

ICTY Related Courses

UConn offers the following human rights related courses that utilize the ICTY public records and the exisitng ICTY Digital Archives collections:

INTRODUCTION TO GENOCIDE STUDIES

Instructor James Waller, Ph.D.

This course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to genocide studies, examining critical aspects of this complex phenomenon from historical, legal, social, political, and conceptual perspectives. Students explore the definition and dynamics of genocide, distinguishing it from other forms of mass violence, and investigate the circumstances and factors that can lead to such atrocities.

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES: GENOCIDE STUDIES

Instructor James Waller, Ph.D.

This course is an interdisciplinary analysis of critical topics in contemporary studies of genocide including the legal and social meaning of genocide and crimes against humanity, the causes and dynamics of genocide and mass atrocities, the immediate and intergenerational effect of genocide on individuals and groups, the question of accountability, and the role of perpetrators and bystanders. The course also examines deeply divided societies and the risk factors that can lead to large-scale violent conflicts, including genocide and other atrocity crimes.

HUMAN RIGHTS & POST CONFLICT JUSTICE

Instructor Richard Wilson, Ph. D. 

This course examines the law and politics of post-conflict justice in a variety of institutional settings, including the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal, truth and reconciliation commissions, and the International Criminal Court. It explores how domestic and international institutions grapple with the specific challenges of seeking justice for mass crimes. RThe course also analyzes how the Nuremberg Trials pursued individual criminal responsibility in international law and applied the new category of "crimes against humanity." Students also evaluate  international reparations programs, the gender aspects of international crimes, and the effectiveness of international courts in writing histories of mass crimes.

THEORY AND PRACTICE OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Instructor Predrag Dojčinović

This course aims to provide each student with a broad understanding of the complex challenges, successes and failures of international criminal courts and tribunals. Students develop insights into the complex legal, political, philosophical, historical, military and cultural issues that may impact efforts to bring perpetrators of grave international crimes to justice.

HUMAN RIGHTS ARCHIVES I AND II

Instructor Catherine Masud

A two-part course sequence focused on human rights archives and digital storytelling. The courses combine hands-on archival work with creative storytelling techniques. The sequence aims to document, preserve, and share community memories and histories, creating an important resource for ongoing scholarship while strengthening university-community relationships.