SETimes Published on SETimes (http://www.setimes.com) http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2005/0 2/15/feature-02 HRW World Report: Serbia-Montenegro Not Co-operating With The Hague 15/02/2005 The latest Human Rights Watch world report takes note of progress which Serbia-Montenegro has achieved in the area of human rights, but faults authorities for their lack of co-operation with the UN <a href="/keyword/war-crimes/" >war crimes</a> tribunal and concludes that the country is not ready to conduct fair <a href="/keyword/war-crimes/" >war crimes</a> trials in domestic courts. By Davor Konjikusic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade -- 15/02/05 According to Human Rights Watch, Serbia-Montenegro's co-operation with The Hague tribunal declined markedly following the <a href="/keyword/parliamentary-elections/" >parliamentary elections</a> in 2003. [HRW] The latest Human Rights Watch (HRW) world report concludes that Serbia-Montenegro has made incremental steps in advancing human rights. However, it criticises authorities for their failure to co-operate with the UN <a href="/keyword/war-crimes/" >war crimes</a> tribunal and characterises efforts to prosecute <a href="/keyword/war-crimes/" >war crimes</a> indictees before domestic courts as &quot;inadequate&quot;. According to HRW, co-operation with the tribunal &quot;took a marked turn for the worse after the December 2003 <a href="/keyword/parliamentary-elections/" >parliamentary elections</a> and the establishment of a new Serbian government dominated by the nationalistic Democratic Party of Serbia&quot;. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has openly opposed the arrest and extradition of <a href="/keyword/war-crimes/" >war crimes</a> indictees, saying he favours voluntary surrenders instead. As many as 15 people indicted by The Hague are either living in Serbia-Montenegro, or traveling between Serbia, Montenegro and Republika Srpska, the organisation alleges. They include two of the UN court's three most-wanted fugitives -- Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic -- as well as former army and police generals Nebojsa Pavkovic and Sreten Lukic. A third indicted general, Vladimir Lazarevic, has surrendered to the tribunal, while a fourth is believed to be hiding in Russia. While Kostunica has pushed for prosecuting indictees at home, the report says, the domestic political climate and lack of an independent judiciary &quot;make the chances of a credible prosecution being mounted against them in Serbia very slim&quot;. According to HRW, authorities have not shown the political will needed to make domestic trials feasible, and police remain unprepared to secure evidence for the prosecution. &quot;The creation of a special <a href="/keyword/war-crimes/" >war crimes</a> chamber in 2003 appeared to signal an increased seriousness of purpose. But during 2004 the chamber heard only one trial,&quot; the report says, noting also that only &...