In accordance with the Law on Scientific Research of the Sarajevo Canton, the UNSA Statute and the Rules of Procedure of the Institute Council for the Director of the Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law of the University of Sarajevo, for the term 2020-2024, elected Rasim Muratović, PhD, otherwise a scientific advisor at the Institute.
The election session of the Council of the Institute was held on September 21, 2020, in compliance with epidemiological measures. Muratovic received the majority of votes of the members of the Council of the Institute.
In his Program of work and development of the Institute for the next four years, Mr. Muratović emphasized the importance of strengthening the Institute's position as a full member of the University of Sarajevo, and strengthening the Institute as a leading public scientific institution in the country and the region engaged in scientific research of crimes against peace, genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law.
He emphasized the importance of adequate preservation of the archive and library fund of the Institute in the future. This can only be done by taking permanent care of the staff of the Institute, the Archives and the Library of the Institute. It is known that at the beginning of the year, the Institute was evicted from the premises within the General Hospital, where Institute stayed for fifteen years. This was done due to the need to use that facility asan Isolator for Covid-19 patients. The Institute, as well as the University, have been promised funds for the permanent solution of the Institute's accommodation on the UNSA Campus. Certainly, the accommodation of employees, a more adequate opportunity to analyze the archives and library fund is a prerequisite for the development of the institution, and a full understanding of the Government of Sarajevo Canton and fulfillment of promises given to the Institute and the University as a whole is expected. In the future, they will cooperate even more strongly with investigative and judicial instances, and adequate possibility of analysis and preparation of materials, ie solving the accommodation of employees, Archives and the Library of the Institute is a prerequisite for quiet activities.
Mr. Muratović also pointed out that in the future, the Institute will more often prepare scientific conferences, round tables, discussions and more adequately promote its employees and its publications. He will place special emphasis on the formation and availability of the digital library of the Institute.
He also emphasized the importance of publishing the Institute's yearly magazine in Bosnian and in English.
Considering that field work on scientific research projects is very important for the Institute, and that budgets do not allocate funds, it is planned to find ways and models of stabilization of that segment of the Institute's activities. The same thing is with the financing, ie co-financing of the Institute's publications, as well as their promotion.
Mr. Muratovic, among other things in his Work and Development Program pointed out that the basic goal of the existence and work of this scientific institution should be peace, establishment and maintenance of peace as the only alternative to everything that its opposite, namely war, crimes against people and property, suffering, expulsion, physical and mental suffering, genocide as a paradigm of crime. The message to be sent with every written paper, every study, every book to be published at the Institute should be: Never again! Not as an empty phrase, but as a fierce warning based on the suffering of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole, which warns that peace and living together have no alternative.