Law Students from Villanova University (USA) Visit the Center for Peace in Mostar: Exchange on Law, Justice, and Reconciliation
Mostar - A group of law students from Villanova University in Pennsylvania, USA, led by professor and former Hague Tribunal prosecutor Arthur Traldi, visited the Center for Peace and Multiethnic Cooperation in Mostar. The purpose of the visit was to learn more about the Center’s work, its ongoing projects, and its role in promoting peace-building and social justice in Mostar and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
During the visit, the students were introduced to the mission, history, and key programs of the Center, including activities focused on promoting interethnic dialogue, a culture of remembrance, youth education, preservation of cultural heritage, and public advocacy in the field of transitional justice. Representatives of the Center presented several impactful projects addressing reconciliation, confronting the past, and strengthening democratic values in post-conflict societies.
The visit created space for open discussion on the role of law in peacebuilding processes and highlighted the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration between the judiciary, civil society, and academic institutions. The students expressed strong interest in the topics and showed enthusiasm about getting more involved in similar socially impactful initiatives in the future.
Through this visit, the Center for Peace and Multiethnic Cooperation reaffirmed its commitment to engaging youth and the importance of education as a foundation for lasting peace.
Following the visit to the Center, the American students also visited the memorial site in Sutina, the location of the first discovered and exhumed mass grave in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On June 13, 1992, Serbian forces executed 26 Bosniaks and Croats from Mostar at that site. Later that night, another 88 innocent civilians from Mostar were brutally executed at the Uborak city landfill.
At the Sutina memorial, the group was welcomed by Adnin Hasić and Diana Novalić, representatives of the Association of Families of Victims Killed in Uborak and Sutina in 1992. They shared detailed information about the tragic events of June 13, 1992, and the crimes committed at Uborak and Sutina. Together, the group paid tribute to the innocent victims, honoring their memory with dignity and respect.