The Tribunal

What is a building? The question lingered in my mind during the several years that this project took. You might say that beyond being a structure existing for a purpose, a building is akin to a person. It lives through and is defined by the spirits within it, by what they feel and do.

If so, this building has seen the best — and the absolute worst — of humankind.

If these walls could talk they would speak of immense courage to tell the truth in the face of tangible threats to life, of long, very long working days for years on end in spite of exceptionally uncertain employment conditions and of a singular, unwavering commitment to the cause of a future just world where impunity is but a sad memory.

I hope that displaying the many facets of the diverse institution that was the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) will show the lengths to which the international community went in giving victims and survivors a voice and the sheer bravery of all who decided to face their oppressor in a court of law.

Humans are amazing. We are capable of experiencing the deepest feelings of true love and enduring the most excruciating pain of loss. Our emotions are the tools that let us overcome the toughest hardships to hopefully, eventually, once again thrive. It is my hope that this project, at least in some small measure, will assist in remembering the victims of the horrors of the Balkan conflicts and the strength and resilience of all who live with the deep scars cut by the heinous crimes for which the worst of humanity has been convicted here.

This building truly saw history be made by astonishingly dedicated individuals serving in a great variety of roles. While the institution this building housed for almost a quarter of a century was transitory, its contribution to international criminal justice will last forever.

My sincere thanks to both the ICTY and its successor the IRMCT for supporting this project. Any views expressed here are mine alone.

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