Click on italic words for definitions
The close of the Cold War saw a wave of new conflicts around the globe. These were not the battles of nation-states like in the First and Second World Wars, but civil conflicts and violence among ethnic groups. 
In Europe, the collapse of Yugoslavia quickly descended into slaughter. Civilian massacres, concentration camps and the newly-termed "ethnic cleansing" evoked the Nazi era. The United Nations looked to the historic trials at Nuremberg for a solution. In 1993, the UN created a tribunal (the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) ) to prosecute genocide and other crimes against humanity in the Balkans. This new court was based in The Hague, far from the killing fields in the former Yugoslavia. At this distance, officials hoped the court would be seen as fair, even to those being prosecuted, and that justice would overcome cycles of violence in which neighbor killed neighbor.
Next: Showdown in Courtroom Two 
