Duško Kondor was a human rights activist during and after the war in Bosnia. He was born and lived in the city of Bijeljina, were among the worst crimes during the war occurred in 1992. During the war, Duško had the courage and moral conviction to condemn war crimes, and after the war, he cooperated with public authorities as an eyewitness. He personally witnessed several war crimes against humanity, among them the cold-blooded murder in 1993, under his window, of 26 Muslims including children.
Duško was director of the Seminars on Civil Courage run by the Sarajevo non-governmental organisation GARIWO, a co-founder of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the head of its Human Rights Education section. As a teacher of sociology, philosophy, and democracy teacher at the high school “Mihajlo Pupin” in Bijeljina, he deeply influenced many young people in their formative years.
Duško Kondor was brutally murdered on Thursday, February 22nd 2007, aged 60, in his own home in Bijelin. Two criminals emptied their automatic guns through the locked metal front door of his second-floor flat while a third sat in their escape car below. After the murder, organisation Gariwo published that:
“Undeniably the death of Duško Kondor represents a tremendous loss for Bosnia and Herzegovina. As one of his students speaks: “Probably the most important thing is that he has made this network of young people, who in this way have become friends. He connected young people of all different nationalities and religions and through them their cities and states. This is a true achievement of inexpressible value. Through us, Duško will live eternally.
Their massive peaceful protest after the funeral on Saturday, February 24th demonstrates their conviction to speak up, to oppose injustice and to stand up for truth. They carried large banners proclaiming: “They killed a symbol of Civil Courage, but they cannot kill the truth. We are all Professor Kondor.”
In order to honour the memory of Mr Kondor, an award in his name is dedicated to individuals for doing humanist deeds and civil courage.