Statement by United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Chaloka Beyani, on Ratko Mladić and genocide denial

United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Chaloka Beyani is following with concern the public expressions of genocide denial and glorification of convicted war crimin al, the deceased Ratko Mladić, in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The large-scale public commemoration of Mladić, including the participation of political figures and official ceremonial elements, is both deeply inappropriate and profoundly disturbing. It relativizes serious crimes under international law, assaults the dignity and experiences of victims and survivors and their families who suffered the crimes for which Mladić was judicially found guilty of. It is incompatible with efforts to advance accountability, mutual understanding, and sustainable peace in the region. 

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice determined conclusively that a genocide was committed in Srebrenica in 1995. In his capacity as a commander of the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS), Mladić was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war by ICTY in 2017 and sentenced by the Tribunal to life imprisonment. The Appeals Chamber of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals affirmed the convictions on 8 June 2021. This conviction further reinforced that criminal accountability for international crimes, including the crime of genocide, is individual and cannot be collectively attributed to a community as a whole. The facts established by ICTY do not get extinguished by one’s death. 

Special Adviser Beyani echoes the statement made by the Secretary-General on the passing of Ratko Mladić, and his call to all those in positions of power to refrain from denying the seriousness of the crimes committed by him and which have been adjudicated. Special Adviser Beyani notes with regret the persistence and rise of genocide denial, the glorification of Mladić and the crimes he committed, and the alarming participation of public officials and institutions in these acts. The Special Adviser calls for prompt accountability in such cases, including for any use of language that incites hatred, and he stresses the important role of media in this regard. 

Building a society that prioritizes the prevention of atrocity crimes begins with affirming the reality and truth of what happened in the past. This includes acknowledging the pain and suffering of all victims. The voices of those championing such a future must be louder and stronger than those who deny the truth of the past. People across the region deserve a future free of fear, in which the painful legacy of wartime strengthens the resolve to prevent such darkness and atrocities from ever recurring.