Bachelet and Nderitu welcome decision to uphold Ratko Mladić convictions and sentence

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Prevention of Genocide Alice Wairimu Nderitu on Tuesday welcomed the decision to uphold the convictions of former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladić on multiple counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The UN's International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague on Tuesday rejected an appeal by Mladić against his November 2017 convictions, thereby confirming his responsibility for the crime of genocide in relation to Srebrenica in July 1995, and for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s.

Bachelet and Nderitu urged elected and public officials and media organizations in the region to refrain from revisionist narratives, divisive rhetoric and incitement to hatred, and to systematically condemn any words or actions that exacerbate tensions between communities and between States.

Michelle Bachelet Bachelet and Nderitu welcome decision to uphold Ratko Mladić convictions and sentence urged the Governments and elected and public officials to strive for justice for all victims and survivors of the wars in the former Yugoslavia, to assuage – rather than aggravate – the region's open wounds, and to foster reconciliation and long-lasting peace. "Only by honestly addressing the past can a country strive to create an inclusive future and build accountable institutions for all its citizens," addressed the High Commissioner.