Published on: 2026-09-16
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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September 16, 2026 International Law
The glorification of individuals responsible for international crimes and gross human rights violations leads to the retraumatization of their victims. This was stated by independent UN experts commenting on the funeral of Ratko Mladić – the former commander of the Bosnian Serb army, convicted of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The funeral was held with honors, as if Mladić were a hero, the experts noted.
Official commemorations of people convicted for such crimes can cause suffering to those who survived these atrocities, as well as to the families of the deceased and missing, human rights advocates emphasized. They are particularly alarmed by the fact that high-ranking officials from the Republika Srpska (an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina), “where many of these crimes were committed,” were present at the funeral.
Mladić, known as the “Bosnian butcher,” was convicted by the ICTY of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the 1990s conflict, as well as genocide carried out in Srebrenica and its surroundings in 1995. Mladić died in August 2026 in a prison in The Hague, where he was serving a life sentence.
According to reports, his coffin was delivered to Serbia by a government plane, and it was carried by soldiers in military uniform. In the church in Belgrade where the farewell ceremony for Mladić took place, his military awards were displayed.
People who survived the atrocities for which Mladić was convicted, and the families of the dead and missing, continue to feel their consequences three decades later.
“The consequences of these crimes are not just a matter of the past,” the experts stated. “For many families whose loved ones have disappeared, the search for truth and justice continues.”
“Public actions that appear to honor individuals found guilty of atrocities that have shocked the conscience of humanity, as well as the creation of permanent memorials for these criminals, may devalue decades of efforts aimed at establishing the truth, eradicating impunity, as well as achieving justice and compensation for these crimes,” they warned.
Experts added that “such blatant denial of genocide” could negate the achievements in international criminal accountability and the fight against impunity, which were “forged in the crucible of the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, as well as during the work of the international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.”
“The rights of victims to truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-recurrence must lie at the foundation of state policy and activities for commemoration,” they stated. “The memory of past events should serve to acknowledge the suffering of the victims, preserve historical truth, and promote reconciliation.”
The statement was issued by members of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, as well as a number of UN special rapporteurs, including the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Morris Tidball-Binz and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth Bernar Duhaime.
Special rapporteurs and working group members are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to examine either situations in specific countries or thematic issues across all regions of the world. They are part of the Human Rights Council’s special procedures. Special procedures experts are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organization. They serve in a personal capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.
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