Balkan States Backsliding on War Crime Cases, Hague Prosecutor Warns

Serge Brammertz. Photo: EPA/EVERT-JAN DANIELS.

More political will and cooperation between former Yugoslav states is needed for the remaining suspects from the 1990s wars to be brought to justice, Hague chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz said on Thursday.

"Obviously there are political obstacles, that is, the lack of political support and determination that are necessary for the success of war crimes prosecutors," Brammertz said in the interview broadcast on the N1 TV network.

Brammertz noted that regional cooperation on cases of human trafficking, organised crime and terrorism is going well, but cooperation between ex-Yugoslav states over prosecuting war crimes cases is not.

He said that a report he has drafted on the level of cooperation between the countries of the region and the UN tribunal in The Hague is mainly negative. He is expected to present the report to the UN Security Council in mid-July.

"The reality is that, for many crimes committed in Bosnia, individuals who are allegedly guilty live peacefully in Serbia and Croatia, and they should be investigated and prosecuted," he said.

He also pointed out that several thousand war crimes cases are still unresolved in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and hundreds of cases related to Serbia and Croatia.

Brammertz, who was interviewed during a visit to Serbia, warned that in some countries, convicted war criminals are considered heroes and glorified by politicians, and war crimes are still being denied, sending out negative signals to potential witnesses.

"We cannot change the political reality, we cannot change the fact that in this country [Serbia], as in others, there are politicians who celebrate war criminals, which is an insult to the victims of these crimes, but...