Remembrance, accountability and the prevention of hate.
EMISCO expresses its serious concern regarding reports of a public commemoration in Belgrade honouring Ratko Mladić, who was convicted by international criminal justice institutions and sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, including crimes related to the Srebrenica genocide.
The public glorification of individuals convicted of such crimes is incompatible with the principles of accountability, reconciliation and respect for the dignity of victims. It also risks fuelling hate speech, intolerance and hate-motivated violence in today’s societies.
The experience of Bosnia and Herzegovina reminds us of the devastating consequences that can follow when ethnic and religious hatred is normalised and when discriminatory narratives are allowed to develop into political and social mobilisation.
EMISCO calls on all relevant authorities, political leaders and institutions to ensure that the crimes established by international courts are neither denied nor glorified, and to strengthen efforts aimed at historical truth, education, reconciliation and the prevention of hate crime.
We stand with the victims and survivors of Srebrenica and all those affected by the atrocities committed during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. We reaffirm our commitment to combating anti-Muslim hatred, antisemitism, racism, xenophobia and all forms of intolerance, and to promoting a Europe founded upon human dignity, equality, justice and peaceful coexistence.
Never again. For anyone.
Veysel FilizEMISCO Spokesperson
8 September 2026