UN Human Rights Chief hails arrest of Ratko Mladić

GENEVA (26 May 2011) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday welcomed the arrest by the Serbian authorities of Ratko Mladić, the Bosnian Serb military leader sought by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in connection with the crimes that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992-1995 war.

“This is tremendous news,” Pillay said. “Ratko Mladić was the single most significant suspect still at large, 19 years after the atrocities began in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His arrest will be welcomed by many of the people raped, made homeless, and tortured during the war, as well as by the relatives of the many thousands who were killed by forces under his command, most notably in Srebrenica.”

“I hope that Mladić’s trial, along with that of Radovan Karadzic, and the recent ICTY convictions of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac, as well as the dozens of earlier convictions, will help victims and their families see justice done and receive acknowledgement of their suffering,” the UN human rights chief said.

“This arrest is also of great importance to the global struggle against impunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide,” Pillay said. “It shows both the perpetrators and victims of such crimes that justice can and should prevail.”

“It also sends a strong message to political and military leaders contemplating crimes such as these, or those who fail to prevent or punish them, that times and regimes change, and there will be no impunity,” she added.

ENDS

For more information or interviews, please contact spokesperson Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 or rcolville@ohchr.org) or press officers:
Ravina Shamdasani (+ 41 22 917 9310 or rshamdasani@ohchr.org) or Xabier Celaya (+ 41 22 917 9383 or xcelaya@ohchr.org)

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