HRW: CoE to demand Mladić arrest

HRW: CoE to demand Mladić arrest

“The Council of Europe, being the human rights conscience of the European Union,’ should insist that Serbia cooperates fully with the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal.”

Human Rights Watch reminded that Hague-based International Court of Justice on February 26, 2007ruled that Serbia breached its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide by failing to prevent the 1995 genocide at Srebrenica, during which more than 7,000 Bosnian men and boys were killed, or punish those responsible.

It further found that Serbia’s continuing failure to transfer Mladić to the Hague Tribunal amounts to an ongoing violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention.

The primary aim of the Council of Europe, which has 46 member states, is to protect human rights and the rule of law. Its work is rooted in the European Convention on Human Rights. The chair of the council’s Committee of Ministers is held for a six-month term on a rotating basis in alphabetical order.

Human Rights Watch believes governments holding the chair of the Council of Europe’s highest decision-making body should respect its aims, including by addressing any unfulfilled membership requirements. 

Prior to being admitted to the Council of Europe in 2003, Serbia agreed to fulfill certain obligations, including full cooperation with the ICTY and to do “its utmost to track down all 16 indicted persons who are still at large and hand them over to the ICTY.”

“While Serbia assisted with the surrender of a series of less prominent suspects to the tribunal in 2004 and early 2005, its cooperation has since stalled. Recent Council of Europe monitoring reports deplore Serbia’s lack of commitment to arresting Mladić,” HRW argued in a statement. 

“For the Council of Europe to retain credibility as a human rights champion, it can’t abandon the victims of genocide in Bosnia. To demonstrate that impunity for war crimes is unacceptable, European leaders should require Serbia to immediately arrest and turn over the remaining fugitives ,” Dicker concluded.