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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Work of International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals should be harmonised with principles of UN Charter

Belgrade/New York, 10 December 2024

Minister of Justice Maja Popović participated in a session of the United Nations Security Council, where the six-month report on the work of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals was presented.

Popović expressed her expectation that, after the conclusion of the last proceedings before the Mechanism, the performance of its residual functions would no longer serve as a political instrument.

She also stated that she expects the Mechanism to act in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter, in particular the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of States, as well as non-interference in their internal and external relations.

The Minister pointed out that the prosecution of war crimes today is exclusively within the competence of national courts and that there is no reason why it would be impossible to serve prison sentences for those convicted before the Tribunal in Serbia, under the supervision of the Mechanism and with the full authority of the Mechanism in terms of early release and conditional release.

Popović emphasised that the selection in conducting investigations and issuing indictments solely according to national criteria is unacceptable.

She pointed out that in Croatia, the defendants are predominantly Serbs, that trials are conducted in absentia and that the political concept of the “homeland war” denies crimes against Serbs, with a similar situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Minister pointed out that the acquittals of Ramush Haradinaj, Naser Orić and Ante Gotovina are a legacy of the Mechanism, by which the policy of impunity has been strengthened.

At the end of her address, Popović said that Serbia will continue to support the principles of international law and that it expects the Mechanism to align its future work with the mandate assigned to it by the Security Council.

PHOTOS: Ministry of Justice