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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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Popović at UN Security Council session

Belgrade/New York, 11 June 2024

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

Popović expressed her expectation that the Mechanism will soon finish its work, because it lost its primary function a long time ago and went beyond its own competences, which were established by the Security Council.

The Minister expressed her fear that the Mechanism's insistence that proceedings for contempt of court be conducted in The Hague will lead to new political tensions, adding that the Mechanism was established with the aim of prosecuting the most serious forms of violation of international humanitarian law committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and not to conduct proceedings for contempt of court.

She emphasised that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Mechanism, with their passive attitude and denial of Serbian victims, led to the denial of crimes against the Serbian civilian population and encouraged the policy of historical revisionism and the glorification of war criminals in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo and Metohija.

According to her, the acquittals of the Tribunal and the Mechanism for Anto Gotovina, Naser Orić and Ramush Haradinaj ignored the crimes for which there is forensic and other evidence in the possession of the prosecution.

In contrast, Serbia has ended a large number of proceedings, imposed severe sentences on its citizens and compatriots for crimes committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, the minister pointed out, noting that because of this, our country cannot be attributed a policy of denying crimes or glorifying criminals.

She also pointed to the very poor treatment of convicted Serbian citizens who are serving prison sentences imposed by the Tribunal or the Mechanism.

The Minister stressed that Serbia will continue to insist that all its citizens convicted before the Tribunal and the Mechanism serve their prison sentences in their own country.