Acknowledging that genocide has taken place does not mean denying that other crimes have taken place, nor does condemning a person for genocide mean that the guilt is collective, said UN Secretary-General's Adviser on Genocide Prevention Alice Wairim Nderitu, who was on a three-day visit to Belgrade.

In an interview with N1, Nderitu said that the debate about the mural of the convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic reveals deeper processes and notes that society should talk about that.

“I think the mural provides space for such a conversation. It provides space, but it should not exist. My attitude and advice to everyone I spoke to was: ‘Please remove the mural’. That is advice from someone who has seen so much violence and so many wars in the world and that is why I say: ‘Remove the mural.’ And when I say that the mural should be removed, I also mean other murals with people who have been convicted should be removed,” Nderitu said.

The mural appeared in July 2021 on the corner of Njegoseva and Aleksa Nenadovica streets. The Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) called for the removal of the mural painted on the side of an apartment building but the gathering was banned by the police citing possible clashes between Mladic supporters and YIHR activists.

She added that at the same time, the crisis should be used to start a conversation on how to move the country forward.

“A lot of people told me that they were indignant because of all the verdicts against Serbs, and that ‘they perceive us that way because of them.’ I tell people that this is not a narrative that I believe in and that I came here with. I came to Serbia to look for leaders and to look for voices that are different from those who are ‘for’ or ‘against’ it,” said the adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Prevention of Genocide.

Ratko Mladic was sentenced to life imprisonment before the Hague Tribunal for genocide in the east-Bosnian town of Srebrenica and crimes against humanity against non-Serbs during the 1992-1995 war in the country.