Brammertz: Glorification of war criminals, genocide denial more present today than 10 years ago

Speaking ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, Brammertz said he was honoured to once again stand alongside survivors, victims' families, and civil society to mark this painful but important moment.

“Today, we’ll be discussing a range of topics, from criminal prosecutions and what was done well or could have been done better, to reconciliation, which remains a major challenge in this country,” Brammertz said. “We must also look ahead and consider what remains to be done in terms of domestic accountability, and how civil society can respond to the growing glorification of war criminals and denial of genocide, which I believe is one of the most serious societal issues today.”

Reflecting on his more than 15 years in this field, Brammertz admitted he was once more optimistic about society’s willingness to accept the truth.

“Unfortunately, glorification and denial are more present today than they were a decade ago. I intend to address why that is and explore with my colleagues how we can better fight this trend moving forward.”

The conference is part of broader efforts to promote justice, memory, and reconciliation as Bosnia and Herzegovina prepares to mark three decades since the 1995 genocide in the UN-declared safe zone of Srebrenica.