Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic warned on Thursday of the devastating consequences of failure to deal with the causes of the wars of the 1990s in the Western Balkans.

“The failure to fully deal with wartime atrocities and the root causes of conflicts in the 1990s continues to have devastating consequences on respect for human rights, the rule of law and social cohesion in the region,” a press release quoted Mijatovic as saying at the presentation of a report on transitional justice efforts in the former Yugoslavia.

“Time is pressing to achieve effective justice, reparations and truth for the victims… The notable backsliding of the processes to deal with the past coincides with negative human rights trends on hate speech, freedom of assembly, media freedom and civic space, and ultimately threatens hard-won peace,” she said.

The Commissioner said a lack of political will led to stagnation in the prosecution of war crimes, the search for missing persons and reparations for victims and added that other crucial measures have not been implemented. Mijatovic warned of negative trends that have undermined efforts to deal with the past.

“The Commissioner stresses that the ethnonationalist discourse which has regained strength in the region, along with the rise in denial of war crimes and glorification of war criminals seriously impede efforts towards reconciliation and threaten peace,” the press release said adding that “divisive and hateful narratives and actions have become a generalised political strategy”.

Mijatovic urged regional governments to revive efforts to deal with the past in terms of justice and reconciliation.