Mechanism President honoured to participate in Twenty-Eighth Commemoration of Srebrenica Genocide

The President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism), Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, today participated in the Twenty-Eighth Commemoration of the Srebrenica Genocide, held at the Srebrenica Memorial Center in Potočari, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

President Gatti Santana delivered remarks at the official Commemoration ceremony, along with a number of other high-level international and national dignitaries. Addressing the survivors who withstood the atrocities committed in Srebrenica in July 1995, the President stated that: “Your dignity survives, as does that of those who are no longer with us.” In this context, she underscored the Mechanism’s solidarity with the victims and its weighty responsibilities as the successor body of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

President Gatti Santana strongly emphasised that, far from closing its doors, the Mechanism remains committed to fulfiling its crucial mandate and consolidating its achievements and legacy, as well as those of the ad hoc Tribunals. Moreover, she said, it is incumbent on all of us to ensure that the work of these institutions is not only respected but also protected. Turning to the disturbing trends of genocide denial, glorification of convicted war criminals, and historical revisionism across the former Yugoslavia, the President expressed profound regret. She observed that, while it is not easy to confront the forces of hatred, division and disinformation, it is “high time that societies in the former Yugoslavia make room for reconciliation rather than denial”.

Following the Commemoration ceremony, the President paid her respects to the victims of the Srebrenica Genocide by laying a flower in their honour.

President Gatti Santana is currently on official mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.