“I have had a special wish to visit the Potocari Memorial Cemetery because earlier this year I had the privilege of sitting as the Presiding Judge in the appeal which, for the first time, judicially recognized the crimes committed against the Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995 as genocide. In that case, named Prosecutor versus Radislav Krstic, the Appeals Chamber of our Tribunal convicted one of the leaders of the Bosnian Serb assault on Srebrenica, General Radislav Krstic, for aiding and abetting genocide.... Many victims of this crime lie here, in this cemetery. In honor of their memory, I would like to read a brief passage from the judgment in Krstic, the passage which discusses the gravity and the horrific nature of the crime of genocide, and states unhesitantly that its perpetrators will unfailing face justice:

‘Among the grievous crimes this Tribunal has the duty to punish, the crime of genocide is singled out for special condemnation and opprobrium. The crime is horrific in its scope; its perpetrators identify entire human groups for extinction. Those who devise and implement genocide seek to deprive humanity of the manifold richness its nationalities, races, ethnicities and religions provide. This is a crime against all of humankind, its harm being felt not only by the group targeted for destruction, but by all of humanity.’ ”

 

 

Address by Theodor Meron, ICTY President (2003-2005), at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial and Cemetery, June 23, 2004. In August 2001, the Trial Chamber found Radislav Krstic guilty of genocide. Krstic appealed the decision. On April 19, 2004, the Appeals Chamber concluded that Krstic was guilty of “aiding and abetting genocide” and sentenced him to 35 years in prison.

For the transcripts of the ICTY case on Radislav Krstic, see: www.un.org/icty, “ICTY Cases and Judgements,” Krstic, Radislav.