UN rights office warns against rising hate speech in Western Balkans

Spokesperson Liz Throssell said OHCHR was profoundly acrophobic by caller incidents successful some countries which saw individuals glorify atrocity crimes and convicted warfare criminals, people definite communities with hatred speech, and, successful immoderate cases, straight incite violence. 

The fearfulness is that specified acts – fuelled by continued inflammatory, nationalistic rhetoric and hatred code of immoderate politicians – volition summation this year, up of elections. 

“As we person repeatedly highlighted, the emergence successful hatred speech, the denial of genocide and different atrocity crimes and the glorification of warfare criminals successful the Western Balkans, item the nonaccomplishment to comprehensively code the past,” she said. 

Affront to survivors  

The incidents occurred amid spiritual holidays past weekend, and took spot successful respective locations successful Republika Srpska, the Serb-run entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, arsenic good arsenic successful Brčko successful the north, and successful the Serbian cities of Priboj and Novi Pazar. 

They included ample groups of radical chanting the sanction of convicted warfare transgression and erstwhile Bosnian Serb subject leader, Ratko Mladić, during torchlight processions, oregon singing nationalistic songs calling for the takeover of assorted locations successful the erstwhile Yugoslavia. In 1 incident, individuals fired shots into the aerial arsenic they drove past a mosque.  

“These incidents, immoderate successful locations that saw large-scale atrocity crimes during the warfare successful Bosnia and Herzegovina…are an affront to survivors, including those who returned to their homes aft the conflict,” said Ms. Throssell.  

Impartial investigation 

Failure to forestall oregon authorisation them is simply a large obstacle to trust-building and reconciliation, she added.  

“Serious incidents similar these should beryllium investigated promptly, efficaciously and impartially, to forestall them being repeated and perpetuated, and besides to foster the nationalist spot successful authorities and institutions, and among communities, that is indispensable to physique societal cohesion and peaceful societies.” 

OHCHR was encouraged that immoderate elder politicians, arsenic good arsenic spiritual leaders, person condemned the acts, and that constabulary person begun investigations. 

Prevent recurrence 

Ms. Throssell underlined the request for authorities successful some countries to abide by their planetary obligations to guarantee the rights to truth, justice, and reparation. 

“They should besides follow measures to forestall recurrence and to beforehand further reconciliation efforts,” she said.  “We telephone connected them to condemn and refrain from immoderate advocacy of national, radical oregon spiritual hatred.” 

Furthermore, she recalled that countries enactment to the International Covenant connected Civil and Political Rights, which see Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, are obliged to guarantee that incitement to discrimination, hostility and unit is prohibited successful instrumentality and successful practice. 

“All perpetrators and instigators of specified acts indispensable beryllium held accountable,” she said.