Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Minister Becirovic criticized Serbia at the UN General Assembly

Becirovic made a speech at the 81st General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) held in New York.

Stating that Bosnia and Herzegovina has gone through severe tests, Becirovic said that its people have not deviated from the path to the future despite all they have experienced.

Emphasizing that his country was subjected to attacks, genocide against Bosnians and crimes against humanity in 1992-1995, Becirovic said, "Unfortunately, there are still those who want to implement 'big state' projects through the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They previously attacked our country with military methods, today they are doing this with political, diplomatic and other methods." he said.

Becirovic noted that the highest judicial bodies of the UN have determined that genocide was committed against Bosnians and that Bosnia and Herzegovina was intended to be divided.

Stating that they live in a world surrounded by injustice, distrust and intolerance, Becirovic continued as follows:

"The strengthening of authoritarian populism, the attack on Ukraine, the suffering in Gaza, the war in the Gulf region, the dire situation in Sudan and other points of conflict have dragged humanity into a deep crisis dominated by great uncertainty and fear. We must not remain silent in the face of injustice. The world did not react appropriately to the attack on Ukraine and the genocide committed against Palestinians in Gaza, as it did during the attack on Bosnia and Herzegovina."

"The monster Ratko Mladic is not a hero, he is a convicted war criminal"

Stating that the future of humanity does not lie in policies based on violence and human rights violations, Becirovic said that they need to build a culture of peace through dialogue.

Reminding that Bosnia and Herzegovina was the only country in Europe where genocide was committed after the Second World War, Becirovic said:

"The Serbian administration's glorification of the convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic is particularly dangerous. The monster Ratko Mladic is not a hero, but a convicted war criminal. The glorification of this war criminal at the institutional level is an anti-civilizational and unacceptable act. This means that the Serbian state administration identifies itself with one of the most brutal butchers in European history. This indicates that Serbia does not give up the ideology and policies that lead to aggression and genocide."

Becirovic also called on international actors to take concrete measures against those who glorify convicted war criminals at the institutional level.