A United Nations tribunal charges Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić with genocide

In the annals of history, November 16, 1995, stands out as a pivotal moment for international justice when a United Nations tribunal indicted two key figures of the Bosnian War – Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić – on charges of genocide. The impact reverberated globally, etching the tribunal’s decision into international law and human rights frameworks.

The Bosnian War, a grim chapter in European history, unfolded between 1992 and 1995 and left an indelible mark on the international community’s conscience. The war was characterized by ethnic cleansing, massive displacements, and genocide – a term that would eventually be closely linked to Radovan Karadžić, the Bosnian Serb political leader, and his military counterpart, General Ratko Mladić.

The UN’s International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), formed for the express purpose of prosecuting serious crimes committed during the Yugoslav Wars, levied the charges against Karadžić and Mladić. They were accused of crimes against humanity and, most notably, genocide – the intentional destruction of a racial, ethnic, or religious group in whole or in part.

The genocide charges against Karadžić and Mladić were mainly built around two monumental tragedies: the Siege of Sarajevo and the Srebrenica massacre. Both instances bear the horrid stamp of genocide, with the UN court finally making this acknowledgment on November 16, 1995.

The Siege of Sarajevo, a blockade that lasted from April 1992 to February 1996, was a brutal showcase of Mladić’s military efficacy and disregard for civilian life, particularly the Muslims in Bosnia. His orchestration of this siege resulted in numerous civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis.

The Srebrenica massacre, occurring in July 1995, saw Bosnian Serb forces, under Mladić’s direction, murder an estimated 8,000 Bosniak men and boys. The atrocity is considered the worst in Europe since the end of World War II. This act stands as the linchpin for the indictment and the charge of genocide leveled against Mladić and Karadžić.

Given the atrocities’ incomprehensible scale, establishing the facts leading to the genocide charge was a Herculean mission for the tribunal. The exhaustive investigation, gathering and cross-verification of evidence, testimonies, mass grave exhumations, and forensic investigations consumed an agonizingly long period. A mixture of testimonies maintained by surviving victims, coupled with military records, telecommunications recordings, and physical evidence, gradually unraveled the damning picture that led to the indictment.

In the tense international atmosphere of this legal judgement, the UN tribunal’s indictment on November 16, 1995, was received with a blend of relief, satisfaction, and lingering shock. The far-reaching decision presented a critical juncture in the international legal framework for the prosecution of war crimes and genocide, establishing significant precedents and paving the way for subsequent investigations and convictions related to human rights abuses.