Brammertz: War criminals are still celebrated

NEW YORK - Serge Brammertz, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, on Thursday expressed concern over the fact that politicians and government officials in the Western Balkans are undermining the trust in judicial accountability for war crimes.

War criminals are still celebrated, he told the UN SC.

In a regular report on the region's cooperation with the Hague-based court, Brammertz said the Office of the Prosecutor shared the deep concern of ICTY President Judge Carmel Agius over Serbia's continued ignoring and violation of the legal obligation of cooperating with the ICTY.

There has been a significant regression in judicial cooperation due to the Serbian authorities' failure to execute a war crimes sentence in the Djukic case.

There is very little evidence Serbia is supporting war crimes prosecutions, he said.