Genocide denial also jeopardises the future

Details: Published: September 30, 2025

The High Representative Christian Schmidt for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Copyright photo: OHR

Bosnien und Herzegowina

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (George Santayana, Spanish philosopher, writer and literary critic). That is why, in 2021, the then High Representative Valentin Inzko declared the denial of genocide and other war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina a criminal offence.

Countries such as Germany and Rwanda have experience in this area, which is why the Office of the High Representative, the International Academy of the Nuremberg Principles, the transnational non-governmental organisation TRIAL International and IRZ, with the support of the British and Austrian embassies, held the conference "Criminalising Genocide Denial: Law, Accountability and Prevention" in Sarajevo on 24 and 25 September.

The conference, which was opened by the current High Representative Christian Schmidt, the Director of the International Academy of the Nuremberg Principles Prof. Dr. Christoph Safferling and the Permanent Representative of the German Ambassador Bernhard Abels, featured speeches by former ECtHR judge Prof. Dr. Angelika Nussberger, former Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Dr. Serge Brammertz, former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Valentin Inzko, and, joining online from New York, former UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, rehabilitation and non-repetition Prof. Dr. Pablo de Greiff.

One thing became particularly clear during these two days: denying war crimes constitutes a further injustice to the victims and survivors. It also creates a social and political breeding ground for the division of society through ethnically defined narratives, thus contributing to renewed destabilisation in post-conflict areas.

However, legal issues also need to be clarified when implementing criminal provisions. For example, when is a statement considered public and therefore punishable by law? As Germany has experience in this area, IRZ and the International Academy Nuremberg Principles are planning further joint activities to train prosecutors and judges in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These activities can then build on the findings of this event.

We would like to thank, among others, the following for their participation:

the Deputy Director of the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site, Dr Christoph Thonfeld,
Honore Gatera, Director of the Memorial Centre for the Victims of Genocide in Kigali, Rwanda
as well as Dr Emir Suljagic, Director of the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Centre, and
Natia Navrouzov, Director of the non-governmental organisation Yazda, which supports survivors of the 2014 genocide of Yazidis worldwide.