The funeral of Nebojša Pavković, convicted for crimes against Albanian civilians in Kosovo in 1999, held in the Alley of Distinguished Citizens in Belgrade, represents an open denial of judicially established facts and a mockery of the victims.

HLC considers that the sentences of five to ten years in prison are not just, given the gravity of the crime and the responsibility of the defendants, who committed one of the gravest war crimes against Bosniak civilians, citizens of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Christian Axboe Nielsen:

We must ask ourselves: what would this region and the world look like today without the Hague Tribunal – without its judgments, without its investigations, without the discovery of mass graves? The Tribunal did not bring closure, but it opened the space for truth and accountability.

The Ministry of Justice issued a call for a public debate on the Draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and the Draft Law on the Criminal Code (CC) on September 10, 2025, with a deadline of only twenty days for submitting comments, exclusively via email. Such a deadline, given the scope and significance of the amendments to two systemic criminal laws, is extremely inappropriate and unacceptable.

The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) points out that the new amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia, particularly in two provisions, introduce repressive measures against political engagement and criticism of the government. Furthermore, the introduction of the new criminal offense of sexual intercourse without consent, in addition to the existing criminal offense of rape, enables arbitrary legal qualification of the offense, granting the convicted person privileges depending on which offense they are prosecuted under.

A grave is not only a place of burial, but also a legal, moral, and symbolic proof that the missing once lived. It allows families to find solace and society to preserve the memory of the victims of war.