Today, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović published a letter addressed to the Mayor and to the President and Vice-President of the City Assembly of Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In her letter, the Commissioner urges the city authorities to engage as soon as possible in discussions with the parents of the killed children of Prijedor and activists with a view to implementing their initiative and building a memorial in the city centre to 102 children - victims of war crimes committed in Prijedor between 1992 and 1995.
The Commissioner expresses concern at the fact that “over the last nine years, the tireless efforts of these families and activists to have their initiative approved by the authorities have been met with systematic obstruction and/or ignorance”. She notes that “it is of paramount importance that the city authorities uphold the rights of all citizens equally and without discrimination, especially when it comes to memorialising their suffering in a dignified way”. The Commissioner also expresses her readiness to visit Prijedor and engage with the authorities and with other relevant actors on this and other important issues of dealing with the past
The Commissioner also brought her letter to the attention of the Minister of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina and requested his support in this matter.