SARAJEVO, 28 August 2026 - The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mission) recalls that the glorification of convicted war criminals is a criminal offense and is deeply offensive to victims and survivors, undermines reconciliation and risks further dividing communities.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina are closely monitoring developments related to the questioning of individuals who are or were professionally engaged with the Srebrenica Memorial Centre. As these developments have generated significant public attention and concern, we underline the importance of judicial institutions ensuring timely, transparent and accurate public communication in matters of significant public interest. 

It is important to know what is a hate crime. When a hate crime is committed, one or more perpetrators target the victim, which can be one or more people or property, because of a protected aspect of the victim's identity, such as religion or ethnicity, race, sexual orientation or disability. Similarly, a hate incident is an act of hostility motivated by prejudice or bias that does not necessarily reach the threshold of a criminal offence, or the criminal nature of which is yet to be determined. A hate crime is any crime where the perpetrator is driven by prejudice or bias.