Bosnian Wartime Torture Victims Rally in Sarajevo

Members of Bosnian Association of Former Camp Detainees marked the UN’s International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on Thursday by rallying in central Sarajevo holding placards with slogans like “Silence is complicity” and “Never forget”.

Jasmin Meskovic, the president of the association, said that two decades after the war, torture victims are still on the margins of society and have no rights, despite the fact that thousands were abused in detention camps across the country during the conflict.

“Torture victims need reparations. The state and society are obliged to allow for their treatment and support survivors in their attempts to re-establish a dignified life,” Meskovic said.

“If we remain silent about this, we participate in the crime, and we must all work together so that this never happens again,” he urged.

The International Day in Support of Victims of Torture was also marked in the Bosnian town of Tuzla, by the NGO ‘Vive Women’.

Mima Dahic, the NGO’s coordinator for documentation and research, said that it was almost unthinkable that the country has yet to find out the exact number of people who were tortured during the conflict.

“All the numbers are put together by [victims’] associations. We want to keep talking about this problem and help those responsible make some changes and adopt laws,” Dahic said.

The UN is marking this year’s International Day in Support of Victims of Torture as part of a global campaign entitled ‘Stop impunity for torture’.

Dahic said that impunity for the perpetrators of torture means that they are free to repeat their offences and that the international community is sending a message that such crimes are tolerated.

The UN General Assembly marks holds the annual day of support on June 26 because on that day in 1945, the UN Charter was signed – the first document obliging states to respect human rights – and because in June 1987, the UN Convention Against Torture also came into effect.