Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović published today a letter addressed to the mayor and the president and vice president of the Prijedor City Assembly. In a letter, Mijatović calls on the city authorities to start talks with the parents of murdered Prijedor children and activists as soon as possible in order to realize their initiative and build a memorial in the city center for 102 children – victims of war crimes committed in Prijedor from 1992 to 1995.
The commissioner expressed her concern over the fact that “over the last nine years, the tireless efforts of the families of murdered children and activists to have their initiative approved by the authorities have met with systemic obstruction and/or ignoring.”
He notes that “it is of particular importance that the city authorities respect the rights of all citizens equally and without discrimination, especially when it comes to commemorating their suffering in a dignified manner”.
Mijatović also expresses her willingness to visit Prijedor and talk with the authorities and other relevant actors about this and other important issues of dealing with the past.