Date: April 13, 1992
Author: Valentina Krčmar, Mothers for Peace – Bedem Ljubavi (Toronto Chapter)
Addressed to: Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the United Nations
View the Original Letter: krcmar book 2_Part18.pdf
About This Letter
Written in April 1992, this comprehensive appeal from Mothers for Peace – Bedem Ljubavi to UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali outlines, in detail, the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Croatia. Valentina Krčmar, representing Croatian mothers and families, pleads with the United Nations to prevent its peacekeeping mission from becoming a “cloak behind which human rights continue to be violated.”
The letter meticulously documents war crimes: mass executions, concentration camps, missing persons, and the destruction of hospitals, churches, and cultural monuments. It estimates over 12,000 missing persons, more than half a million refugees, and the annihilation of cultural landmarks such as Dubrovnik.
“If the United Nations efforts only result in maintaining a status quo where thousands remain missing, tortured, and detained — then its mission will have failed those who trusted it most.”
Valentina’s words reveal both precision and anguish, supported by first-hand data gathered from Croatian sources and international witnesses. She urges the UN to ensure monitoring access, photographic documentation, and direct protection of endangered civilians during the withdrawal of Yugoslav Army forces.
In a follow-up note, Krčmar laments that the evidence and testimonies delivered to UN officials and the Red Cross were ignored — their silence allowing atrocities to continue unchecked.
This letter encapsulates her relentless pursuit of truth, demanding accountability, visibility, and human dignity in the face of bureaucratic indifference.
