UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed the conviction Thursday of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic of genocide as a "historic day for international criminal justice."
UN war crimes judges in The Hague sentenced Karadzic to 40 years in prison after finding him guilty of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and other atrocities during the Bosnian conflict.
"This judgment sends a strong signal to all who are in positions of responsibility that they will be held accountable for their actions and shows that fugitives cannot outrun the international community's collective resolve to make sure they face justice according to the law," Ban said in a statement.