Why was the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia created in 1993?

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Adolf Eichmann listening to an Israeli court's verdict — War crime Former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann listening as an Israeli court declares him guilty on all counts at his war crimes trial in Jerusalem, 1961.

The United Nations Security Council established the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in May 1993 for two primary reasons: to prevent further acts of "ethnic cleansing" within the region and to restore peace and security to the Balkans.1

By creating this tribunal, the international community affirmed the ethical principle that individuals—regardless of their official position as heads of state or military leaders—must be held accountable for serious violations of international humanitarian law, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and grave breaches of the Geneva conventions.1