The Australian Government has welcomed the news that Ratko Mladic was arrested in Serbia and congratulated the Serbian authorities on this development.

Although almost 16 years have passed since Mladic's indictment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), his arrest signifies that individuals responsible for war crimes and other crimes of concern to the international community will not avoid facing justice, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kevin Rudd and Attorney General Robert McClelland said in a joint statement released on Saturday.

“It sends a strong message to would-be perpetrators of mass atrocity crimes: if you commit these crimes, you will be caught,” the statement said.

Rudd and McClelland commended the Serbian authorities for their efforts in locating and arresting Mladic and for cooperating with the ICTY saying Serbia has added momentum to its deeper integration in Europe in delivering on this “key international commitment.”

The crimes listed in Mladic's indictment include his alleged involvement in the murder of close to 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies today are with the victims and families of victims who suffered during this dark chapter in history,” Rudd and McClelland said.