UNITED NATIONS: Countries at the United Nations’ General Assembly voted on Thursday to observe an annual day of remembrance, for the Srebrenica genocide in 1995. The vote went ahead, despite furious opposition from Bosnian Serbs and Serbia.

The resolution was authored by Germany and Rwanda, which were two countries synonymous with genocide in the 20th century. The vote received 84 votes in-favor, 19 against, with 68 opting to abstain. This effectively makes the 11 of July the “International Day of Remem­brance of the Srebrenica Genocide.”

Serbian President Aleksan­dar Vucic warned the General Assembly ahead of the vote that the move “will just open old wounds and that will create a complete political havoc.” However, Vucic did state that he ‘does not deny the killings at Srebrenica’, adding that he bowed his “head to all the victims of the conflict in Bosnia.” “This resolution seeks to foster reconciliation, in the present and for the future” according to the German ambassador to the United Nations’, Antje Leendertse.

On Thursday, church bells rang out across Serbia, in protest. The Serbian Orthodox Church says it hopes the gesture would unite Serbs in “prayers, serenity, mutual solidarity and firmness in doing good, despite untrue and unjust accusations it faces at the UN.”

Meanwhile, the Bosnian Serb leader, Milorad Dodik, ‘denies a genocide had even taken place in the Bosnian city’ and said that his administration ‘would not recognise the UN resolution’.

“There was no genocide in Srebrenica” Dodik told a press conference (in Srebrenica).

Bosnian Serb forces captured Srebrenica on the 11 of July, 1995 (Srebrenica was a UN-pro­tected enclave at the time). This was just a few months before the end of Bosnia’s civil war, which saw approximately 100,000 people killed.

In the days which followed, Bosnian Serb forces killed around 8,000 Muslim men and teenagers. This crime was described as a genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as well as the International Court of Justice. The incident is considered the ‘single worst atrocity’ in Europe since the ‘Second World War’.

In addition to establishing a memorial day for the ‘genocide’, the resolution condemns “any denial” of the genocide and urges UN member countries to “preserve the established facts.” In a letter to other members of the UN, Germany and Rwanda described the vote as a “crucial opportunity to unite in honoring the victims and acknowledging the pivotal role played by international courts.”

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2024