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Draft Resolution On Srebrenica Genocide Sent To UN General Assembly
Zlatko Lagumdzija, Bosnia-Herzegovina's permanent representative at the UN (file photo)
May 02, 2024
By RFE/RL's Balkan Service
A draft resolution to establish an international day to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide has been sent to the UN General Assembly for a vote, Bosnia-Herzegovina's permanent representative to the UN said.
"After several rounds of inclusive consultations, the final motion of the resolution 'International Day of Remembrance and Commemoration of the Srebrenica Genocide in 1995' by the cross-regional core group went to the President of the UN General Assembly [Dennis Francis] and all permanent missions to the UN," Zlatko Lagumdzija announced on X, formerly Twitter, late on May 1.
In July 1995, more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were rounded up and killed by Bosnian Serb forces in Potocari near the eastern town of Srebrenica -- the worst mass killing in Europe since World War II.
The massacre has been deemed genocide by various verdicts of both the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The resolution, which would declare July 11 as the International Day of Remembrance for the Genocide in Srebrenica, was initiated by Germany and Rwanda and is co-sponsored by the United States, France, Bosnia, and other countries.
It is expected to be put to a vote in the General Assembly in early May and would be observed starting from next year -- the 30th anniversary of the genocide.
The final draft, seen by RFE/RL, condemns any denial of the Srebrenica genocide as well as actions that glorify convicted war criminals and perpetrators of crimes against humanity and genocide.
It also highlights the importance of completing the process of finding and identifying the remains of victims of the Srebrenica genocide and calls for the continued prosecution of its perpetrators that have yet to be brought to justice.
So far, more than 50 individuals have been sentenced to some 700 years in prison for their roles in the Srebrenica genocide.
Leaders of Bosnia's Serb entity, Republika Srpska, and Serbia have voiced angry opposition to the resolution, which they claim would label Serbs as a “genocidal nation.” Serbia is supported by Russia and China.
On April 30, Russia’s envoy to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, dismissed the resolution as “one-sided” and “politically charged.” Nebenzya said the move would not promote reconciliation among the peoples of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Milorad Dodik, Republika Srpska's Russia-friendly leader, has repeatedly threatened that if the resolution is adopted, the entity "will withdraw from the decision-making process in Bosnia."
Dodik, who has been sanctioned by the United States and Britain over his efforts to undermine the Dayton peace accords, has regularly reiterated his denial of the Srebrenica genocide.
Dodik told supporters at a rally in Banja Luka on April 18 that the actions of the Republika Srpska Army in Srebrenica in 1995 were "a mistake that left the crime," but he denied it was genocide.
Serbia's nationalist president, Aleksandar Vucic, said the resolution should be subjected to a vote in the UN Security Council, not the General Assembly.
Unlike resolutions presented to the General Assembly, those put to a vote in the Security Council can be vetoed by any of its five members, therefore allowing Russia and China to sink it.
Copyright © May 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 conncwsecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. http://www.rferl.org
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