A resolution for the United Nations to mark July 11 as an international day of commemoration of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica is expected on Wednesday.
It has drawn strong opposition from Serbian leaders, with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic saying he will “fight until the last moment”.
The vote at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) was postponed, according to Zlatko Lagumdzija, permanent representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the UN, following Vucic’s lobbying efforts against its adoption in New York.
Initiated by Germany and Rwanda, the resolution was co-sponsored by more than a dozen countries, including the United States, France, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Chile, Ireland and others.
In 2004, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague ruled that the crimes committed in Srebrenica in July 1995 by Serbian forces constituted genocide. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) upheld this decision in 2007.
“The Court established beyond reasonable doubt that the murder of 7,000 to 8,000 Bosnian Muslim prisoners was genocide,” the ICTY said.
Eight ICTY rulings contain guilty verdicts for genocide committed against Bosnians in Srebrenica.
The UN has declared specific days for commemorating genocides before – in 2004 for the Rwandan genocide and in 2005 for the Holocaust.
Previously, in 2015, the United Kingdom launched a resolution commemorating the Srebrenica genocide at the UN Security Council, but it was vetoed by Russia, preventing its adoption.
Here’s a summary of why the vote on a UN resolution increased tensions with Bosnia and Serbia:
What does the UN resolution say?
The resolution condemns “any denial of the Srebrenica genocide” and actions that glorify those convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It calls on Member States to “preserve established facts, including through their education systems”.
Requests the Secretary-General to establish an outreach program with activities and preparations for the 30th anniversary in 2025.
The document does not mention the Serbian people or Republika Srpska, the entity run by Serbs in Bosnia.
Why is this UN resolution important?
Azir Osmanovic, survivor of the Srebrenica genocide and curator of the Srebrenica Memorial Center, explained the importance of the resolution in a speech to the UN this month.
Recounting his frightening experience as a child in Srebrenica during the war, he said: “Our fight, unfortunately, is far from over. Every day, we are subjected to rampant and relentless genocide denial, historical revisionism, and the threat of renewed violence.
“International recognition of the Srebrenica genocide as a universal tragedy would help stem this tide once and for all and, through global awareness, ensure that no other community, anywhere in the world, shares our fate.”
How did Serbian leaders react?
Earlier this month, Milorad Dodik, president of Republika Srpska, and a regular denier of the Srebrenica genocide, said the resolution consists of “provocations by Bosnian politicians and their Western sponsors” that have “the aim of demonizing the people Serbian”. .
“We, the Serbs, say there was no genocide and we do not accept any resolutions or platforms,” he said on X. “Any speculation about this must be absolutely rejected.”
He also told Russian 24 TV earlier this month that Bosnia “may not survive as a single country.” Adopting the resolution at the UN “would only complicate relations in Bosnia to the point of total dysfunction,” he said.
Thousands of people recently attended a rally held in Banja Luka, Bosnia this month, organized by Dodik’s SNSD party. Several officials from Serbia also participated in the event, including the speaker of the Serbian parliament, Ana Brnabic.
President Vucic said he was concerned that demands for war reparations would result from the adoption of the non-binding resolution.
He wrote on Instagram that the resolution “will open a Pandora’s box” and called it “a political decision that will lead to new divisions, the opening of old wounds and instability in the region.”
He posted photos of New York, writing about his meetings with permanent representatives at the UN, including Russia and the United Arab Emirates, and his lobbying efforts against “the hypocrisy of the resolution’s proponents.”
He wrote that a group has been formed at the Serbian Mission to the UN to resolve the problem and meetings will be held with more than 120 permanent representatives at the UN.
What does the resolution mean for Republika Srpska?
Croatian political analyst Davor Gjenero told Al Jazeera that there are strong reasons for there to be “fear” in Republika Srpska and Serbia.
“Approval of the resolution could launch a process that could lead to the cancellation of the Dayton peace agreement and the entities it created (Federation and Republika Srpska),” he said.
“The question of ‘recognition of the results of genocide’ may indeed be raised, and international circumstances and Dodik’s irrational policy of doubling down on secessionism may lead to the annulment of Dayton and the end of both entities.
“Working with patience and consideration at the UN can be very important.”
What does the resolution mean for Serbia?
Nevenka Tromp, professor of Eastern European studies at the University of Amsterdam, told Al Jazeera that with the adoption of the resolution, “Bosnia could again sue Serbia for genocide.”
The ICJ ruled in 2007 that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that Serbia was responsible for the genocide, but that it had failed to prevent it from happening.
Bosnia will now be able to find a third friendly country that could start a new process, according to Tromp.
This has not been typical in the past, but in 2019, Gambia sued Myanmar for genocide against Rohingya. South Africa recently launched legal proceedings against Israel for genocide in the name of Gaza.
“Serbia is following all this with great nervousness because this development means that the story of responsibility for the genocide of the Serbian state is not over,” Tromp said. “Now Kosovo could also initiate proceedings against Serbia for genocide on the territory of Kosovo in the 1990s.
“Of course, at some point the issue of war reparations may also arise, and not only Bosnia and Kosovo as a state, but also those who survived the genocide, as well as the families of the victims of the genocide, will also be able to ask compensation to Serbia. , in the courts of Serbia.”
Why does the Serbian political leadership deny the Srebrenica genocide?
Peter McCloskey, former ICTY prosecutor, told Al Jazeera: “Serbia and Republika Srpska do not have the moral courage and strength to admit the truth established by the ICTY’s criminal convictions for Srebrenica.
“In these days and times when the truth can be hidden through the media and the Internet, some governments have chosen the cowardly way out, denying established facts and propagandizing to the world in an attempt to win over frightened and angry people. in their own lives. countries that are vulnerable to these extreme forms of deception.
“Instead of leading from a platform of falsehoods and untruths, these countries would be better off looking inward, as Germany finally did after World War II, and dealing with the horrors that their policies brought to the people of the former Yugoslavia. . Leadership that rests on a false and dangerous foundation is nothing unusual in this world, hence the importance of the United Nations resolution recognizing the Srebrenica genocide and condemning the denial of Srebrenica.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
