Bećirović and Komšić at the UN: Resolution on the Srebrenica Genocide is not directed against any people, this is a test for the UN

(Patria) - Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Bećirović and member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Komšić addressed today at the United Nations headquarters in New York, on the occasion of the resolution on the international day of remembrance and commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide.

Bećirović spoke about the reasons why the Resolution on the Srebrenica Genocide should be adopted, emphasizing that it is not directed against any people.

"Final verdicts of the highest UN courts (International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) have confirmed that genocide was committed against Bosniaks in the UN safe zone of Srebrenica. These are court verdicts that cannot be erased from the history of humanity. The highest UN courts have proven what happened in Srebrenica in 1995. No genocide after World War II has been documented as thoroughly as the Srebrenica genocide.

I remind you, the Hague Tribunal left behind a huge archive about the committed genocide, crimes against humanity, and other crimes. Former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan wrote in his 2000 report on the fall of Srebrenica that the UN made a "mistake of miscalculation and failure to recognize the scale of the evil they faced" in Srebrenica.

He also stated that what happened in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda is a disgrace to the UN, as terrible crimes occurred before the eyes of UN troops.

"The UN made a mistake in 1995, but they must not make another mistake in 2024. The victims of genocide and their families deserve at least a small piece of justice. The proposed text of the resolution on July 11, as the international day of remembrance and commemoration of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, calls for civilizational values.
Among other things, the text of the resolution emphasizes:
 that July 11 be declared the international day of remembrance and commemoration of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, to be observed annually;
 that any denial of the Srebrenica genocide be unequivocally condemned and that member states be called upon to preserve established facts;
 that it is necessary, through educational systems, to develop appropriate programs, also in the spirit of remembrance and with the aim of preventing revisionism and genocide prevention in the future;
 that the glorification of persons convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, including those responsible for the Srebrenica genocide, be unequivocally condemned;
 that appropriate education and public awareness-raising activities about the committed genocide be established.

What are the key objectives of this resolution? I will list, among others, nine key arguments for its adoption:

1. Strengthening the culture of peace and encouraging justice

The fundamental goal of this resolution is to build sustainable peace and encourage the process of justice, truth, and trust in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkan region. The reconciliation process must consist of the overall recovery of society, recognition of genocide and crimes, acknowledgment of victims, and punishment of perpetrators, but with a focus on an outcome that promotes peace and justice.

2. Looking towards the future, not the past

We cannot change the past, but we can influence the future. The purpose of this resolution is not to rewrite the past, as that is impossible. The meaning of this resolution is to emphasize the importance of building a safer future for new generations.

3. The resolution serves the reconciliation in the Western Balkan region

The adoption of this resolution would undoubtedly help and encourage the reconciliation process within Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in the region as a whole, in the long term.

4. Institutional protection of the legacy of UN courts

By institutionally protecting the legacy of UN tribunals and courts, we simultaneously protect civilizational values and the fundamental principles on which the UN is based, and we also contribute to ensuring that the crime of genocide is never repeated. For the future work of the UN and the preservation of the credibility of this most important international organization, it is extremely important to learn from the UN's failure to prevent the Srebrenica genocide.

5. An important message and warning to humanity

By adopting this resolution, we would send an important message to humanity. The UN should be reminded of the final verdicts of its courts on the committed genocides in Rwanda and Srebrenica, as they should serve as a constant warning to humanity. Therefore, among other things, it is necessary for the UN General Assembly to adopt a resolution on the international day of remembrance and commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide, just as it did in the Resolution on the International Day of Remembrance of the Genocide in Rwanda against the Tutsi. We must never erase Rwanda and Srebrenica from the collective memory of humanity.

6. Solidarity with victims, condemnation of perpetrators, and prevention of genocide denial

By denying the committed genocide in and around Srebrenica, as well as glorifying convicted war criminals, genocide survivors are daily exposed to attacks on their dignity. By adopting this resolution, we would provide support to the families of genocide victims in their struggle for truth and justice.

7. Affirmation of the culture of remembrance

Nurturing the culture of remembrance should serve to encourage the process of critical confrontation with the past. By critically confronting the past, we want to emphasize the importance of preserving the human rights and freedoms of every individual, and to foster empathy towards the victims of genocide. Therefore, this resolution is of exceptional importance. The culture of remembrance of the Srebrenica genocide victims is not and must not be a culture of denial, but a culture of memory, so that genocide never happens to anyone.

8. The resolution serves dialogue and building an inclusive society

Public education, along with encouraging critical reflection and public dialogue, is the fundamental basis for building socially aware citizens, ready to oppose ideologies and policies that lead to genocide. With this resolution, we want to contribute to building an inclusive society based on civilizational values.

9. The resolution has global significance as it encourages educational systems to serve genocide prevention

The resolution should encourage UN member states to adopt curricula and educational programs based on which future generations will be educated about the prevention and consequences of genocide. The adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution is an important civilizational step in the fight for truth and justice. We are convinced that this resolution is equally important for all of us together, for the world as much as for Bosnia and Herzegovina, because it unequivocally expresses, at a global level, condemnation of genocide, support for victims, prevention of genocide denial, and readiness to work together on genocide prevention.

It is very important that we break the false propaganda that tries to present this resolution as an attack on one people.

Serbs, Bosniaks, Croats, and Others, as well as all citizens of our country, are an integral part of Bosnian-Herzegovinian unity in diversity. It was like that and it will remain so. The resolution on the Srebrenica genocide is not a threat to the Serb people. There are no genocidal peoples. There are criminals who are responsible for genocide.

There is not a single sentence in this resolution that speaks of the collective responsibility of one people. This is the truth that must be spoken publicly. There is no justifiable reason for any country in the world not to support the proposed resolution on Srebrenica in the UN General Assembly. I call on those who are lobbying against the adoption of this resolution to stop doing so and to support its adoption.

The Srebrenica genocide, in the heart of Europe, must not be forgotten or denied. We must not allow it for the sake of humanity's future. By remembering, we also preserve the dignity of the victims. By remembering, we also fight for a secure future for new generations. This is a great test for the UN as well. This is also a matter of protecting the credibility of this highest international organization, whose highest courts have already rendered final verdicts on the Srebrenica genocide. I hope that UN member states will protect international law and send a global message that there is hope for a more just future for humanity," said Bećirović.

Komšić, in his address, stated that even the most malicious cannot find in this resolution any argumentation that we hear and see in the media space that this resolution is directed against any state, any people, or nation.

"Only those with ill intentions can draw such conclusions. The second thing I want to emphasize is the attempt, through this resolution, to prevent or try to prevent the denial of facts established by international courts that genocide was committed in Srebrenica. Commitment to the future is the message from this resolution, and commitment to that educational process so that future generations know what happened and can draw conclusions that are not burdened by hatred towards anyone. Denial of genocide and sowing the evil of denial is preparation for some new genocide.

Everything I have heard in recent days from those who are against this resolution, in the Balkans, in the region, and even here in New York, I can say that everything they present is denial of genocide. We can package it in cellophane, but beneath that cover lies the indisputable fact that refusing to support the resolution is denial of that genocide, despite the verdicts of international courts.

Does not accepting the fact that genocide was committed in Srebrenica mean that we are ready to accept new genocides and the results of those genocides.

I hope we are aware of the importance of this topic. Only truth can be healing, lies do not help.

I want to express my hope that the resolution will be supported. I thank you not as a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but as a Bosnian and Herzegovinian, and I thank you on behalf of my child," said Komšić.