Minister Konaković participates in the Summit for the Future: We all need to learn from the genocide committed in Srebrenica

(Patria) - The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konaković, is staying in New York from September 21 to 27, 2024, where he is participating in the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

On September 22, 2024, the first day of his stay at the UN, Minister Konaković participated in the Summit for the Future, where world leaders are discussing key challenges and strengthening global cooperation within four interactive dialogues. This event aims to achieve international consensus on improving the present and ensuring a better future.

Konaković addressed the audience during an interactive dialogue on the topic "Strengthening Multilateralism for International Peace and Security" and, based on our country's experiences, emphasized the importance of strengthening multilateralism.

In his speech, he pointed out that the example of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a lesson that the international community and the United Nations should never forget. Although Srebrenica was declared a "safe zone" under UN protection, a terrible genocide was committed when over 8,000 Bosniaks, men and boys, were brutally killed by Serbian paramilitary formations, which the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice declared an act of genocide. Strengthening multilateralism for international peace and security are not just abstract concepts for BiH, but a concrete example of the consequences when the international multilateral system fails.

Minister Konaković called on the attendees for their countries to implement the UN General Assembly resolution, adopted in May this year, which designates July 11 as the International Day of Remembrance and Commemoration of the Genocide committed in Srebrenica in 1995.
The observance of this day would not only be a remembrance but would ensure that we all learn from our past.

Minister Konaković emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina's contribution to strengthening multilateralism and commitment to peace has also been demonstrated through activities and initiatives during 2010 and 2011 when BiH was a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, as well as through support and participation in the collective efforts of other multilateral organizations such as NATO, the European Union, OSCE, OIC, and others. This is also evidenced by the fact that BiH is the first country in the Western Balkans to adopt the action plan for the "Women, Peace and Security" (WPS) program, established by Security Council Resolution 1325.

"Bosnia and Herzegovina is ready to work with all of you to ensure that the lessons from our history lead us all towards a better future for all of humanity," concluded the Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, Elmedin Konaković.