Office for the Coordination of Bosniak Councils from the Region: Adoption of the Resolution is a step forward for the world in the right direction

(Patria) - The Office for the Coordination of Bosniak Councils, which brings together Bosniak councils and organizations from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, North Macedonia, the United States, Canada, and Bosniak representatives in the Consultative Council of Kosovo Communities, expresses gratitude to the United Nations General Assembly, which, at its session held on May 23, 2024, adopted the Resolution on Commemoration of the Genocide committed against Bosniaks in Srebrenica on July 11, 1995.

We express special gratitude to the 84 countries that voted in favor of the Resolution, and in the coming period, we will strengthen cooperation with governmental and non-governmental organizations of these countries to bring the Resolution to life through various programmatic and project activities. We remind that almost all governments of the 68 countries that voted "abstain" clearly stated that genocide was committed in Srebrenica, but also aware that by voting in this manner, they represented the interests of those countries in the context of current geostrategic and geopolitical developments in the world, and therefore, we should not give up on discussions and meetings to explain to the societies in those countries the essence of the adopted Resolution and its long-term consequences and effects.

Certainly, for the sake of correctness and due to the voting and decision-making rules in the UN General Assembly, it should be known that the countries that abstained ultimately supported the adoption of the Resolution, because if they had voted against it, which they could have, the Resolution would not have been adopted.

We owe it to ourselves, to the Bosniak victims of genocide in the UN Safe Zone of Srebrenica, and to the historical context to express deep disappointment towards the 19 state governments whose ambassadors at the UN voted against the Resolution, despite being informed in the same way and under the same circumstances about the irrefutable evidence, facts, and final verdicts for the crime of genocide. It is necessary to note that the final verdicts for the crime of genocide by UN courts were rendered based on irrefutable and relevant documents, valid facts, material evidence, relevant testimonies, scientifically and legally verified expert analyses, forensic confirmations, and finally, the bodies (and sometimes only parts of skeletal remains) of 8,372 victims of genocide, of whom, unfortunately, a large number of the remains of genocide victims have not yet been found.

The final verdicts of the ICTY convicted the highest political and military officials of the Republika Srpska entity, as well as certain officials from the then state leadership of Serbia, and by the verdict of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Serbia is, for now, the only country in the world, convicted under the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Serbia, its leadership, and President Vučić had the opportunity to distance themselves clearly from the criminal and genocidal policy of the Serbian regime from the 1990s by supporting the Resolution, but they did not do so; instead, through their actions, they did everything to prevent the adoption of the Resolution. This can only be explained by the fact that the current Serbian authorities remain on the side of those who were actors of the Greater Serbia project and aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, during which genocide was committed. The propaganda from Serbia and the RS entity in BiH, which seeks to portray that someone is declaring the Serbian people "genocidal" with this Resolution, is a shameful, vile, and the most terrible designed fabricated untruth that Serbia and the Serbian people in the Western Balkan countries are facing.

Given that Srebrenica is part of the RS entity in BiH, we consider it necessary to demand that the institutions of BiH, the OHR, and the PIC immediately and without delay provide all necessary protection to Bosniaks in Podrinje and urgently sanction policies that deny genocide and glorify convicted war criminals.

At the same time, we want to clearly state that a large number of civil society organizations, representatives of political opposition parties, and social activists from all strata of Serbian society have defended civilizational values, loudly and clearly demanding that Serbia also vote for the Resolution, rejecting the dishonorable criminal policy of the 1990s as a dark stain on its past, seeking forgiveness from the victims of genocide, and sending a clear message to the world that the criminal Serbian regime from the 1990s did not act in the name of the Serbian people and the Serbian state, as the current authorities of Serbia and the RS entity wish to portray.

For the domestic and international public, we want to emphasize that the genocide committed in the UN Safe Zone of Srebrenica in July 1995 was committed not only against Bosniaks from the municipality of Srebrenica but also against Bosniaks who were in the territory of the UN Safe Zone of Srebrenica in July 1995, and who were previously expelled from the municipalities of Vlasenica, Bratunac, Zvornik, Milići, Han Pijesak, etc. (the area of 14 Podrinje municipalities), so it can be precisely stated that genocide was committed against the Bosniaks of the UN Safe Zone of Srebrenica - genocide committed against the Bosniaks from the Podrinje region.

The adopted Resolution has a historical and cultural character rather than a legal one, and therefore should be viewed in that context. The activities of the Bosniak councils will be focused on memorializing the victims of genocide, especially from the aspect of organizing various project activities and necessary educational programs in the school systems of our countries. Special activities will be directed towards the fight against genocide deniers and those who glorify war criminals who are most responsible for the committed genocide.

Bosniaks in all the countries of the region where they live, work, and act as an indigenous people, together with their compatriots in Bosnia and Herzegovina, will be a factor of stabilization, integration, and improvement of the protection of human rights and freedoms of every citizen, regardless of their national or religious group. The construction of the states in which we live should be based on the richness of diversity, and societies of common values are the goal we strive for. The adopted Resolution is indeed an important international document that encourages and supports us in our goal.