Resolution on the Genocide in Srebrenica Adopted!

(Patria) - The United Nations General Assembly today voted on the Resolution on the Genocide in Srebrenica.

84 UN member states voted for the resolution at today's session in New York, while 19 voted against.


Outcome of the vote in the UN General Assembly

The adopted Resolution establishes July 11 as the International Day of Remembrance and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.

The Resolution consists of the following seven points:

- The General Assembly decides to proclaim July 11 as the International Day of Remembrance and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica;

- Unreservedly condemns any denial of the Srebrenica genocide and calls on member states to preserve established facts, including through educational systems by developing appropriate programs, also for the purpose of remembrance, prevention of denial and distortion of genocide;

- Unreservedly condemns acts that glorify convicted war crimes, crimes against humanity, including those responsible for the genocide in Srebrenica;

- Emphasizes the importance of completing the process of finding and identifying the remaining victims of the Srebrenica genocide and calls for the continued prosecution of perpetrators of genocide who have yet to face justice;

- Calls on all states to fully comply with their obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;

- Requests the Secretary-General to establish an information program titled 'The Srebrenica Genocide and the UN', thereby commencing its work to mark the 30th anniversary of the genocide;

- Calls on all member states, UN system organizations, NGOs, and academic organizations to observe the International Day, including by organizing special activities to remember and honor the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, as well as appropriate educational and awareness-raising activities about the genocide.

UN General Assembly resolutions are not binding, but they are interpreted as having political weight and reflecting the views of the body's members on the issue or topic for which they are adopted.

The adoption of the Resolution on the Genocide in Srebrenica was initiated by Germany and Rwanda, modeled after a similar resolution commemorating the genocide against the Tutsi people in Rwanda in 1994, and by the time of the vote, the document had 39 co-sponsors.