Editorial
The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide, occurred in July 1995 during the Bosnian War. It was a genocidal massacre of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica. The killings were perpetrated by units of the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of Ratko Mladić. Before the massacre, the United Nations had declared the besieged enclave of Srebrenica a “safe area” under UN protection. However, a contingent of 370 lightly armed Dutchbat soldiers from the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) failed to prevent the town’s capture and subsequent massacre.
The victims’ names are recorded in a list compiled by the Bosnian Federal Commission of Missing Persons, which contains 8,372 names. Through DNA analysis of body parts recovered from mass graves, 6,838 genocide victims have been identified as of July 2012. The Memorial Centre of Potočari has buried 6,671 bodies, while another 236 have been buried elsewhere. Some Serbs have claimed that the massacre was retaliation for civilian casualties inflicted on Serbs by Bosniak soldiers from Srebrenica under the command of Naser Orić. However, these claims have been rejected and condemned by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the UN as bad faith attempts to justify the genocide. In 2004, the ICTY ruled that the massacre constituted genocide under international law, a ruling upheld by the International Court of Justice in 2007.
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The genocide in Srebrenica left deep emotional scars on survivors, families of victims, and Bosnian society, hindering reconciliation among different ethnic groups. As we approach the thirtieth anniversary of this tragedy in 2025, it remains essential to remember the victims and prevent denial and revisionism of this horrific event. United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, has expressed concern about the ongoing denial of the Srebrenica genocide and the glorification of convicted war criminals1. A day of reflection and commemoration is crucial to honour the lives lost and ensure that such atrocities are never forgotten.
In May 2024, The UN General Assembly, in a resolution sponsored by Germany and Rwanda, designated 11 July as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.
