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On this day, July 11, 2024, the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities (AIPG) commemorates the 29th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide. Recognized by the United Nations as the largest massacre in Europe since the Holocaust, these tragic events not only prompted a ceasefire that ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) but also inflicted profound emotional wounds on survivors, victims' families, and society at large. These enduring scars have presented significant challenges to reconciliation efforts among the country's diverse ethnic groups.
After Tito's death in 1980, ethnic nationalism surged, ultimately leading to the breakup of the country along ethnic lines. In June 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared independence, triggering armed conflicts. BiH held a referendum on independence in February 1992, with an overwhelming 99.7% vote in favor. Despite Bosnian Serb leadership boycotts, independence was declared on March 1, 1992, and internationally recognized by April of the same year. Subsequently, Serb forces seized Sarajevo, which initiated a four-year-long campaign of terror and persecution, marking the onset of the Bosnian War.
On July 2, 1995, elements of the Bosnian Serb Army (Vojska Republike Srpske or VRS), under the leadership of Ratko Mladić, attacked the UN "safe haven" of Srebrenica. This attack on the enclave continued until July 11, when the VRS systematically rounded up the ill-equipped UN peacekeepers and executed over 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in a campaign of genocide, disposing of their bodies in mass graves. In addition, tens of thousands of Bosniak women, children, and elderly civilians were forcibly expelled from their homes and communities and subjected to numerous abuses during this process of ethnic cleansing.
After the massacre, the VRS made deliberate efforts to conceal evidence by relocating victims' remains under cover of darkness to secondary and tertiary gravesites, necessitating extensive forensic work for identification even now, nearly three decades later.
The pain and injustice of Srebrenica remain seared into global consciousness. Victims and survivors continue to grieve immense losses, while perpetrators employed extensive efforts to conceal their crimes from the world. It was only through years of arduous legal proceedings that some measures of justice and accountability were upheld. In 2007, the International Court of Justice ruled the atrocities at Srebrenica constituted genocide based on evidence of intent by the VRS perpetrators. In 2017, UN courts convicted the VRS commander, Ratko Mladić, of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for Srebrenica and other atrocities during the 1992-1995 Bosnian conflict. His life sentence was upheld on appeal in 2021. In May 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing an annual International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide on July 11.
Today, on this 29th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide, amidst an unprecedented climate of global volatility, proliferating hate speech, genocide denial, and the glorification of war criminals, the Auschwitz Institute solemnly remembers and honors the victims of Srebrenica and their families. Recognizing that prevention is an ongoing responsibility, AIPG reaffirms its commitment to them by using the legacy of the Srebrenica Genocide to fight against mass atrocities worldwide and to continue seeking justice for all those affected.
