International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica Date in the current year: July 11, 2024

The Bosnian War was one of the armed conflicts that broke out as a result of the breakup of Yugoslavia, collectively known as the Yugoslav Wars. Bosnia and Herzegovina, historically a multi-ethnic state inhabited primarily by Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats, held an independence referendum on February 29 and March 1, 1992, but it was boycotted by the Bosnian Serbs.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s declaration of independence on March 3 was followed by clashes between government forces and the Serbs, which escalated into a full-blown war between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb forces, supported by the Yugoslav People’s Army and the Serbian government led by Slobodan Milošević.

The main goal of the Bosnian Serbs was to create an ethnically homogeneous Serb state of Republika Srpska. To reach this goal, they subjected the non-Serb populations of the territories under Serb control to ethnic cleansing. The town of Srebernica was a predominantly Bosnian enclave in the envisioned ethic state populated by the Serbs. Fighting for Srebrenica began in April 1992, and for more than a year, Bosniaks resisted and refused to surrender.

In April 1993, Srebrenica was declared as a safe area by the UN Security Council. For the next three years, the humanitarian situation in the enclave continued to deteriorate to the point of catastrophic. All hell broke loose on July 6, 1995, when Srebrenica was attacked by the Army of Republika Srpska led by General Ratko Mladić.

Following the capture of the town on July 11, Serb forces deported about 30,000 Bosniak women and children, and then proceeded to massacre more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys, aged between 10 and 65. During the deportation, thousands of Bosniak women and young girls were raped by Serbian soldiers. Mass execution of men took place between July 13 and 22. After the war, the Bosnian Federal Commission of Missing Persons compiled a list of people missing or killed during the massacre, consisting of 8,327 names. As of July 2012, DNA analysis had helped to identify 6,838 victims.

July 11 was first designated as Srebrenica Genocide Memorial Day by the European Parliament in 2009. It was observed in the European Union and parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, except for Republika Srpska. In May 2024, the United Nation General Assembly designated July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica. The resolution, sponsored by Germany and Rwanda, was supported by 84 countries; 68 countries abstained and 19 voted against.

The main goals of the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica are to honor the memory of those who died in the massacre, highlight the importance of finding and identifying the remaining victims, and call for the continued prosecution of the perpetrators of the Srebrenica genocide who have yet to face justice.