51³Ô¹Ï

women listening to man reading off list
In 1995, a government soldier reads out the names of confirmed survivors or escapees from the fallen city of Srebrenica.
Photo:? UNICEF

The genocide in Srebrenica

The war that followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia claimed more than 100,000 lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995, mostly of Bosnian Muslims, and displaced more than two million others.

The massacre in Srebrenica marked one of the darkest chapters of that war.

In July 1995, the Bosnian Serb army overran Srebrenica - previously declared a safe area under - and brutally murdered thousands of men and teenagers there. The remainder of the Bosnian Muslim population present in Srebrenica ¨C approximately 25,000 women, children and elderly - were forcibly transferred out of the enclave.

This was the largest massacre in Europe since the Holocaust.

To date, only a few events have been determined by competent judicial bodies to constitute genocide. The  (ICJ) and the (ICTY) recognized the massacre of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica by the army of Republika Srpska as an act of genocide.

Remembering the victims

The genocide left deep emotional scars on the survivors, families of victims, and the Bosnian and Herzegovinian society in general, creating enduring obstacles to reconciliation among the country¡¯s different ethnic groups.

2025 will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, in which at least 8,372 lives were lost, thousands were displaced and families and communities were devastated.

51³Ô¹Ï Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu has expressed her concern over continuous incidents of revisionism concerning atrocity crimes perpetrated during the 1992-1995 conflict, including unabated denial of the Srebrenica genocide and glorification of convicted war criminals.

A day of reflection and commemoration

In May 2024, The UN General Assembly, in a sponsored by Germany and Rwanda, designated 11 July as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.

The Assembly also asked the Secretary-General to establish an outreach programme on the Srebrenica genocide in preparation for the 30th anniversary.

It further condemned any denial of the Srebrenica genocide as a historical event and called on Member States to preserve the established facts, including through their educational systems, towards preventing denial and distortion, and any occurrence of genocide in the future.

The inaugural observance is being marked with a high-level commemorative event, organized by the Permanent Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the UN General Assembly hall at 11 am EDT on 11 July 2024.

Watch

Srebrenica Genocide: No Room for Denial

 

Remembering Genocide: The Mothers of Srebrenica

Resources

icon of hand whose fingers turn to candles

The International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime, 9 December, marks the anniversary of the 1948 . The Convention signifies the international community¡¯s commitment to ¡°never again¡± and provides the first international legal definition of genocide. 

One of the many children in the audience during the screening of a documentary film on the repatriation of former combatants to Rwanda.

The Outreach Programme on the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the 51³Ô¹Ï focuses on preventing genocide by learning the lessons of the genocide in order to help prevent similar acts in the future, and supporting survivors, by raising awareness of the lasting impact of the genocide, particularly on widows, orphans and victims of sexual violence, and the challenges that they still face today.

an abstract illustration of people engaged in an event

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the 51³Ô¹Ï, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.