Skopje, 15 April 2024 (MIA) – North Macedonia will join the United States and Germany among others as a co-sponsor a United Nations resolution declaring July 11 as an international day of remembrance and commemoration of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, which will be commemorated annually, Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani told a news conference Monday.

The resolution is set to be presented at the UN General Assembly on April 17 before it is passed on May 2. 

The resolution, said Osmani, will cite the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), the UN Resolution 827 on the establishment of an international tribunal for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia as well as eight verdicts of the Tribunal convicting Krstic, Mladic and Karadzic for their crimes against Bosnian Muslims and the 2007 decision of the International Court of Justice to recognize the Srebrenica massacre as genocide. 

“Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide in 2025, in which at least 8,372 lives were lost, we call on the UN General Assembly to pass the resolution declaring July 11 as an international day for the remembrance and commemoration of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, to condemn any denial of the genocide all the while calling all UN members to keep and spread the facts through the educational system by developing special programs aimed at remembering and preventing such an atrocity from happening ever again,” said the Minister.  

Asked how it might affect the country’s relations with Serbia following President Aleksandar Vucic’s statement he would continue to refer to some countries as partners, not as friends, Osmani said he didn’t expect the passage to affect the two countries’ relations. 

“I think it is important for Serbia for this resolution to be passed in order for the fact to be recognized and promoted, because all decisions of the international courts and bodies acknowledge that a genocide had taken place in Srebrenica. I call on Serbia to adopt this resolution alongside other UN members. I don’t expect the passage of the resolution to affect the relations with any country because it condemns genocide,” stated Osmani. 

The resolution has been supported by over 17 countries, according to the Foreign Ministry, including Slovenia, Italy, Lichtenstein, Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands, Albania, Turkey, Jordan, Malesia, Chile and New Zealand. 

Photo: MIA