UNITED NATIONS: Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, has said that denial of genocide and glorifying war criminals continue to present a “serious challenge” to efforts of reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Pointing to persistent reports of revisionism concerning atrocious crimes committed during the three-year-long conflict that began in 1992, she also raised concerns over the recent incidents reported after a decision to amend the Law on the Center for the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial and Cemetery for the Victims of the 1995 Genocide.
More than 7,000 Bosnian Muslim boys and men were massacred by Bosnkan Serbs in Srebrenica – a town in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina – in July 1995. Additionally, more than 20,000 civilians were also expelled from the area.
“The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia determined conclusively that a genocide was committed in Srebrenica,” Nderitu said.
“Genocide-denial is an affront to international law and justice and to the dignity of the victims and survivors whose loved ones were killed simply because of who they were.”
The advisor said survivors and other civil society actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina were tackling the denial of genocide, human rights violations, war crimes and promoting sustainable peace, and reconciliation in the country.
These stakeholders were working tirelessly for a future where division, denial and hate has no place, she added, encouraging all political, religious, and community leaders to support such activities and to lead by example in using their voices for the promotion of a constructive dialogue based on trust, respect, and dignity.
UN policy paper
Nderitu noted that the UN policy paper Combating Holocaust and Genocide Denial, issued in 2022, provides a framework for action.
“The most serious cases of Holocaust and genocide denial can lead to an incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence, and to genocide,” the policy paper said. “Historical experience indicates that such violence often includes denial of past violations and is almost always comes before online and offline hate speech.”
The paper also contains targeted guidance and ways forward to address genocide denial for key actors like governments, the UN system, and social media companies, she said. — APP
