UN resolution on Srebrenica genocide divides Balkan nations

"The UN resolution on the Srebrenica genocide met with mixed reactions in the Western Balkans region," reads Deutsche Welle.

Typically, decisions regarding remembrance days are unanimously made by the UN General Assembly. This time, however, it was different: out of 193 countries, 84 voted to establish the International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide, 19 countries voted against the resolution, and 68 abstained. While almost all European Union countries and the USA were in favour, Serbia, Russia, China, and Hungary—the only EU member state to do so—voted against it.

The reactions in the Western Balkan countries were accordingly divided. For Denis Becirovic, the Bosnian member of the three-member Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the adoption of the resolution is an "act of civilization," a "victory of truth and justice," and a "good reason for catharsis in the entire region of the Western Balkans." He stated, "I also want to say very clearly that there are no genocidal nations. War criminals must not hide behind entire nations."

The Croatian member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina presidency, Željko Komšić, also believes that the adoption of the resolution is an "opportunity for all socially responsible people in Bosnia and Herzegovina to build a new approach to genocide on a civilized level." He said, "Bosnia and Herzegovina will become stronger, and a strong Bosnia is a guarantee that genocide will not be repeated."

Serbian politicians in the country see it differently. "Two-thirds of the world's population did not support the resolution on Srebrenica," said Željka Cvijanović, the Serbian member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. "Many countries pointed out that this resolution was adopted without consensus," she added.

The President of Republika Srpska, the smaller entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, who has long cultivated nationalist and separatist rhetoric, also strongly condemned the adoption of the resolution. In Srebrenica, he told journalists that there was no genocide there. By doing so, he violated both the resolution’s intent and Bosnian law, which forbids genocide denial.

He said that the initiators of the vote "didn't even have a majority" and labelled the resolution as a failure. "The plan to impose genocide and moral disqualification on the Serbs has failed," stated Dodik, once again calling for the "peaceful separation" of the Serbian part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In Serbia, the official stance portrays the resolution as an attempt to stigmatize the entire country and the Serbian nation collectively. However, the text of the resolution, introduced by Germany and Rwanda, does not mention Serbia, Serbs, or collective guilt at all.

This resolution is "not against Serbia, a valued member of this Organization. If at all, it is directed against perpetrators of the genocide," emphasized Antje Leendertse, the German Ambassador to the UN, during the presentation of the text. "It is about commemorating the victims, supporting their descendants, and banning the denial of this genocide and the glorification of the perpetrators," she added.

Nevertheless, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić viewed the resolution as an attack on his country. He accused Germany of "giving moral lessons to all those with a different opinion". He stressed that the resolution would not lead to reconciliation and better understanding among people in the Western Balkans region but would instead "just open an old wound and create complete political havoc. Not only in our region but even here, in this hall." Referring to the Holocaust, he provocatively asked, "Why don't these people start talking about the genocide committed by their own country?"

After the vote, however, Vučić expressed satisfaction. He combined the abstentions with the votes against and portrayed the outcome as a "great Serbian victory." "The people who wanted to stigmatize the Serbian nation have failed, and they will never succeed," he declared triumphantly.

Many Bosniaks likely found this statement cynical. Vučić was the Minister of Information under the dictator Slobodan Milošević and, in July 1995, had threatened in the Belgrade parliament that Serbia would "kill a hundred Muslims for every murdered Serb."

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Siniša Mali expressed disappointment with the UN General Assembly's decision. "A crime was committed against Serbia, our nation was labelled in a way it does not deserve, and it was done by the modern world, which talks so much about democracy and development," said Mali.

In New York, Serbia had a strong ally. Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzia referenced Germany's past as an aggressor in two world wars and its responsibility for the Holocaust and the genocide of the Herero and Nama in today's Namibia at the beginning of the 20th century. "We are convinced that Germany does not possess the moral authority even to mention the concept of genocide to describe anything other than its heinous crimes," stated Nebenzia.

As one of the signatory countries, Croatia welcomed the resolution on the Srebrenica genocide, while Slovenia described it as a "historic moment."

In contrast, in Kosovo, the outcome of the vote in the UN General Assembly was commented on differently, as expected. Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti welcomed the resolution and emphasized Serbia's responsibility for peace in the Balkans. At the same time, he called for additional efforts to bring all perpetrators to justice. Meanwhile, in the northern part of the Kosovan city of Mitrovica, Serbs protested against adopting the resolution, waving large Serbian flags from a convoy of several dozen cars.