07/06/2020
25 years after the genocide of Srebrenica (July 11)
Children of Srebrenica send an appeal to the UN and the EU (Press Release)
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica on July 11, 1995, war children from Srebrenica and Bosnia and Herzegovina have sent an appeal to the international community and the organs and institutions of the United Nations. In the appeal, the now adult survivors of the genocide call on the international community to finally take the suffering of children in wars and conflicts seriously.
"Even in today's wars, children are the main victims", stated Jasna Causevic, expert on genocide prevention and the Responsibility to Protect at the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP). "50 million children are currently on the run. Thousands die of malnutrition, cold, and epidemics – and those who survive will face ruins." The children of Srebrenica hope that they can help children in similar situations, so that they will not have to go through the same suffering and despair that has ruled their lives for the last 25 years.
They criticize that politicians and the general public are not willing to acknowledge how bleak the future of children and young people looks. From their point of view, the war children of Bosnia and Herzegovina were betrayed twice: their parents were murdered, expelled, and mistreated in concentration camps, and the rest of the world failed to protect them as promised. Then, the rest of the world also failed to keep its promise to protect them (and other children affected by war and conflict) for the next twenty-five years.
That is why the children of Srebrenica are now calling for a special UN tribunal to punish crimes against children and young people – and for the establishment of a UN Youth Council. They insist that compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child has to be monitored, and that children must be freed from the inhumane conditions in the refugee camps. "In many of these camps, the situation of the children is catastrophic," Causevic stated. "There is hardly any schooling, which makes it even more difficult for them to work out a better future for themselves. In addition to the cold and malnutrition, there is also poor medical care – especially now, during the pandemic.
One week ago, the STP published a documentary on Srebrenica and the 25 years following the genocide crimes, covering a quarter of a century of suffering that the survivors have gone through since 1995. The documentation is available for download here.
On Friday, July 10, 2020 (starting at 11 am) the STP will commemorate the victims of the genocide with a memorial service and wreath-laying ceremony at the "Neue Wache", Unter den Linden 4, 10117 Berlin.
