EU rights body for declaration of July 11 as Srebrenica genocide day

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) – The European human rights body has called for July 11 to be declared an official day of remembrance for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide.

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights said that it is important to remember the victims and fight against the denial of the genocide.

The genocide occurred in 1995 when more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed by Serb forces in Srebrenica, then a U.N.-declared safe area.

Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic said the genocide was a dark chapter in Europe’s shared history.

She also said the international community must do more to prevent future genocides.

“That a genocide was committed in Srebrenica is not a matter of opinion, it is a historical fact, legally established by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Court of Justice, and domestic courts,” said Mijatovic.

“In the face of widespread denial of the Srebrenica genocide, it is high time for the international community to stop looking the other way. Establishing a day of remembrance would show that the international community stands on the side of the truth and in solidarity with the survivors and families of the victims,” she said.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) ruled in 2007 that genocide was committed in Srebrenica.

The bodies of the genocide’s victims were found in 570 different parts of the country.

General Ratko Mladic, who was commander of the Bosnian Serb forces during the genocide, was found guilty of genocide and sentenced to life in prison.