On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, war children from Srebrenica and Bosnia and Herzegovina called upon the international community, EU and the United Nations urging them to elevate youth matters to the international level and help protect youth's rights across the world.

“Mr President, Mr Secretary-General, Honoured representatives of the International Community … We are speaking to you not just on our own behalf but for children and young people in other parts of the world whose lives are blighted by conflict and war. Many of us have been forced to flee our homes and endure the miseries of life in refugee camps … Some of us are only here because our mothers were victims of wartime rape. As children, we feel unwanted. We urgently need your support and assistance,” the children of Srebrenica and Bosnia wrote, among other things.

They warned of the 50 million children worldwide who are refugees, who die in their thousands of malnutrition, cold and epidemic diseases, etc.

“The inability of adults to live at peace with one another has left us facing a very difficult future and all too often a legacy of hatred. We are crushed by disappointment and often consumed by anger,” the letter said.

“We who have been or continue to be victims of war and displacement need you to take action without delay. We have survived all the pain and suffering that war and displacement have caused us but now we want to be able to grow up in peace like other children, protected and safeguarded and with a decent future ahead of us. We want to construct a better world for ourselves and our own children and so we are calling on you today to keep the promises that you made to us in the past and to help us,” children of Srebrenica and Bosnia added. 

Their demands are:

– To set up a Tribunal for the special purpose of dealing with crimes committed against children and young people, to create a U.N. Youth Council, and to urge all national governments to appoint their own Ombudsman for children's rights.

– To ensure universal respect for the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

– To help refugee children and guarantee them a safe existence in decent conditions.

– To allow children and youth to have their say, at both the local and international levels, on matters of politics, economics, science, education and culture, and to encourage them to become involved and contribute as equals.

The letter was signed by Ajna Jusic, Emina Boracic and Nurdin Mustafic on behalf of the war children of Srebrenica and Bosnia and Herzegovina.