Bosnia Presidency Chairman Denis Becirovic and Presidency member Zeljko Komsic met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday, ahead of the upcoming vote on the Resolution on the 1995 Srebrenica Genocide before the UN General Assembly beginning of May.

Becirovic and Komsic thanked the UN official on the support to the activities and measures in the fight against the genocide denial, hate speech and glorification of war criminals in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

They pointed out the facts related to the Proposal of the Resolution on Srebrenica Genocide at the UN General Assembly and emphasised the fact that the international courts confirmed in final verdicts that genocide was committed against the Bosniaks in the UN safe area Srebrenica.

They also stressed the significance of the UN General Assembly adopting the resolution on the International Day of Reflection and Remembrance of the 1995 Srebrenica Genocide, noting that the adoption would also stress the significance of promoting the truth about the genocide.

Peacebuilding the main goal of the resolution

Guterres assessed as “absolutely unacceptable” any sort of the genocide denial, and expressed his full support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the meeting, Becirovic and Komsic stressed that the main goal of the resolution is to build peace, security and trust in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. Also, it was emphasised that the adoption of the document is important for preserving the credibility of the UN and pointing out the importance of respecting the verdicts of the UN courts, drawing lessons from the failure of the UN in preventing the genocide against the Bosniaks in Srebrenica, as well as pointing out the global importance of the genocide prevention.

They also recalled of the words Guterres, who said on the 25th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement, among other things, that building a future of peace requires facing the past, according to the press release issued by the Presidency Chairman's office.

Becirovic and Komsic also met with Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Alice Wairimu Nderitu, emphasising that the adoption of the resolution in the UN General Assembly would highlight the global importance of genocide prevention.

They also suggested that the leadership of Bosnia's Republika Srpska entity and the senior officials of Serbia should stop denying the final judgments of the UN courts and that they have an obligation to respect international law and the judgments of the UN courts.

UN's Nderitu said during the meeting that Srebrenica is a very important place for the whole world, and stressed that it is important to warn of the consequences that hate speech and denial of the genocide in Srebrenica can have.

She also recalled of her address during the commemoration of the 27th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, when she said that any denial of genocide makes reconciliation impossible, which is why it is important to work on criminalising the glorification of war criminals.