Sasa Mart, a member of the permanent mission of Serbia to the United Nations in New York, sent a letter to the delegations of Germany and Rwanda over the calls for the adoption of the Resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica. In the letter, he asked several questions which, as he says, require answers.

You can read the entire letter below:

“I am writing to you in connection with the invitation that you extended to the member states, on behalf of the co-sponsors of the proposed Resolution “International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica,” to submit comments and amendments in written form to the revised text of the resolution (Rev.1) that was distributed on 25 April.

I need to emphasize once again that despite the meeting held on 17 April, where the co-sponsors presented the draft resolution, as well as the first informal consultations held on 23 April, we have not received answers from the co-sponsors to the repeatedly asked questions:

– Why was the initiative launched without an agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina and without the consent of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as prescribed by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina?
– Why were Serbia and other countries of the region, which are concerned the most with reconciliation, peace and security in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, not invited in good faith to be in the core group of initiators of the resolution?

As is well known, without going into the substance of the proposed text, many member states have been expressing their concerns in recent weeks about the way in which this initiative is being pursued. Moreover, the member states are put in a position to decide by voting on an issue that requires consensus, and on which consensus has always been reached in the UN General Assembly so far. The Republic of Serbia is not in a position to comment on the details of the proposed text, which is not the “state ownership” of the state it refers to.

It is well known that a house is not built from the roof, and in the situation we are in, this initiative lacks an agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a “foundation” on which we could build a substantial consensus on the text. Bearing in mind all of the above, I once again call on the sponsors of the resolution to withdraw the proposed text, so that the above could be discussed at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region in the first place, aiming for an agreement at the level of the region, just as was the case with the UN General Assembly resolution on genocide in Rwanda (58/234), that would enable the adoption of the resolution by consensus in the UN General Assembly.

Given that after two meetings open to all UN member states, the co-sponsors, as far as we are aware, are planning to continue negotiations on the draft resolution, including on amendments and submitted comments, at the level of the group of co-sponsors, the Republic of Serbia wishes to share its comments with all UN member states in the spirit of transparency, which has been lacking in this process from the beginning.

Awaiting a response from the co-sponsors to the specific questions asked, I extend to you my kind regards. Yours sincerely, Mr. Sasa Mart Chargé d'affaires ad interim.”