France voted in favor of the resolution to create a day of commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide [fr]

France supported today’s adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the resolution establishing an International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, to be observed every July 11.

This resolution calls for a duty of memory. It’s a collective responsibility, and France is playing its part.

This initiative, supported by Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Rwanda, reminds us that there can be no place for negationism, historical revisionism or the glorification of convicted war criminals. The text also emphasizes that, under international law, criminal responsibility for the crime of genocide is individual and cannot be attributed to any ethnic, religious or other group or community as a whole. This is an important point that we would like to solemnly emphasize here.

Beyond the commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide, and the memory of the 8,000 adults and children who were massacred, this international day must be an opportunity to remember and pay tribute to the many victims on all sides of the conflict.

Almost 30 years after the end of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, much remains to be done to achieve reconciliation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Western Balkans. France calls on the political leaders of the countries in this region to rise to this challenge.

It is up to us to think about the future, by making the creation of the International day of reflection and commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide an opportunity to work towards reconciling memories, on the basis of respect and solidarity towards all victims. This is the path we must choose for lasting peace.

France reaffirms its attachment to the integration of this region into the European Union, and recalls that the European project is based on the values of peace, justice and reconciliation between peoples.

Thank you for your attention.