On this day – July 11 – 28 years ago,Bosnian Serb forces methodically targeted and murdered thousands of Bosniak boys and men in and around Srebrenica.
My family – in the town of Bihac – endured the horrors of starvation,bombings,dehumanisation,and a relentless siege by a dual military endeavour of Bosnian Serb and Serbian forces. To our disbelief,the perpetrators included individuals we had once considered teachers,classmates and even friends.
Permanently scarred by nearly 1200 days of siege,I – aged 20 – left everything I knew to seek a better future in the United States. In the years since I have hoped that at the very least the horrors I and so many others encountered in Srebrenica,Bihać and many other sites of mass atrocities,would prevent future genocides. But my hopes were futile.
In February last year,the world reeled as Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine,employing that has sparked the most appalling instances of war crimes and in living memory. In April 2022,when Russian forces withdrew from,it revealed a harrowing scene of murder and torture. Numerous bodies were uncovered,including those of children.
Yet,these brutalities are not confined to Ukraine. Beginning in 2014,the Chinese government has targeted the Muslim Uyghur population of Xinjiang in a systematic campaign of cultural vandalism,imprisonment,and forced sterilisation. Despite being determined a by the United Kingdom,France,the United States,and Canada (Australia has fallen just),the region of Xinjiang,located in the far east of the country,still witnesses a significant decline in population.
But why haven’t we learnt from the horrors of Srebrenica?
A surge in identity-based violence engulfs the globe. Delays and inadequacies in the administration of justice,a troubling spread of genocide denial,and the inability to effectively undermine targeting marginalised communities further fuel targeted violence.
The pursuit of justice for Srebrenica’s victims and other heinous war crimes in Bosnia stands as a testament to the slow progress in delivering accountability. For example,,the Serbian president accused of genocide and war crimes in Bosnia,Croatia,and Kosovo,died before a verdict could be reached.
To prevent these grievous injustices,global leaders must commit to bolstering the mechanisms involved in investigating,apprehending,and prosecuting individuals responsible for genocide and war crimes. The recent landmark of Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic,high-ranking Serbian government officials,validate that Serbia was not only the direct aggressor,but operated with the intent to eradicate non-Serbs permanently throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
That is why we should encourage the establishment of the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (),which aims to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine. However,it is also crucial to provide stronger enforcement assistance to courts like the International Criminal Court (ICC).
However,even if and when justice is served,the lasting impact on genocide survivors remains. And nothing is more triggering than genocide denial.
In Bosnia,despite the overwhelming evidence and convictions of Bosnian Serb and Serbian and leaders,widespread genocide denial persists among Serb nationalists and their. This troubling trend echoes in Ukraine,where Russia deflected the blame for the Bucha atrocities onto Ukrainian forces,a that has garnered support from millions of pro-Russian sympathisers worldwide.
And here is why the Western world should be particularly concerned. The xenophobic political discourse prevalent in places like the UK and the US resembles the employed to rationalise the 1990s eradication of Bosniaks.
Alarmingly,these narratives of othering,supremacy,and dehumanisation have been exploited by far-right actors to attract new recruits and condition their mindsets to perpetrate acts of violence in and targeted killings in,the United States,and Europe.
To prevent this rise in extremism,targeted violence,and hate,state actors must adopt resolutions which recognise historical and ongoing genocides. But we can’t stop there. We must also redouble our efforts to actively address the detrimental narratives that lay the foundation for genocide in the first place.
I currently am the director of the which exists in collaboration with the – the world’s largest Islamic NGO. Spearheaded by secretary-general,the MWL has become instrumental in countering extremism. Dr Al-Issa is a prominent figure in interfaith coexistence and a pioneer in counter-hate initiatives. In 2020,he became the most prominent Islamic leader to visit and has since actively tried to combat Holocaust denialism and anti-Semitism across the Muslim world.
With the MWL’s help,I have established a first-of-its-kind research laboratory that develops evidence-based educational programs that effectively undermine violence and extremism targeting individuals based on their race,ethnicity,or religion.
In partnership with the,my team and I have also crafted a comprehensive training for American teachers to provide educators with the necessary tools to prevent violence and cultivate resilience to hate from a very young age.
I have witnessed the devastating consequences that arise when narratives of and supremacy are allowed to persist. As we commemorate the anniversary of Srebrenica,it is imperative world leaders,educators,policymakers,and civil society figures take bold and concrete actions to pursue justice and fight the rise of extremism.
If not,this century could become as bloody as the last.
Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess is a Bosnian genocide survivor,award-winning author,and a distinguished professor at Columbia University.
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