Proclaiming 11 July the European Commemorative Day for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide on 11 July 1995

Tabled by Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Gisela Kallenbach, Angelika Beer, Raül Romeva i Rueda, Cem Özdemir, Sepp Kusstatscher and Joost Lagendijk

on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its resolution of 7 July 2005 on 'The Balkans: 10 years after Srebrenica',

– having regard to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and Bosnia and Herzegovina signed on 16 June 2008 and the prospect of EU membership held out to all the countries of the western Balkans at the EU summit in Thessaloniki in 2003,

– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas in July 1995 the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, which was at the time an isolated enclave proclaimed a Protected Zone by the United Nations Security Council resolution of 16 April 1993, fell into the hands of the Serbian militias led by General Ratko Mladi? under the direction of the then president of the Republika Srpska Radovan Karadži?,

B. whereas on 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 July more than 8000 men were massacred and nearly 25 000 women, children and elderly people were forcibly deported,

C. whereas this tragedy, declared an act of genocide by the ICTY, took place in a UN-proclaimed safe haven, and therefore stands as a symbol of the impotence of the international community to intervene in the conflict and protect the civilian population,

D. having regard to the multiple violations of the Geneva Convention perpetrated by Bosnian Serb troops against Srebrenica's civilian population, including deportations of thousands of women, children and elderly people and the rape of a large number of women,

E. whereas in spite of the enormous efforts made to date to discover and exhume mass and individual graves and identify the bodies of the victims, the searches conducted until now do not permit a complete reconstruction of the events in and around Srebrenica,

F. whereas there cannot be real peace without justice and whereas full and unrestricted cooperation with the ICTY remains a basic requirement for further continuation of the process of integration into the EU for the countries of the western Balkans,

G. whereas General Radislav Krsti? of the Bosnian Serb army is the first person found guilty by the ICTY of aiding and abetting the Srebrenica genocide, but the most prominent indicted person, Ratko Mladi?, is still at large twelve years after the tragic events,

H. whereas the shortcomings in the EU decision-making mechanisms and the lack of a genuine common foreign and security policy also played a negative role in the course of events,

I. whereas the ineffectiveness and inadequacy of the international organisations were fatal for the inhabitants of Srebrenica and demonstrate the urgent need for better preparation and coordination of international peacekeeping and peace enforcement operations and specifically the need to share intelligence and information, the lack of which was clearly at the root of the total failure of the Dutch contingent to protect the enclave,

J. whereas it is necessary to raise awareness of these tragic events all over Europe and to achieve public recognition of responsibilities in the western Balkans in order to rebuild mutual confidence and resume a lasting dialogue between the countries of the region,

1. Takes the view that the massacre that took place in 1995 in Srebrenica is a constantly open wound in the history of Europe that should be duly remembered in order to prevent any recurrence;

2. Commemorates and honours the victims of the atrocities; expresses its condolences to and solidarity with the families of the victims, many of whom are living without final confirmation of the fate of their fathers, sons, husbands or brothers; recognises that this continuing pain is aggravated by the failure to bring those responsible for these acts to justice;

3. Calls on the Council and Commission to commemorate appropriately the anniversary of the Srebrenica-Poto?ari act of genocide by supporting the European Parliament's recognition of 11 July as the day of commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide all over the EU and in all the countries of the western Balkans;

4. Expresses its full support for the valuable and difficult work of the ICTY, stresses that bringing to justice those responsible for the massacres in and around Srebrenica is an important step towards peace and stability in the region and stresses once again that full cooperation with the ICTY is a precondition for all the countries in the region to enjoy closer relations with the EU and for the start of the accession process;

5. Underlines the importance of securing peace and stability in the western Balkans and the need for a genuine reconciliation process to commence, as part of the European integration process; urges all countries to make further efforts to come to terms with a difficult and troubled past;

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its entities, and the governments and parliaments of the countries of the western Balkans.