Motion for a resolution - B6-0025/2009Motion for a resolution
B6-0025/2009

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

7.1.2009

to wind up the debate on statements by the Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Salvatore Tatarella, Ryszard Czarnecki, Konrad Szymański, Hanna Foltyn-Kubicka and Adam Bielan
on behalf of the UEN Group
on the commemoration of 11 July as a day of remembrance for the victims of the massacre in Srebrenica

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B6-0022/2009

Procedure : 2009/2502(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B6-0025/2009

B6‑0025/2009

European Parliament resolution on the commemoration of 11 July as a day of remembrance for the victims of the massacre in Srebrenica

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Treaty on European Union,

–  having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,

–  having regard to the UN Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,

–  having regard to UN Security Council Resolutions 827 of 25 May 1993, 1244 of 10 June 1999, 1551 of 9 July 2004 and 1575 of 22 November 2004,

–  having regard to the report by the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Carla del Ponte, to the UN Security Council of 13 June 2005,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on country-regionplaceBosnia and Herzegovina and, in particular, its resolution of 7 July 2005 on 'The Balkans: 10 years after Srebrenica',

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

A.  whereas on 11 July 1995 the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, which had been proclaimed a safe area by the UN Security Council Resolution of 16 April 1993, fell to the Bosnian Serb forces led by General Ratko Mladić and under the direction of the then president of the Republika Srpska, Radovan Karadžić,

B.  whereas, during several days of carnage after the fall of Srebrenica, around 8000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys, who had sought safety in this area under the protection of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), were summarily executed by Bosnian Serb forces commanded by General Mladić and by paramilitary units, including Serbian irregular police units which had entered Bosnian territory from Serbia,

C.  whereas the Bosnian Serb troops also perpetrated multiple violations of the Geneva Convention against Srebrenica's Muslim civilians, including deportations of thousands of women, children and elderly people and the rape of a large number of women,

D.  whereas this massacre, which was declared an act of genocide by the ICTY, demonstrates the inability of the international community to intervene in the conflict and protect the innocent and furthermore demonstrates the extreme cruelty and disregard for human life that can arise in an armed conflict,

E.  whereas the institutionalisation of a day of remembrance seems to be the best means of paying tribute to the victims of the massacre and sending a clear message to future generations,

1.  Condemns in the strongest possible terms the Srebrenica massacre; 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 beloved;

2.  Stresses that all parties involved in any way in this tragic event, including NATO, can learn a lesson from the Srebrenica massacre and avoid repeating in the future the mistakes and atrocities committed in July 1995;

3.  Calls on the Council and the Commission to commemorate appropriately the Srebrenica-Potočari act of genocide and proposes that 11 July could in future be declared a day of remembrance for the victims of the Srebrenica massacre;

4.  Hopes that the introduction of this commemoration day could also be useful to prevent acts of such extreme inhumanity in all future conflicts and that it could be interpreted in Bosnia and Herzegovina as an attempt to reflect on the past of the country and to achieve definitive reconciliation between the two ethnic communities which are still opposed and are divided on the future political configuration of Bosnia and Herzegovina;

5.  Recognises the progress accomplished in its difficult work by the ICTY, which has brought to justice some of those responsible for the massacres; nevertheless considers that this work must be completed and in this respect calls on the new democratic governments in the Balkans, and in particular the Serbian and Bosnian Governments, to fully cooperate with the ICTY, recalling that such cooperation is a precondition for all the countries in the region to enjoy closer relations with the EU;

6.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government and Parliament of Bosnia and placecountry-regionHerzegovina, the parliaments and governments of the other western Balkan countries and the Secretary General of the UN.