Motion for a resolution - B8-0718/2015Motion for a resolution
B8-0718/2015

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the Srebrenica commemoration

7.7.2015 - (2015/2747(RSP))

to wind up the debate on the statement by the President
pursuant to Rule 123(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Ivan Jakovčić, Jozo Radoš, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Dita Charanzová, Marielle de Sarnez, Juan Carlos Girauta Vidal, Petr Ježek, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Louis Michel, Javier Nart, Urmas Paet, Maite Pagazaurtundúa Ruiz, Marietje Schaake, Pavel Telička, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Ivo Vajgl on behalf of the ALDE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0716/2015

Procedure : 2015/2747(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B8-0718/2015
Texts tabled :
B8-0718/2015
Debates :
Texts adopted :

B8-0718/2015

European Parliament resolution on the Srebrenica commemoration

(2015/2747(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–       having regard to its resolution of 15 January 2009 on Srebrenica[1],

–       having regard to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, of the other part, signed in Luxembourg on 16 June 2008 and ratified by all the Member States,

–       having regard to the Council conclusions on Bosnia and Herzegovina of 16 March 2015,

–       having regard to UN Security Council resolutions 827 (1993), 1551 (2004) and 1575 (2004),

–       having regard to Rule 123(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 UN Security Council resolution 819 (1993), fell to the forces led by General Ratko Mladić, acting under the authority of the then President of the Republika Srpska, Radovan Karadžić;

B.     whereas, during several days of carnage after the fall of Srebrenica, more than 8 000 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 irregular police units; whereas nearly 30 000 women, children and elderly people were forcibly expelled in a massive-scale ethnic cleansing campaign, making this event the biggest war crime to take place in Europe since the end of the Second World War;

C.     whereas this tragedy, declared an act of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (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 innocent civilian population;

D.     whereas multiple violations of the Geneva Convention were perpetrated against Srebrenica’s civilians, 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 efforts made to discover and exhume mass and individual graves, the bodies of nearly 1 200 men and boys from Srebrenica have not yet been located and identified;

F.     whereas on 30 January 2015 the ICTY upheld the sentences of five high-ranking Bosnian Serb army officers convicted for their involvement in the 1995 Srebrenica tragedy; whereas this is the first final judgment for genocide; whereas some of the convicted officers reported directly to former army leader Ratko Mladić, who is currently on trial before the ICTY;

G.     whereas the shortcomings of EU decision-making mechanisms and the lack of a genuine common foreign and security policy also played a negative role in the way events unfolded;

1.      Commemorates and honours all the victims of the atrocities that took place during the wars in the former Yugoslavia; expresses its condolences to and solidarity with the families of the victims;

2.      Stresses that the timely prevention and effective punishment of genocides and crimes against humanity should count among the EU’s main priorities;

3.      Calls on the Council, the Commission and the Member States to do everything within their power to prevent such monstrous acts from happening in Europe ever again;

4.      Stresses the importance of reconciliation policies, and emphasises the important role of religious authorities, the media and educational systems in this difficult process;

5.      Calls on the Council and the Commission, on the eve of the anniversary of the Srebrenica-Potočari tragedy, to reiterate the EU’s commitment to the European perspective of all the Western Balkan countries and support for the accession process, not least in the form of facilitating increased regional cooperation;

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 Western Balkan countries.