Over the past decade and a half, there have been a variety of commemorative practices abroad. The US Congress adopted crucial resolutions in 2005 that commemorated Srebrenica, and the European Parliament followed suit with a much more watered-down resolution in 2009. Some parliaments have since adopted resolutions on Srebrenica. The latest parliaments to do so were Austrian on 6 July this year and Albanian the following day.
Several cities and state parliaments have declared 11 July as Srebrenica Remembrance Day in North America. Many of these population centers have sizeable Bosnian diaspora communities, and the local authorities were receptive to such initiatives. Commemorations of Srebrenica by local authorities are more frequent in North America than in Europe.
These commemorative practices should continue and be expanded to an ever-greater number of countries. Bosnian diaspora communities across the globe have a crucial role in annual commemorations. Bosniak leaders should exert efforts to ensure that international institutions pay tribute to Srebrenica by marking 11 July as Srebrenica Remembrance Day.
Srebrenica must be commemorated by international bodies but also by significant powers. To this end, Bosniaks rely on their key allies across the globe to keep alive the memory of Srebrenica in the years and decades ahead.
Türkiye's efforts to commemorate Srebrenica have been very significant over the years. To ensure a long-term institutionalized remembrance, the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye could pass a resolution declaring 11 July as Srebrenica Remembrance Day.
Türkiye's education authorities could include teaching what happened in Bosnia in the 1990s with a special focus on Srebrenica in high-school history curricula. At the university level, professors should include Srebrenica in European and international history courses. Remembrance of Srebrenica could also be undertaken at the metropolitan municipality level.
Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, Konya, and other major cities could declare 11 July as Srebrenica Remembrance Day. Furthermore, the metropolitan municipalities could build Srebrenica memorials and name a street, a park, a bridge or a square after Srebrenica. The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) can assist Bosnian filmmakers in telling the story of Srebrenica globally by continuing to co-produce high-quality motion pictures.
To ensure that Srebrenica is remembered internationally, Bosnia and its allies should work together to ensure that the UN General Assembly declares 11 July as Srebrenica Remembrance Day.
Twenty-seven years ago, the UN bureaucrats and its Dutch battalion played a heinous role in Srebrenica. Now, the least the UN can do is to commemorate the genocide by annually commemorating 11 July.
