[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1423 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1423

     Observing the 15th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide and 
  expressing support for ``Srebrenica Remembrance Day'' in the United 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 28, 2010

 Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Wolf, and Mr. 
 Baird) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Observing the 15th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide and 
  expressing support for ``Srebrenica Remembrance Day'' in the United 
                                States.

Whereas July 2010 marks the 15th anniversary of the fall of Srebrenica to 
        Bosnian Serb forces operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the massacre 
        of approximately 8,000 people who were resident in or who had sought 
        refuge in the United Nations-designated ``safe area'' of Srebrenica;
Whereas beginning in April 1992, aggression and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by 
        Bosnian Serb forces, while taking control of the surrounding territory, 
        resulted in a massive influx of Bosniaks seeking protection in 
        Srebrenica and its environs, which the United Nations Security Council 
        designated a ``safe area'' in Resolution 819 on April 16, 1993;
Whereas Bosnian Serb forces blockaded the Srebrenica enclave early in 1995, 
        depriving the entire population of humanitarian aid and outside 
        communication and contact, and effectively reducing the ability of a 
        Dutch peacekeeping battalion stationed in the enclave to deter 
        aggression or otherwise respond effectively to a deteriorating 
        situation;
Whereas, on July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serb forces seized full control of the 
        Srebrenica enclave and proceeded to deport women, children, and the 
        elderly in buses, and to hold Bosniak males over 16 years of age at 
        collection points and sites in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina under 
        their control, and then to kill the captives and bury them in mass 
        graves;
Whereas Bosnian Serb forces, attempting to conceal evidence of the massacre at 
        Srebrenica, subsequently dismembered and moved corpses and parts of 
        corpses from initial mass grave sites to many secondary sites scattered 
        throughout parts of northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina under their 
        control;
Whereas the massacre at Srebrenica was among the worst of many horrible 
        atrocities to occur in the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina from April 
        1992 to November 1995, during which the policies of aggression and 
        ethnic cleansing, pursued by Bosnian Serb forces with the direct support 
        of the Serbian regime of Slobodan Milosevic and its followers, 
        ultimately led to the displacement of more than 2,000,000 people, and 
        the killing, raping, and torturing of innocent civilians on a massive 
        scale;
Whereas Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the 
        Crime of Genocide (done at Paris on December 9, 1948, and entered into 
        force with respect to the United States on February 23, 1989) defines 
        genocide as ``any of the following acts committed with intent to 
        destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious 
        group, as such: (a) killing members of the group; (b) causing serious 
        bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) deliberately 
        inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its 
        physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) imposing measures intended 
        to prevent births within the group; and (e) forcibly transferring 
        children of the group to another group'';
Whereas in 2005, the 10th anniversary year of the fall of Srebrenica, the United 
        States Congress, with the passage of H. Res. 199 and S. Res. 134 (109th 
        Congress), became the first legislative body to recognize the July 1995 
        massacre, as implemented by Serb forces in and near the United Nations-
        designated ``safe area'' Srebrenica, as a genocide under the terms of 
        the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of 
        Genocide;
Whereas since the passage of H. Res. 199 and S. Res. 134 (109th Congress), other 
        legislative bodies have recognized the July 1995 massacres in Srebrenica 
        as a genocide under the terms of the Convention on the Prevention and 
        Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, including the European Parliament;
Whereas the International Commission on Missing Persons continues to use and 
        develop the most advanced DNA identity testing to identify victims of 
        the Bosnian Serb forces at Srebrenica, as well as those killed in the 
        conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995 and the wider 
        conflict in the western Balkans in the 1990s, and, having positively 
        identified over 6,490 Srebrenica victims using DNA-led scientific 
        methods, currently estimates almost 8,100 persons killed during and 
        after the fall of the Srebrenica enclave;
Whereas, on July 21, 2008, police in Serbia arrested Radovan Karadzic, the 
        Bosnian Serb political leader in July 1995, who in 1995 was indicted by 
        the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for 
        genocide and other crimes committed against civilians throughout the 
        territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Whereas Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb military leader in July 1995, later 
        indicted by the ICTY for genocide, crimes against humanity, and 
        violations of the laws and customs of war, remains at large; and
Whereas July 11 would be an appropriate date to designate ``Srebrenica 
        Remembrance Day'' in annual observance of the Srebrenica genocide: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) solemnly observes the 15th anniversary of the 
        Srebrenica genocide;
            (2) supports the designation of ``Srebrenica Remembrance 
        Day'' in the United States;
            (3) commends the official bodies that have recognized the 
        Srebrenica genocide, including the European Parliament, which 
        declared a Srebrenica Remembrance Day in the European Union;
            (4) honors the memory of the thousands of innocent people 
        who died at Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 1995, 
        along with all individuals who were killed during the conflict 
        in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995;
            (5) extends its condolences to the families and friends of 
        those who died at Srebrenica in July 1995, and during the 
        conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995;
            (6) reaffirms its support for the independence and 
        territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, peace and 
        stability in southeastern Europe as a whole, and the right of 
        all people living in the region, regardless of national, 
        racial, ethnic or religious background, to return to their 
        homes and enjoy the benefits of democratic institutions, the 
        rule of law, and economic opportunity, as well as to know the 
        fate of missing relatives and friends;
            (7) thanks the International Commission on Missing Persons 
        for outstanding achievement in identifying persons missing from 
        Srebrenica and as a result of the conflict in Bosnia and 
        Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995, as well as the wider conflict in 
        the western Balkans in the 1990s;
            (8) expresses satisfaction at the apprehension and transfer 
        of Radovan Karadzic to the International Criminal Tribunal for 
        the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), where he is currently being tried 
        on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and other 
        violations of the laws or customs of war; and
            (9) urges all countries to meet their obligations to 
        cooperate fully with the ICTY at all times, vigorously 
        pursuing, apprehending, and transferring to The Hague without 
        delay all persons indicted by the ICTY, including Ratko Mladic.
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