[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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