Ambassador Emin expressed deep gratitude to Pakistan for its support during Bosnia’s darkest days. He recalled Pakistan’s humanitarian aid shipments, advocacy at the United Nations, and the role of the Pakistani Battalion in assisting survivors

Saifullah Ansar/DNA

ISLAMABAD, JUL 11 — Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Emin Cohodarevic, delivered a solemn address to mark the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica. Speaking before dignitaries, officials, and guests, the ambassador paid tribute to the more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys systematically murdered in July 1995, calling the atrocity “the greatest crime committed in Europe after the Holocaust.”

The commemoration coincides with the 31st anniversary of the genocide. Ambassador Emin noted that ten newly identified victims were buried at the Potočari Memorial Center near Srebrenica, their remains pieced together from fragments found in mass graves and forests. “The perpetrators tried to hide the crime by moving bodies from grave to grave. They did not succeed,” he said.

The ambassador reminded attendees that the genocide was the culmination of years of persecution, ethnic cleansing, and mass killings across Bosnia and Herzegovina beginning in 1992. He condemned the international community’s failure to act decisively, describing the UN’s designation of Srebrenica as a “safe zone” as “the biggest stain on the conscience of the international community.”

“After the Holocaust, the world said: ‘Never again.’ Half a century later, genocides were committed in Rwanda and Srebrenica,” Emin declared, warning that the phrase has lost much of its meaning in today’s world.

Ambassador Emin expressed deep gratitude to Pakistan for its support during Bosnia’s darkest days. He recalled Pakistan’s humanitarian aid shipments, advocacy at the United Nations, and the role of the Pakistani Battalion in assisting survivors. “We remember and appreciate the help you provided in the reconstruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the war, as well as the support you provide to our country today,” he said.

He also thanked Pakistan for its role in the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution in May 2024, which established July 11 as the International Day of Remembrance and Commemoration of the Srebrenica Genocide. Emin described the resolution as “a moral, historical, and civilizational act of the United Nations.”

The ambassador emphasized that the genocide is firmly documented and adjudicated by international and domestic courts, rejecting denial efforts. He urged future generations to “speak the truth, research, write, learn, and remind — not for revenge, not for hate, but for justice.”