The genocide in Srebrenica
The war that followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia claimed more than 100,000 lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995, mostly of Bosnian Muslims, and displaced more than two million others.
The massacre in Srebrenica marked one of the darkest chapters of that war.
In July 1995, the Bosnian Serb army overran Srebrenica - previously declared a safe area under - and brutally murdered thousands of men and teenagers there. The remainder of the Bosnian Muslim population present in Srebrenica – approximately 25,000 women, children and elderly - were forcibly transferred out of the enclave.
This was the largest massacre in Europe since the Holocaust.
To date, only a few events have been determined by competent judicial bodies to constitute genocide. The (ICJ) and the (ICTY) recognized the massacre of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica by the army of Republika Srpska as an act of genocide.
Remembering the victims
The genocide left deep emotional scars on the survivors, families of victims, and the Bosnian and Herzegovinian society in general, creating enduring obstacles to reconciliation among the country’s different ethnic groups.
2025 will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, in which more than 8,000 lives were lost, thousands were displaced and families and communities were devastated.
United Nations Special Advisers have repeatedly expressed concerns over continuous incidents of revisionism concerning atrocity crimes perpetrated during the 1992-1995 conflict, including unabated denial of the Srebrenica genocide and glorification of convicted war criminals.
Reflection, Commemoration and Outreach
A day of reflection and commemoration
In May 2024, The UN General Assembly, in a sponsored by Germany and Rwanda, designated 11 July as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.
The Assembly also asked the Secretary-General to establish an outreach programme entitled “The Srebrenica Genocide and the United Nations”.
It further condemned any denial of the Srebrenica genocide as a historical event and called on Member States to preserve the established facts, including through their educational systems, towards preventing denial and distortion, and any occurrence of genocide in the future.
General Assembly annual observance
The 2025 observance of the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica was held on Tuesday, 8 July 2025 in the General Assembly Hall, United Nations Headquarters, New York. The observance marked the 30-year anniversary of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica.
Watch the observance on , or .
Learn more about the 2025 events.
Exhibition
From Words to Violence: Lives Behind the Fields of Death
17 June to 26 August 2025
Visitors’ Lobby, UN Headquarters in New York
The exhibition provides a glimpse into the horrors of the genocide against Bosnian Muslims committed in Srebrenica in July 1995. Through photographs of items from everyday life, the story unravels - of lives lived and lost, and families torn apart. It shows the consequence of hate speech and inaction in the face of hatred.
The exhibit is organized by the Memorial Center Srebrenica-Poto?ari Memorial and Cemetery for the Victims of 1995 Genocide; and the Permanent Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the UN and endorsed by the Office of the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide; and the UN Department for Global Communications.
The exhibition is free and open to the public. No registration is required. Please visit UN Exhibits for visitor instructions.
Resources
- GA resolution establishing the day ()
- #NoToHate Campaign
- Office on the Prevention of Genocide
