Did we learn anything from Srebrenica?

An aerial view of the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial Centre and a newly dug grave in Potocari, Bosnia on Thursday. Srebrenica – once a place known for its healing waters – has become a symbol of international failure. APShow less

It has been 30 years since those terrible, hot summer days during which a genocide began in a former silver-mining town in eastern Bosnia called Srebrenica.

From July 11, 1995, when the area fell into the hands of the Bosnian Serb army, more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered in and around the town. Since the start of the Bosnian War in 1992, Srebrenica had endured numerous mortar and rocket attacks as well as a crippling siege, despite being a UN-protected area. But the Bosnian Serbs had greater plans for Srebrenica – they wanted it completely emptied of Muslims.

Today, Srebrenica – once a place known for its healing waters – has become a haunted memory and a symbol of international failure. The mistakes made there should remind us why we must not be silent – or complicit – in the ethnic cleansing and destruction taking place in Gaza.

The Srebrenica genocide could have easily been prevented but for a series of fatal blunders and miscommunications that started in the UN’s headquarters in New York and its Department of Peacekeeping Operations, led by Kofi Annan – who would go on to become UN secretary general in 1997. These errors then trickled down the chain of command, eventually reaching the hapless battalion of Dutch peacekeepers on duty in Srebrenica itself. These mistakes, accompanied by a lack of judgement and moral leadership, led to the murder of those 8,000 helpless people, many of whom were cowering in the surrounding forest or in factories outside the town when they died.

A vandalised mural in Belgrade depicting former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic. The general was arrested in 2011 and later convicted of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. EPA

In the subsequent months and years, political earthquakes rocked the world of peacekeeping and conflict resolution. Blame was cast around but this would not bring back the dead. Several investigations were launched and there was widespread condemnation of the inaction and failure displayed by the UN and the Dutch soldiers. The entire Dutch cabinet resigned in shame in 2002. On the fifth anniversary of the atrocity, Mr Annan said the tragedy of Srebrenica “will forever haunt the history of the United Nations”. Nevertheless, Mr Annan remained in his position. In fact, no UN official resigned over Srebrenica.

Srebrenica did, however, lead to the Dayton Accords in November 1995, a peace agreement that ended the war in Bosnia. In 2013, Serbia’s president at the time, Tomislav Nikolic, issued an apology on behalf of his country but did not use the word “genocide”. To this day, many Bosnian Serb politicians continue to deny that the events of July 1995 were a genocide.

Regarding accountability, Gen Ratko Mladic – the leader of the Serb forces at Srebrenica and who was dubbed “the Butcher of Bosnia” – was arrested in 2011. He was later convicted of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague, and sentenced to life in prison. Also prosecuted was Radovan Karadzic, president of Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb state. Slobodan Milosevic, the architect of all the Yugoslav wars, died in custody in 2006, thereby avoiding justice.

Having been a reporter throughout the Bosnian War – and deeply influenced by the crimes I witnessed there – I will never forget those days, nor will I forget the survivors and the families who were left behind. This is why I often use Srebrenica for a reference point when referring to the current death and destruction taking place in front of our eyes in Gaza.

We can learn from what happened in that haunted place – and try to save what is left of Gaza. Most of all, we must protect the children who did nothing to start a war, and whose innocence is forever shattered

If we must focus on one thing in Gaza, let it be the mass murder of its children, the future generation. The victims of Srebrenica were largely men of fighting age, although boys as young as 13 were taken away and killed. The youngest known victim of those brutal days of mayhem was Fatima Muhic, who was two days old when she was murdered. She was born inside the UN base in the village of Potocari, where thousands of Bosnians had taken shelter. Her pregnant mother fled there, believing she would be safe from harm. But the infant was slaughtered almost immediately after her mother gave birth.

In Gaza, the most innocent victims are children. Unicef, the UN’s agency for children, estimates that 50,000 minors have been killed or injured since the war started. Since the ceasefire broken by Israel in March, thousands more have been killed or injured. UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has cited Unicef figures that say more than 100 children have been killed or injured every day since March 18.

Worse is the relentless hunger. Israeli soldiers have admitted they have been told to shoot at civilians struggling to get food from so-called aid distribution points. Then there is Gaza’s dying health service. Owing to a lack of clean water and medical supplies, children are dying of illnesses such as diarrhoea and polio that could have been treated easily. The numbers of amputees are increasing and Gaza is now home to more child amputees than anywhere else in the world, with a September 2024 World Health Report estimating that between 3,105 and 4,050 limb amputations have been carried out since October 2023.

As a mother, it is impossible for me to fathom that even this extreme-right Israeli government can do this to other human beings.

The development of hundreds of thousands of children has been halted. According to a Unicef estimate, there are nearly 17,000 orphans in the enclave as well as “unaccompanied and separated” children, roaming the camps and the rubble searching for food or comfort. School has been completely disrupted. Then there is profound trauma.

According to the International Rescue Committee, because of their exposure to violence, up to 88 per cent of children in Gaza experience nightmares and agoraphobia, the fear of being in situations from where it might be difficult to escape There will be deep-rooted trauma for generations to come and the IRC describes these desperate children as a “lost generation”.

Perhaps the most heart-breaking thing I have heard is that the highest number of children killed are in the 5-9 age bracket. This is because parents pick up the babies and toddlers, but these slightly older children are too young to outrun the bombs and too big to be carried.

Every day there is fresh misery from Gaza, and yet there is no reprieve. The last UN Security Council resolution to call for a permanent ceasefire was vetoed by the US. Unlike in Israel during a rocket attack, there’s nowhere for Gazans to hide. There is no justification that cites Israel’s right to self-defence when it comes to the rights of the child – the right to live without fear, without hunger, without trauma. And with education, a home and a safe space.

Every year on July 11, I look back carefully on my notes and my interviews from Srebrenica. I will never forget my years in Bosnia, the war on civilians that culminated in a genocide. We can learn from what happened in that haunted place – and try to save what is left of Gaza. Most of all, we must protect the children who did nothing to start a war, and whose innocence is forever shattered.