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UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Jul, 2026) On the International Day commemorating the Genocide in Srebrenica, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Saturday that the world must preserve the truth about the crimes committed in July 1995, oppose the denial of genocide and renew the commitment to justice, reconciliation and peace.
The UN chief reminded that on this day honour is paid to more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims, men and boys who were systematically killed in the genocide in Srebrenica, as well as thousands of women, children and elderly people who were forcibly displaced.
“The intention to destroy the Bosnian Muslims from Srebrenica failed. We stand in solidarity with the survivors and the families of the victims, including the Mothers of Srebrenica, whose courage preserved this truth before the world,” Guterres said.
He pointed out that the international courts found that the crimes committed in Srebrenica constituted genocide, and emphasized that criminal responsibility is individual and cannot be attributed to any ethnic, religious or other group.
According to him, remembering Srebrenica implies protecting the truth from denial and historical revisionism, seeking responsibility and acknowledging the suffering of every victim.
“Remembering Srebrenica also means confronting hate speech and discrimination, and renewing our determination to make ‘never again’ a reality for everyone,” said the Secretary General.
In the end, he called on the international community to remember the victims on this sad and solemn day, listen to the survivors and take concrete steps to promote justice, reconciliation and peace.
“Let the memory of Srebrenica strengthen our commitment to human dignity, today and for generations to come,” Guterres concluded.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk also called for preventive measures, saying, "Genocide doesn't happen overnight.
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"History proves him right", Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, chairman of Washington-based World Forum for Peace & Justice, said.
Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia, and the Holocaust all followed years of discrimination, dehumanization, exclusion, persecution, and incitement, Dr. Fai pointed out. "By the time mass killings began, countless warning signs had already been ignored."
He posed the question: If the United Nations believes prevention requires acting on early warning signs, why is same urgency absent when concerns are raised about Indian occupied Kashmir?
In 2022, it was pointed out, Dr. Gregory Stanton, Chairman of Genocide Watch and one of the world's leading genocide prevention scholars, warned that India was displaying several of the processes identified in his organization's "Ten Stages of Genocide" framework. Referring specifically to Kashmir and Assam, he cautioned that while genocide had not occurred, the warning signs were becoming increasingly serious.
His conclusion deserves careful attention, Dr. Fai said. "It would be hard to say there is a genocide in Kashmir... but what is happening there are the early signs and processes of genocide."
In this regard, he drew attention to the factors such as dehumanizing rhetoric, restrictions affecting minorities, the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's constitutional autonomy, and the region's extensive military presence.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has repeatedly expressed concern about press freedom in Kashmir. Indian author Arundhati Roy has long described Kashmir as among the world's most heavily militarized regions.
"None of these observations alone establishes genocide, " he said, adding, "Nor should such a grave determination be made lightly," Fai said.
"But that is precisely the point. Prevention is not supposed to begin after genocide has been legally established. It begins when credible warning signs emerge."
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