Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Genocide is the deliberate and systematic killing of a large group of people based upon their nationality or ethnic background. The term "genocide" is applied to two specific events that occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1990s: the killings by Bosnian Serb forces in Srebrenica in 1995 and the "ethnic cleansings" perpetrated by the Bosnian/Serb Army during the Bosnian War from 1992-1995.

Srebrenica in 1995

In 1995, more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed, and approximately 25,000–30,000 more Bosnian Muslims were expelled from the area around Srebrenica, a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This genocide and mass expulsion was carried out by the army of Republika Srpska as commanded by General Ratko Mladić.

Ethnic cleansings

During the Bosnian war of 1992-1995, the Bosnian Serb army carried out ethnic cleansings in the area under its control. The cleansings targeted Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Muslims. The crimes committed by the army included false imprisonment, rape, murder and more. During the cleansings, political leaders, intellectuals and professionals were at the greatest risk. In addition to imprisonment, death and torture, those targeted suffered unlawful shelling, appropriation of goods, and deportation. The Bosnian Serb army destroyed churches, businesses and homes in addition to killing individuals.

Declaration of genocide

After the ethnic cleansings, mass murder, and deportations, it was decided by a number of authorities, including several legal experts, that the events that took place qualified for a label of genocide. The events led to three convictions of genocide from German courts. These convictions were based on the definition of genocide according to international law.

These events were horrid, violent and destructive, and they lead to a vast drop in the Bosnian Muslim population as well as the loss of life among Bosnian Croats. Sorrow fills people's hearts when they read of such atrocities and they seek to end such events and prevent them from recurring.