Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations

Srebrenica Draft Fails, With Four Abstention & Russia's Veto, Final Text Here

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, July 8 -- When the draft resolution to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Srebrenica was put up for a vote in the UN Security Council on July 8, after having been two times postponed on July 7, both Russia's Vitaly Churkin and China's Liu Jieyi urged that a vote not be held. Deputy Permanent Representative Peter Wilson of the UK, the sponsor of the resolution, said that a vote should be taken.

The resolution then failed, with ten in favor, Russia casting a veto against, and four countries abstaining: China, Nigeria, Angola and Venezuela. Inner City Press has put the failed draft resolution online here.

Before the vote, Russia's Ambassador Churkin told the other members of the Security Council that

“when the delegation of Bosnia and Herzegovina first approached us with the need to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the tragedy in Srebrenica we agreed that this to be done solemnly, given the particular sensitivity of the topic for people in Bosnia Herzegovina and in the region on the whole. We were saying that what we need to do is to underscore the positive in the road covered and look into the future. That is exactly what in the beginning was being said by the United Kingdom delegation, when they said they are ready to prepare a draft resolution for the Security Council. However, the implementation of the initiative has shown that this is following a different direction. The draft submitted by the United Kingdom turned out to be not constructive, confrontational, and politically motivated. It contained distortions, as a result of which the blame for the past is placed basically on one people. This approach, according to which you single out one party for a war crime, is not legitimate and can result in even greater division within the Bosnian society. From the very beginning, we tried to make sure that the document is valid in its nature. We proposed an alternative option, aimed on forward looking logic. However, our key statements were ignored.”

China's Ambassador Liu Jieyi then said, “regarding the draft resolution to commemorate Srebrenica event, at this moment Council members still have great concerns. To force a vote on the draft resolution when major differences still remain is not in conformity with national reconciliation within Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region at large. It will also affect the unity of the Council members. China believes that the Council members can well continue their exchange of views on the matter of the draft resolution and should refrain from hasty actions.”

In a statement issued after the vote by the UK, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said, “We are disappointed that our Resolution to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Srebrenica was vetoed today. We had three goals: to commemorate the victims of the genocide in Srebrenica and victims on all sides during the conflict in Bosnia Herzegovina; to appeal for justice for all and reconciliation; and to note the lessons for the UN, of these tragic events. The Resolution did not point fingers of blame nor seek to reopen painful divisions. The failure to adopt this Resolution is a snub to the families of the victims and the survivors of Srebrenica. True reconciliation requires facing up to the realities of the past by all sides and determination to learn the lessons for the future. We owe it to all those who lost their lives in the war to work together to help build a safe and prosperous Bosnia Herzegovina.”

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