From 7 to 10 July 2025, during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, numerous activities were held to commemorate the genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica and its surroundings in 1995.
The plenary session of the European Parliament opened on 7 July with a speech by Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who paid tribute to the victims of the genocide. The session was attended by Almasa Salihović and Almir Salihović, survivors of the genocide and employees of the Srebrenica Memorial Centre, and Dr. Hikmet Karčić, a research associate at the Institute for the Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law at the University of Sarajevo. On 8 July, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola opened the exhibition "Genocide in Srebrenica: 11 Lessons for the Future" by Hikmet Karčić, organised in cooperation with the Srebrenica Memorial Centre and the European Parliament. The exhibition was supported by the EPP, SD, Greens and Renew political groups, and the opening was attended by numerous MPs, representatives of international organisations and survivors of the genocide.
Helmut Brandstätter addressed the audience on behalf of the host, followed by President Metsola, who, together with the author Hikmet Karčić, officially opened the exhibition. Short speeches were also given by the members of the European Parliament: Ondřej Kolář, Matjaž Nemec, Tineke Strik and Ivo Davor Stir. Hikmet Karčić pointed out that the idea for the exhibition arose in 2015, after Russia vetoed the Resolution on the Srebrenica genocide in the UN Security Council. In his speech, he appealed to the European Parliament to act more decisively in the fight against genocide denial in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Genocide survivor Almir Salihović, who managed to escape from Srebrenica through the forest as a ten-year-old, also addressed the audience. In his address, he said: “We walked for six days, without food, without sleep. We were children trying to survive. Today I am a husband, a father and a history teacher. I am living in Srebrenica again. Srebrenica needs a special economic status. We need programs for employment, education and the future of the youth. Because without life, there is no memory.”
On 10 July, Dr. Hikmet Karčić participated as a guest speaker at a special session of the European Parliament’s Committee on Human Rights, dedicated to Srebrenica. In his speech, he addressed the denial of the genocide in Srebrenica, which is becoming an increasingly serious problem in our region.
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