Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial and Cemetery for the Victims of the 1995 Genocide
How does a society go about rebuilding itself after instances of genocide and crimes against humanity? What results might we expect these efforts to have produced fifteen years after the fact? What can the international community do to prevent such atrocities from reoccurring there or elsewhere to uphold its promise of “Never Again”?
On Thursday July 15th at 2 p.m., the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) will host a conference entitled, “Fifteen Years Later: Forward or Backward in the Balkans?” in the Helena Rubinstein Auditorium at the USHMM. The event will touch on American and European Union involvement in the region in light of the fifteenth anniversary of the genocide at Srebrenica and the impending Bosnian national elections.
The conference will begin with keynotes from USHMM Director Sara Bloomfield and NED President Carl Gershman and then explore the issue in depth with two panels. The first will focus on “Fact-Finding, Truth-Telling, and Memorialization” and will include insight from Nataša Kandić, Director of the Humanitarian Law Center, Srebrenica survivor Emir Suljagić, and Anisa Sućeska-Vekić, Director for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.
The second panel will then turn to the “International Engagement and the Future for the Region” with input from Kurt Bassuener, Senior Associate at the Democratization Policy Council, Douglas Davidson, Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues at the U.S. Department of State, and Her Excellency Renée Jones-Bos, Ambassador of the Netherlands to the United States. Raffi Gregorian of the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina has also been invited to participate in this second panel.
The discussion will conclude with a keynote from Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor to the Vice President and Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. A reception will close the event.
If you are interested in attending to learn more about the current state of affairs in the Balkans, RSVP by July 12th to genocideprevention@ushmm.org with your name and organization.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Tags: Balkans, crimes against humanity, genocide, Never Again, USHMM
