Szijjártó: UN resolution on Srebrenica could revive dangerous divisions in region

The reason why the Hungarian Government did not support the UN resolution declaring 11 July as the International Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide is that it could revive very dangerous divisions in the Western Balkans, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Nyíregyháza on Friday.

"I don't think there is any dispute that what happened in Srebrenica is an incredibly sad and tragic event, and we must be clear in our condemnation of it. I don't think anyone would argue that it was a terrible thing, and everything must be done to ensure that such a terrible thing never happens again anywhere in the world," Péter Szijjártó said in response to a journalist's question.

"But that was not the issue at hand. The real question is whether such a resolution will contribute to peace and calm in the Western Balkans thirty today, years later, or whether, on the contrary, it will stir up and revive conflicts in the Western Balkans which could be dangerous for the whole region, including Hungary," he said, and called the timing of the decision "extremely unfortunate", given the already present state of unrest in the world today, and added that with this vote new tensions are being stirred up in a region that has not been known for its peace and stability throughout world history.

"We requested that this not be discussed at the UN right now. We did not want to put the region in this situation. That is why we voted no."

– he said.

It was on Thursday that the UN General Assembly adopted a draft resolution to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide which happened on 11 July 1995. 84 countries voted in favour, 19 against, 68 abstained and 22 did not vote at all. Hungary voted against.

The draft resolution was previously submitted jointly by Germany, Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the support of the United States of America. The goal was to have a day of remembrance to commemorate the 1995 massacre of more than 8,000 Bosniaks in and around Srebrenica, perptrated by Serb troops right under the noses of UN forces. A similar proposal had already been put to the UN Security Council in 2015, but Moscow vetoed it at the the time. In the General Assembly, however, no one has a right of veto.