European Muslim Initiative

CONCEPT

1.    Background

1.1.        Srebrenica/Khojaly massacres

In February 1992, amidst the bitter conflict for the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave between the Republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia, the city of Khojaly, already heavily shelled and without power for months, came under organized and sustained attack by Armenian forces. The majority of Azerbaijani inhabitants was forced to flee the enclave but was ambushed by Armenian military patrols and was fired upon, leaving behind hundreds dead and injured. Others, who attempted to escape in different directions, trying to avoid the patrols, also met their death in the freezing cold temperatures of the Caucasian winter.

A little over three years later, one of the last tragic episodes of ethnic mass killing in the former Yugoslavia took place in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica. In July 1995, Bosnian-Serb forces commanded by Ratko Mladic entered the own in contravention of the UN resolution that had declared it a ‘safe area in April 1993, overran the UN refugee camp, and engaged in a pandemonium of violence against captured Bosnian Muslim men and boys. More than 8000 of them were brutally murdered in the course of a few days.

1.2.        Reaction of the International Community

The two episodes have been treated very differently from the viewpoint of international recognition and action. News about Srebrenica caused a global outcry against Bosnian-Serbs and their allies in Serb-dominated Yugoslavia, soon followed by military intervention. Investigations were conducted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and other international organizations, institutions, and governments. The brutal mass killing perpetrated by Mladic’s forces has been recognized as a ‘crime against humanity’ and an ‘act of genocide’, while individual Bosnian-Serb commanders have also been convicted of genocide. With the arrest of Ratko Mladic in 2011, a new trial at the ICTY is currently underway (together with the ongoing one of Radovan Karadzic) involving charges of genocide. But, perhaps more importantly than the description of the massacre in Srebrenica as genocide and crime against humanity, is the court’s success in establishing individual (and not just collective) responsibility for crimes, leading to the indictment and conviction of a significant number of high-level officials who oversaw the massacre.

In the case of Khojali, on the other hand, the international reaction has been very different. Unlike Srebrenica, the massacre has not been officially recognized as an ‘act of genocide’ or a ‘crime against humanity’, even if international human rights organizations have acknowledged that serious violation of international laws and conventions did occur. Furthermore, in contrast to the actions of the ICTY in relation to violence in Bosnia, there is no international legal mechanism for investigation and justice in the case of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. As a result, the victims of the violence in Khojaly and their families/communities have suffered from a triple injustice: they have witnessed how the event of the massacre itself has been disputed or at least played down, both by the perpetrators and by a wide section of the international community; they have seen no serious attempt to investigate and arrest those responsible; and they have never benefited from the positive effects of a justice and reconciliation process, both psychologically and as a means of re-establishing long-term stability in the region.

1.3.        Experience of international reaction and lessons learned

The experience of international reaction to Srebrenica is encouraging to all other victims of mass killing across the world, who are still seeking recognition and justice. Recognition is more than just a linguistic or legal gesture; it underlines our collective determination as international community to promote the famous motto ‘never again’ for everyone, especially when it comes to mass crimes against civilians and to indiscriminate killing. It is also a powerful psychological incentive to honor the memory of those who perished and to help those who were deeply affected by the violent actions. Meanwhile, justice is crucial, both as a moral redress (punishment of perpetrators) and as a form of symbolic ‘closure’ for the communities affected. Inaction sends out the completely opposite message. It casts a grave shadow on our commitment to preventing similar atrocities in the future. It creates the impression that perpetrators can continue to hide behind state sovereignty and denial of truth. It fosters a precedent of impunity that strikes at the heart of respect for universal human rights and for international law.

The lessons from international action in the case of Srebrenica are invaluable for the struggle for recognition and justice on behalf of the victims of the 1992 massacre in Khojaly. No authority, however high or well-protected, must be spared from the force of humanitarian law. Aggression, violence, murder, crimes against humanity, and genocide – have to be treated as heinous crimes and, if not prevented with timely action, at least investigated, with perpetrators brought to full justice. Individuals of any rank can no longer hide behind hierarchy, orders, and collective responsibility when it comes to such actions. No effort should be spared when it comes to uncovering the truth and providing moral redress by punishing those responsible for such loss of life, ethnic cleansing and hundreds of thousands of displaced people, as well as psychological traumas for entire communities. In the case of Srebrenica, justice is still ongoing, nearly eighteen years after the event; the truth is slowly becoming uncovered, albeit way too late and amidst so many difficulties. In the case of Khojaly, more than two decades later, the process has not even started.

2.    Aim of the Symposium

The EMISCO symposium aims to explore these two tragic episodes of mass killing – why and how they happened, what has occurred since with regard to letting the truth shine and punishing the perpetrators. The event also aims to discuss ways to promote global awareness with regard to both cases and advance the cause of justice. We believe that the case of Srebrenica contains a number of important lessons for the investigation and the punishment of such heinous acts that are of particular relevance to the Khojaly massacre and other similarly horrific acts elsewhere that are still awaiting proper enquiry and justice for all those affected. In a year that marks the eightieth anniversary of Hitler’s rise to power and the beginning of a cycle of mass killing that claimed millions of lives during World War II, we believe that respect for human rights and legal instruments aiding this goal have advanced spectacularly in the intervening period. Yet, crimes against humanity have continued to happen – and to evade international justice – in spite of such progress. It is time that the international community honored its legal obligations and its fundamental moral duty to apply those principles without exception and without delay, fully and unequivocally. By raising awareness about these acts, and discussing their causes and consequences, we can expose the failings of international action and mobilize civil society towards the realization that a crime without justice is essentially a denial of the crime itself and an affront to the victims.

Please click here for the draft agenda.