Hon. Brian Masse is the sponsor of both resolutions of genocide in BiH adopted in the Canadian Parliament.

April is Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month in Canada

Hon. Brian Masse is the sponsor of both resolutions of genocide in BiH adopted in the Canadian Parliament.

“All citizens of Bosnian origin living in Canada can testify that Brian’s contribution and hard work to acknowledge and declare a day of mourning for Srebrenica and to make sure that everyone knows that the crimes committed in Srebrenica were in fact genocide. Despite the resistance to include the word genocide in the resolution, Brian was determined to pass the resolution in the Parliament. This task was accomplished on October 19th 2010.The lobbying and advocacy process for this resolution lasted more than a year and Brian’s dedication, commitment, integrity and courage are important factors that led to the realization of this; something that is very important to the Bosnian Herzegovinian community. Furthermore, this gives an advantage to Canada to strengthen its commitment in the fight to prevent genocide in the future, and further optimize the relations between BiH and Canada to prevent future genocides. It is vastly important to emphasize Brian Masse’s commitment to fighting for human rights since the beginning of his political career. In fact, his entry into politics was linked to the genocide in East Timor. From then onwards, Brian has maintained his integrity in the fight for human rights. In the case of the Srebrenica Resolution he demonstrated that the need for justice surpasses the need for apparent peace.  Brian Masse is courageously lobbying Ottawa to join the international community in recognizing the worst mass killing on European soil since World War II as genocide. We are proud to have Brian Masse representing the riding of Windsor West as a member of the New Democratic Party. He is trully a remarkable politician and a man of honor and integrity.

Thank you Brian.

Professor Emir Ramic

Director of the Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada

Brian Masse about Srebrenica Genocide

“The time is long past due for Canada to declare July 11 Srebrenica Remembrance Day. This anniversary raises awareness of the tragic suffering of the people of Bosnia and honours and remembers those who were killed as a result of the policies of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995,” Masse stated. “With this declaration, Canada acknowledges the importance of this event in helping to bring closure for the Bosnian people through truth and justice. The institutionalization of Srebrenica Remembrance Day every July 11 will help to inform future generations and assist all of us to work towards peaceful coexistence. After the fall of Srebrenica on July 11th 1995, Bosnian Serb forces, commanded by General Ratko Mladic (an indicted war criminal), and paramilitary units rapidly executed more than 8,000 Bosniak (Muslim) men, boys, and elderly, who had sought safety in the area. Moreover, approximately 30,000 people were forcibly deported in an UN-assisted ethnic cleansing. The European Parliament resolution referred to the Srebrenica Massacre as "the biggest war crime in Europe since the end of WWII." This atrocity has been declared an act of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate in 2005 have passed resolutions on the Srebrenica Genocide and all the atrocities that occurred during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The European parliament passed its resolution on January 15, 2009 institutionalizing July 11 as the day of Remembrance for the Srebrenica Genocide. This past March the Serbian parliament passed a resolution recognizing the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica. M-587 establishes April as Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month, re-affirms support for a number of commemorative motions and bills previously adopted in the Canadian parliament, and acknowledges specific days of commemoration related to each of these motions and bills. I am proud that we could include Srebrenica Remembrance Day in this recognition”.