February 11, 2009, Belgrade, Serbia: A group of human rights organizations in Serbia has sent an open letter calling on Serbian President Boris Tadic to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide on July 11.

The letter was signed by the Humanitarian Law Fund, Women in Black, the Helsinki Human Rights Committee, the Center for Enhancing Legal Studies, the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights and the Youth Initiative for Human Rights. Women in Black-Serbia is a partner of The Advocacy Project (AP).

The organizations announced that they would be organizing rallies on the 11th of every month around Serbia, demanding the government follow the lead of the European Parliament and pay respect to the victims of the 1995 massacre. In January, the European Parliament adopted a resolution proclaiming July 11 a day of remembrance for the victims of Srebrenica.

Srebrenica, a Muslim enclave, was designated a United Nations safe haven during the war. But on July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serb forces seized the town and murdered over 8,000 men and boys over the age of 15.