The Srebrenica Memorial Center has taken over the Hague archival documents, making Srebrenica a center for scholarly research on genocide, the center announced.
Namely, the Memorial Center has received a complete digital archive of all publicly available judicial materials of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) related to the Srebrenica genocide. This is the first time that all cases – including verdicts, transcripts, evidence and audiovisual recordings – have been brought together in one place, accessible to the public and institutions from Bosnia and Herzegovina and around the world. No other institution outside the Mechanism has such completeness and accessibility.
Thanks to the formalized cooperation with the IRMCT based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed on April 7, 2025, the Memorial Center now has a full archive of cases related exclusively to the genocide committed in July 1995. In an official letter dated June 18, IRMCT Registrar Abubakar M. Tambadou expressed hope that the materials would “significantly contribute to the work of the Center in preserving the memory and legacy of the victims.”
Memorial Center Director Emir Suljagić said that the handover of the archives is a milestone in the way the Srebrenica genocide is remembered and documented.
“As of today, all cases brought before international courts for the Srebrenica genocide are located in Potočari. No one needs to travel to The Hague anymore to access these documents – now they are here, with us. We can make them available, we can share them digitally, we can show them to anyone who seeks the truth,” Suljagić said.
With this act, the Memorial Center not only confirms its role as the main institution for remembering the genocide against the Bosniaks of Srebrenica, but also becomes a regional archive of international justice, a source of credible information and an open platform for research, education and the fight against genocide denial. This is a crucial step in building a culture of remembrance based on facts, evidence and legally confirmed truth.
“On the anniversary, we plan to present exhibitions that will round out the story of the Memorial Center. This week we concluded the acquisition of artifacts from Tuzla. Now we have this database. We are rounding out the process that we started five years ago. We have essentially put the institution in its rightful place. We did this because we promised to do so to the families of the victims, but also because it was our mandate, established by law,” Suljagić concluded.
Access to the archive will be provided in accordance with the rules and legal framework, while respecting legal protection and technical security. Researchers, educational institutions, the media and all interested parties can now request access to documents directly from Srebrenica – not from The Hague.
