On July 11, 1995, 29 years ago, Serbian forces under Ratko Mladic's command committed genocide during the Bosnian War, massacring 8,372 Muslim Bosnian men and boys. The world witnessed this atrocity, exposing Europe's failure and the U.N.'s impotence in delivering timely justice. Today, echoes of this horror resonate in Gaza, where innocent civilians endure a comparable nightmare of suffering. The ongoing violence, supported by Western powers, underscores a relentless march of cruelty against civilians, laying bare the hypocrisy of so-called civilized nations.

Reflecting on the Srebrenica Genocide 29 years later highlights the critical importance of preserving our collective memory. The political structures established by the Dayton Agreement have unfortunately enabled Serbian political factions and extremists to propagate a culture of denial. This year, the Srebrenica Memorial Centre identified 90 new instances of denial, ranging from outright denial of genocide to efforts to downplay the events, support for perpetrators and assertions that the crimes committed did not constitute genocide.

This culture of denial evokes memories of Dutchbat commander Thom Karremans' controversial actions, notably surrendering Bosnian civilians to Serbian forces without resistance. His submissive gestures toward Mladic, including toasting with him and accepting gifts for himself and his family, left a lasting stain on collective memory. Despite belated apologies and partial culpability rulings, justice remained elusive.

In addition to genocide, Serbian forces subjected innocent Bosnian civilians to torture, harassment and detention, underscoring the U.N.'s inability to prevent these atrocities. While the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia delivered justice by convicting key perpetrators like Mladic, Radovan Karadžić and Radislav Krstić, the failure to prevent the massacre continues to haunt us as a stark reality.

Today, 29 years later, the genocidal project in Gaza is unfolding on a much larger scale, having persisted for nine months. The scale of the Srebrenica tragedy is being drastically amplified with new elements added to the equation. This time, the silence of the so-called civilized West comes with military and rhetorical support. Freedom of speech and the right to protest have been severely curtailed. University campuses teeming with students protesting the Israeli genocide project are now under threat, with numerous arrests and incidents of excessive police violence signaling the erosion of liberal principles in the so-called civilized West.

Despite the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) interim rulings in cases brought by South Africa against Israel, which briefly sparked hope for justice, around 800,000 displaced Palestinians in Rafah are left vulnerable to Israeli attacks, struggling to survive without humanitarian aid. Just as tens of thousands of Bosnian civilians were abandoned to the mercy of Dutchbat and subsequently massacred, innocent Gazans are now being herded by relentless evacuation orders, only to face deadly airstrikes. Moreover, Israel's use of torture and disabling tactics mirrors the brutal actions once inflicted on Bosnians at the infamous Vilina Vlas Hotel in Višegrad. Tragically, this symbol of genocidal cruelty still operates as a hotel today.

Despite occurring in different times and geographies, Srebrenica and Gaza share striking similarities. History is replete with unlearned lessons, and international bodies striving to rid global peace of crimes against humanity continue to fall short of their objectives. The system, driven by nation-states' self-interest and reducing morality to mere power dynamics, failed to prevent the Rwandan Genocide in 1992 and the Srebrenica Genocide in 1995. This failure led to the birth of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) norm. However, R2P has sometimes been misused rather than upholding its principles, leading to further atrocities. The 2011 intervention in Libya is a case in point, where actions under the R2P banner far exceeded their mandate, drawing serious criticism.

For those moral arbiters who write human rights and freedom reports and decide whether a country deserves foreign aid or investment based on these subjective evaluations, understanding Srebrenica and Gaza is challenging. The former has long been relegated to the dusty shelves of history. At the same time, the latter is labeled a counterterrorism endeavor that began on Oct. 7, devoid of any historical context and subject to one-sided assessments. This highlights a significant impasse among international actors, as they cannot even agree on common moral grounds.

In a world rife with disagreements and conflicts, the call for a new order gaining traction in the public conscience and manifesting in public demonstrations is something that must be embraced. This may be the only way to become rightful and conscientious witnesses to a process that may be understood in the future. Whether criticisms directed at a self-interested, power-obsessed system can give birth to a more just and peaceful order remains uncertain, but in the face of barbarism, choosing indifference is to side with the oppressor and forsake the oppressed.