Opened the debate
Zappia stated that 8,372 people were killed by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995, an event he described as the worst civilian massacre since the Second World War. Zappia noted that while the trauma remains acute for survivors and the Bosniak community, awareness of the event is low elsewhere. Citing UNHCR data, he outlined the broader context of the Bosnian War, including the displacement of millions and the death of approximately 100,000 people. Zappia referenced the 2007 International Court of Justice judgement which confirmed the acts were genocide committed with specific intent to destroy part of the Muslim group. Zappia emphasised that hundreds of bodies remain unrecovered and that the world failed to intervene when it could have prevented the humanitarian disaster.