PRESS RELEASE : 29th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide – UK statement to the OSCE [July 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 July 2024.

Ambassador Holland remembers the victims of the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and pays tribute to the courage and resilience shown by families and survivors.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Today we remember the victims of the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and honour the survivors. This year we are marking 11 July more formally for the first time as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica, following the adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution on 23 May. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia found that several individuals were guilty of genocide in Srebrenica. Acknowledgement of that fact should not be a cause for tension and division. Rather, it is a basis on which true reconciliation can be achieved.

Mr Chair, 29 years ago in Srebrenica, genocide took place in Europe for the first time since 1945. It claimed the lives of over 8,000 mostly Muslim men and boys, and led to the displacement of over 20,000 women and children who were forcibly expelled from their homes. We honour the memory of those killed, and pay tribute to the extraordinary courage and resilience shown by their families and by survivors. We stand with the families in their ongoing fight for justice.

The UK is committed to supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina in its efforts to build a secure, stable, inclusive society, and heal the fractures caused by conflict. It is regrettable that we continue to see divisive and dangerous nationalist rhetoric, secessionist moves, and open challenges to the constitutional order established by the Dayton Peace Agreement. The UK is committed to a single, sovereign Bosnia and Herzegovina, and will continue to take action in support of that. We also continue to urge political leaders to condemn any glorification of the perpetrators of war crimes, and to take action against genocide denial.

Mr Chair, as was the case in 2022 and 2023, we are marking this date in the shadow of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. We must learn the lessons of history. Terrible events such as the genocide at Srebrenica show the consequences of inaction. We owe it to the victims to create societies that are stable, inclusive and cohesive, and to fight against prejudice, hatred, fear and division wherever we find it. Remaining true to our shared commitment to the concept of comprehensive security, articulated by the Helsinki principles and central to membership of the OSCE, is the best way to do this. The greatest tribute we can give to those who lost their lives is to do everything we can to prevent such a horrific crime from ever being repeated.

Thank you, Mr Chair.