PRESS RELEASE : 28th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide – UK statement to the OSCE [July 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 July 2023.
Deputy Ambassador Brown remembers the victims of the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, highlighting that we must learn the lessons of history.
Thank you, Mr Chair.
On 11 July we paused to remember the victims of the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to honour the survivors.
Mr Chair, 28 years ago in Srebrenica, genocide took place in Europe for the first time since 1945. The genocide 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, threats of secession, 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, we remember Srebrenica this year 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. 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.
As our Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans, James Heappey, said during the UK National Srebrenica Memorial Day Ceremony earlier this month, we will never forget Srebrenica. We can demonstrate that best by doing everything in our power to ensure that the senseless violence of 28 years ago is truly a thing of the past.
Thank you, Mr Chair.
