Rejecting Genocide Denial in Europe
“There is no place in Europe for genocide denial, revisionism, and glorification of war criminals.”
Josep Borrell
High Representative/Vice-President of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Olivér Várhelyi
Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement/Member of the European Commission
Honoring the Victims, Healing the Scars
“Today we commemorate the Srebrenica genocide of July 1995. This heinous crime left deep scars in Bosnia and Herzegovina and across the European continent.”
Jean-Claude Juncker
Former president of the European Comission
Srebrenica Memorial Day
“Srebrenica Memorial Day offers a poignant moment to reflect and remember those dark days in July 1995 when more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were murdered because of their faith.”
Sadiq Khan
Mayor of London
A Reminder Against Dehumanization and Violence
“The name “Srebrenica” should remind every one of us that pride in our own religious and ethnic heritage does not require or permit us to dehumanise or kill those who are different.”
Lord Paddy Ashdown
Former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ending Genocide's Grip on Europe
“People who quest for power killed those good people simply because of who they were…They sought power through genocide, but Srebrenica was the beginning of the end to genocide in Europe.”
Bill Clinton
42 President of USA
23 Years Later: Remembering Srebrenica's Dark Legacy
“Today we commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica. This commemoration reminds us of one of the darkest moments of humanity and modern European history, and of our responsibility to prevent such an atrocity from ever happening again.”
Federica Mogherini
High Representative/Vice-President
Johannes Hahn
Commissioner for Budget and Administration
A Silent Memorial to Unspeakable Crimes
“Srebrenica remains a silent memorial to unspeakable crimes against humanity.”
Catherine Ashton
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission
Štefan Füle
EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy
Recognizing Srebrenica as Genocide
“To respect the past, we must call Srebrenica by its real name – genocide.”
Serge Brammertz
Chief Prosecutor of the IRMCT
Supporting Survivors of Genocide
“We need to be resolute in solidarity with those who survived the genocide. I can’t imagine the pain of those who are still looking for answers and peace.”
Charles III
King of the UK
Truth, Respect, and Dialogue
“We cannot change the past, but we can change the future. For the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the key is truth and not denial, respect and not hatred, open dialogue and not quarrel.”
Borut Pahor
President of Slovenia
Forever Remembered: Srebrenica Genocide and Our Martyrs
“We will never forget our martyrs nor the genocide in Srebrenica.”
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
President of Turkey
Europe's Worst Atrocity Since World War II
“The Srebrenica genocide was the worst atrocity crime on European soil since the Second World War.”
António Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN)
A Tragedy etched in UN History
“The tragedy of Srebrenica will forever haunt the history of the United Nations. This day commemorates a massacre on a scale unprecedented in Europe since the Second World War -- a massacre of people who had been led to believe that the United Nations would ensure their safety.”
Kofi Annan
Former Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN)
We must remember one by one - until we feel the agony more than 8,000 times
“What we will never know, and can only imagine, is the emptiness and silence of all the unanswered prayers. All the victims knew they would not survive, they knew from the laughter of their executioners. Their mothers, sisters and daughters knew that their sons, brothers and fathers kidnapped from their hands and that they will not return. They knew it from the lust of the Bosnian Chetniks... This must be remembered, truly remembered. We must remember one by one - until we feel the agony more than 8,000 times. We remember the rapists, the executioners who killed the boy, dishonored Bosniak women and girls, kicked and hit the child. It cannot be forgiven, no redemption ever, no excuse for beating unarmed boys and men”
Menachem Rosensaft
The Vice President of the World Jewish Congress
The truth won out
“And as I say, eventually, the truth won out. It was late, but intervention mattered. It came after Srebrenica. And what happened was what we journalists had been reporting all along: Genocide. By an aggressor. Against a victim. It was clear. I hope that the lessons learned at Srebrenica, will inform the World to keep their eye on these issues, to keep holding the perpetrators accountable, and to never again let that kind of wanton wholesale slaughter of civilians take place on our watch.”
Christiane Amanpour
Journalist and television host
I grieve with you
“Srebrenica was a crime that did not happen overnight. It could have been prevented, even down to the last few hours... The passage of time cannot diminish the pain felt by survivors of the war in Bosnia or the horror of the Srebrenica genocide. I have never met more brave, dignified and resilient women than the Mothers of Srebrenica, many still searching for their lost sons and husbands 23 years after the genocide. My thoughts and my heart are with them, and with all survivors in Bosnia today.”
Angelina Jolie
Hollywood star and UNHCR Special Envoy
The Story of Us
“The NATO bombing helped for the war to end, but it was too late for the victims of Srebrenica”
Morgan Freeman
Academy Award-winning actor during filming his documentary “The Story of Us”
It moved me to tears
“A deeply emotional story looking back on the Srebrenica genocide. The powerful story that moved me to tears and made me reflect on so many heartbreaking stories I was told growing up”
Dua Lipa
Singer and entrepreneur on film 'Quo Vadis, Aida?' by Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Zbanic
The crime happened and should not be denied
“They are the ever-present voice in our tireless work on genocide prevention, and work to counter hate speech and genocide denial which is an affront to victims and survivors. I pay my respects to them today, the survivors, their families, their lost loved ones.”
Alice Wairimu Nderitu
UN’s special advisor on the prevention of genocide
We thought Europe had learnt the lessons from the genocides
“We thought Europe had learnt the lessons from the genocides and massacres of our past, but events at Srebrenica confronted us with our deep human failure to respect and protect the sanctity of life of our neighbours.”
Justin Welby
Archbishop of Canterbury
This project was made possible by the help of
Srebrenica Genocide: Eleven Lessons for the Future.