Thousands of people gathered in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Saturday to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, one of the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II. Survivors, relatives of victims, international officials, and visitors from around the world attended the annual memorial ceremony at the Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial Centre.
The commemoration included the burial of newly identified victims whose remains were recently recovered and identified through DNA analysis. Families of the victims held funeral prayers before the coffins were laid to rest alongside thousands of others already buried at the memorial cemetery.
In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces overran the UN-declared "safe area" of Srebrenica and systematically killed more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys. International courts, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), later ruled that the massacre constituted genocide.
Speakers at the ceremony stressed the importance of preserving the memory of the victims and combating genocide denial. They warned that attempts to deny or minimise the crimes continue to cause pain for survivors and undermine reconciliation efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
United Nations officials, European Union representatives, and leaders from several countries reaffirmed their commitment to justice, remembrance, and preventing similar atrocities in the future. They called on the international community to continue supporting efforts to document the truth, prosecute those responsible, and promote lasting peace in the Western Balkans.