Nigel Casey

“On 11th July every year a ceremony is held at the Memorial Centre in Potočari to remember the victims of the Srebrenica genocide and to bury those whose remains have been identified since the last commemoration. It is a moving and emotional occasion for all those present. For the families of those being buried, it is the first chance to say goodbye properly to their loved ones. For everyone, it is a painful moment to reflect. Keeping alive the memory of what happened in Srebrenica is as important now as it has ever been, especially when there are people who continue to try to downplay the enormity of the crime com- mitted there, and to contest the findings of the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) that it constituted an act of genocide. That is why the British Government has been a leading supporter, financially and politically, of the work of the ICTY and the War Crimes Division of the BiH State Court in bringing those accused of responsibility for Srebrenica to face justice. It is why we have been a leading supporter of the International Commission for Missing Persons, whose pioneering use of DNA analysis has enabled the successful identification of the great majority of the victims. And it is why we have supported the creation of the Potočari Memorial Centre. For the same reason, I am very pleased that, thanks to the Remembering Srebrenica initiative, the commemoration in Srebrenica will have a strong echo in London. I commend the work, and continue to support the initiative.”