His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols

The Srebrenica massacre stands as a defining symbol of the Balkans conflict which put Europe—and indeed the international community—to shame in the last decade of the 20th Century. It was a brutal reminder of the power of how conflicting identities, hatred and fears can blind us to our common humanity, and of our responsibility to protect those in danger of genocide. The world failed then, and—sadly—the world has failed since. Srebrenica Memorial Day is an opportunity to salute the work of all those who have worked to shine a light on all that happened in the dark days of 1995 and to pledge to do all we can as religious or political leaders, or simply as citizens of the world, to reach out across the barriers between us and to work for justice and reconciliation.