Srebrenica 15th Anniversary

NEWS RELEASE

11 July 2011

Baroness Warsi will travel to Bosnia from 10-12 July to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the genocide at Srebrenica, the first such ceremony since the capture of Ratko Mladic.

Her attendance will underline the importance the Government attaches to this anniversary and its commitment to justice and reconciliation in the Balkans.

The British Government has committed considerable programme funding to Srebrenica-related projects since 2000 including to construction of the memorial complex in Srebrenica; contributing to a UNDP regional recovery programme and to public infrastructure renewal; support to the International Commission for Missing Persons in its work to identify the remains of missing persons (which has inter alia generated important evidence for ICTY trials); and legal secondments to the team in the Bosnian State Prosecutor’s Office dealing with Srebrenica-related crimes.

Baroness Warsi is meeting on Sunday evening with the High Representative, Dr Valentin Inzko.

On Monday morning, she will delivering a keynote speaker at the launch of this year’s Srebrenica Summer School, an international programme for graduate research into issues such as transitional justice, genocide and post-conflict studies.

She will then lay a wreath at the commemoration of victims of the Srebrenica massacre.

On Tuesday, she will meet with the presidents of Bosnia to discuss the latest political developments.

Baroness Warsi said; ‘Srebrenica is a name that now resonates around the world as a lesson in the consequences of unchecked evil. But we must never lose sight of the fact that the genocide at Srebrenica is about the massacre of individuals – each of them mourned by friends, families and loved ones. Today is also an occasion to restate our commitment to justice for those responsible for war crimes.’