Twenty-eight years ago, one of the darkest pages of European history was written. We share the grief and pain of the families and friends of the victims and of the survivors of the genocide in Srebrenica, European Union's senior officials Josep Borrell and Oliver Varhelyi said in a statement ahead of the 28th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide.

“Europe remembers its responsibility and failure to protect. Today, while war rages again on the European continent, we vow to do better to defend peace and protect life,” the officials said.

In commemorating the consequences of armed conflict, the European Union reiterates its commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, the official said, adding that, as a candidate country, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s future lies within the European Union.

“Reconciliation can only be built upon truth, peace, and upon justice. There can be no tolerance for genocide denial, historical revisionism, and glorification of war criminals. All civil and political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina have the responsibility to work together to build a better future based on dialogue and mutual understanding to strengthen and defend peace and human dignity for the benefit of all generations,” said Borrell and Varhelyi.

The remains of another 30 victims will be buried this week at the Potocari Memorial Centre, with the youngest victim aged 15 at the time of the death and other two juvenile victims aged 16 and 17.

Over 8,000 persons were killed in the genocide, mainly men and boys. To date, the remains of 6,652 have been buried at the Potocari memorial. The remains of 237 have been buried elsewhere according to their families’ wishes.

For the Srebrenica genocide, the Hague war crimes tribunal sentenced to life former Bosnian Serb political and military leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic.