The United Kingdom Minister for Europe and Americas at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Wendy Morton, is hosting a reception at Lancaster House to mark Srebrenica Memorial Day on Wednesday.

The event was originally scheduled to take place during the Srebrenica Memorial Week in the UK in July but had to be postponed due to the extension of Covid-19 restrictions. It will be attended by “high profile dignitaries including Ambassadors and High Commissioners, politicians from across the political spectrum, senior faith and community leaders as well as British Bosnian survivors of the genocide and ethnic cleansing.”

“The Srebrenica Genocide is the worst atrocity on European soil since the second world war in which over 8000 Muslims were systematically murdered just in the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia simply because of their Muslim identity, a close to 100,000 Muslims killed across the whole country, over 2.2 million people displaced and, between 20,000-50,000 women raped as part of the systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide enacted by Serb forces,” a statement by the Remembering Srebrenica UK charity organisation said.

It said that the UK is the “largest commemorator in the world of local Srebrenica memorial activities” which are organised by the British charity organisation through its eight English regional boards and three country boards in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as 1,450 Community Champions, “to honour the victims and survivors of the Genocide and teach people about the dangers of hatred and the importance of building more cohesive communities for all.”

Remembering Srebrenica UK selects a theme for each year “that not only reflects an aspect of the genocide that must be commemorated, but also speaks to communities in the UK” and the theme of this year is ‘Rebuilding Lives’ – “to honour the two million people who were displaced as a result of the genocide and ethnic cleansing.”

“In albeit very different ways the Covid pandemic has brought loss and difficulties to millions, shattering individuals and communities, who are now looking to rebuild their lives. And as we move forwards to rebuilding our communities in the wake of the many health and economic challenges which people with divisive agendas are all too keen to exploit, we will remember and learn from the stories of genocide survivors who, despite the horrendous hatred and destruction they experienced, have rebuild their lives with dignity and without calling for retribution or promoting hatred or division. Their spirit is remarkable and their humanity inspiring. We will remember,” said the Chairman of Remembering Srebrenica, Dr Waqar Azmi OBE.

“We are proud that our country is the largest commemorator of Srebrenica memorial activities in the world which not only seeks to bring people together to learn the lessons of the past in order to create stronger, more inclusive communities but also inspires future generations to take action to stand up to hatred and intolerance,” said the President of Remembering Srebrenica, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth.