8,372+
Victims
Bosniak men and boys systematically murdered after the fall of the Srebrenica enclave in July 1995. The figure continues to be refined as identification work proceeds.
Memorial · Those we remember
The victims of the Srebrenica Genocide
More than eight thousand Bosniak men and boys were murdered in July 1995. Their names, their absence, and the dignity of their families stand at the centre of this memorial.
8,372+
Men and boys murdered · July 1995
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un
To God we belong and to Him we return
A traditional Muslim expression of mourning and acceptance, offered here in remembrance of the victims.
Numbers that must not be erased
Figures established by the Srebrenica Memorial Center, DNA identification programmes, and international court findings.
6,700+
Identified & buried
Victims identified through DNA analysis and interred at the Potočari Memorial Center. The search for those still missing continues.
11 July
Annual burials
Each year on 11 July, newly identified remains are buried in collective ceremonies at Potočari, as families gather in remembrance.
Memorial Center
Where the identified are laid to rest, and where the living return each July.
The Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial Center and Cemetery stands on the site of the former United Nations compound where thousands of civilians sought refuge in July 1995. Today it is a place of burial, education, and pilgrimage.
Over 6,700 victims have been identified through DNA matching — often from secondary mass graves into which remains were moved in an attempt to conceal the crimes — and buried in the cemetery at Potočari. White headstones mark each grave; many more names are still awaited.
Every year on 11 July, the anniversary of the fall of the enclave, families gather for collective funerals. Newly identified remains are brought home. The ceremonies are both mourning and defiance: a refusal to let the dead be forgotten or the crime denied.
The cemetery at Potočari — white nišani mark identified graves
Photo: Mazbln · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Memorial stone recording the number of victims at Potočari
Photo: Lucignolobrescia · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Wall of names at the Potočari genocide memorial
Photo: Michael Büker · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Mothers of Srebrenica
Mothers of the Enclaves of Srebrenica and Žepa — guardians of memory and seekers of truth.
The association known as the Mothers of Srebrenica — formally the Mothers of the Enclaves of Srebrenica and Žepa — was founded by women who lost husbands, sons, brothers, and fathers in the genocide. For three decades they have demanded the identification of the missing, the prosecution of those responsible, and an end to denial.
Figures such as Hatidža Mehmedović and Munira Subašić became the public voice of grief that refused silence. They testified before courts, addressed the United Nations, and stood each July among the graves at Potočari. Their work helped ensure that the world would not look away.
The Mothers continue to press for the recovery of remains still scattered in secondary graves, for accurate education about the genocide, and for dignity for every family that still waits for a name.
Voices of those who survived
Short excerpts from survivors and mothers. These words are offered with respect; they describe irreparable loss.
Content noticeThis section contains survivor testimony describing the loss of family members in the Srebrenica Genocide. Reader discretion is advised.Continue
“I am still looking for my sons. I will look for them until I die. The world must never forget what was done to us.”
“We are not asking for revenge. We are asking for the truth. Without the truth there can be no justice, and without justice there can be no peace.”
“They took my husband and my sons. I buried what they found of them years later. Every July I stand at their graves so that no one can say it did not happen.”
The Srebrenica flower
The official remembrance emblem worn and displayed worldwide each July.
The Srebrenica flower is the recognised symbol of remembrance for the victims of the genocide. It appears at commemorations, on lapels, and at the Memorial Center in Potočari.
- Eleven petalsEleven white petals mark 11 July — the day the enclave fell, and the day of annual remembrance and burial.
- WhiteWhite stands for the innocence of those who were murdered — civilians who had sought protection under the United Nations flag.
- Green centerThe green centre signifies hope: that memory endures, that justice is pursued, and that such crimes must never be repeated.
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un
To God we belong and to Him we return
Da se nikad ne zaboravi
In memory of the 8,372+ victims. We remember. We honour. We refuse to forget.