Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks, as delivered by Earle Courtenay Rattray, Chef de Cabinet, to the General Assembly on the Observance of the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica, in New York today:

It is for me an honour to stand with you today, in remembrance of the victims of the genocide in Srebrenica.

In July 1995, more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys - many seeking the protection of the United Nations compound in Potočari - were systematically separated from their families, executed and buried in mass graves.

Thousands of women, children and older persons were forcibly displaced. An entire generation was robbed of its future. It was the worst atrocity on European soil since the Second World War.

But the intention to annihilate the Bosnian Muslims of Srebrenica failed. The survivors - some of whom are here with us today - are living proof. They have testified, time and again, before national and international courts. Among them, the Mothers of Srebrenica have shown extraordinary courage in their pursuit of truth and justice.

They have rebuilt shattered communities and raised their children and grandchildren not in hatred or revenge, but in love and in compassion: the only ground on which a grieving community can heal - even as the pain endures.

In 2024, this Assembly designated this International Day of Reflection and Commemoration. To observe it is to accept a duty; to reaffirm the facts the courts have established; to acknowledge the suffering of the victims; and to pursue accountability. This is how trust is rebuilt, peace sustained and atrocity prevented.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice found that the acts committed at Srebrenica in 1995 constituted genocide. They also reaffirmed that responsibility for that crime is individual - and cannot be laid upon any ethnic, religious or other group or community.

International law is equally clear: States have an obligation to prevent genocide. Defending these findings against denial and revisionism - and ensuring the voices of the victims are never silenced - is a duty that we all carry.

Only by recognizing the suffering of every victim can we build the empathy on which any future must rest: that is a future with no place for genocide denial or historical revisionism; a future where dialogue, not division, carries us toward peace.

But we must also confront a difficult reality. After Srebrenica, the world once again said: "Never again." Yet, as we know, hate speech is on the rise - fuelling discrimination, extremism and division. Convicted war criminals are glorified.

We cannot turn away from these warning signs. We must act early - for prevention is our shared duty, and our surest protection.

On this International Day, I call on every Member State to uphold its shared responsibility: to confront denial with truth and impunity with justice. So today, we remember and honour the victims with humility and resolve, humility before their immeasurable suffering, resolve that such horror will never be repeated.

To the survivors and the families: we stand with you, in respect and in solidarity. And I ask everyone, everywhere, to remember Srebrenica - to listen to those who lived it, and to act on what they teach us. In defence of human dignity, peace and justice.