First of all this afternoon—.

This week marks the poignant twenty-fifth anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. The victims, the survivors and all those affected by this most shameful act of hatred are in our hearts at this time. I'd like now to invite the First Minister to make a statement.

Llywydd, diolch yn fawr. As you said, this year, we mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. In July 1995, General Ratko Mladić and his Serbian paramilitary units overran and captured the town of Srebrenica, ignoring the fact that the area had been designated as a place free from any armed attack or other hostile act. In the days that followed the town's fall, more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were massacred. Thousands of women, children and elderly people were forcibly deported. This was the greatest atrocity on European soil since the end of the second world war.

Today, we remember those who lost their lives in Srebrenica. Our thoughts are with those who have survived them, and who have done so much to make sure that their memory is never far away from the international community. Srebrenica is another name on the list of towns and countries tainted by hate and genocide, but it is also a reminder of what happens when hate and prejudice go unchallenged. It's a reminder to us all to stand together against that hatred and division in our own communities in all its forms, wherever we are in the world. At the Holocaust memorial service earlier this year that a number of us here attended, we heard from Srebrenica, and we heard that slogan that is so often said, 'Never again', and the gap that we all must work so hard to close between that ambition and the actions that we still see around us in the world. We must learn from these dark moments of history.

Mae Cymru'n cofio Srebrenica—Wales remembers Srebrenica.

I'm proud of the relationship that our Senedd has built with Remembering Srebrenica and with the people of Bosnia. And the person who has led on that work for this Senedd—I ask David Melding now to speak on behalf of the charity Cofio Srebrenica. David Melding.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I thank you personally, and the Commission also, for allowing us to have this statement today, which I think is very appropriate on the twenty-fifth anniversary? As you said, it was my honour to lead a Commission delegation in 2015. That year also saw a major celebration—the Welsh national celebration that year—in the Senedd, and it was held with great dignity and purpose.

Now, here we are, 25 years on from this terrible event—the darkest episode, in terms of European conflict, since the second world war. Like the First Minister, I'm wearing the flower of Srebrenica. This flower was crocheted by the Mothers of Srebrenica, mothers of the victims. I think we should remember all the relatives who live with this terrible anguish of having seen their loved ones murdered in that terrible massacre.

I would also like to pay tribute to the Welsh board of Remembering Srebrenica, particularly Saleem Kidwai and Abi Carter, who are the joint chairs and do much—so much—to raise awareness of this terrible event in our history, but also what we should be doing in our own communities to ensure such hatred is never allowed to flourish anywhere in Europe.

I also want to mention how interrelated we are through the work of a Welsh policeman, Howard Tucker, who was the head of the United Nations investigation force in the early 2000s, which led to so much of the evidence gathering and enabled the trials that were held in The Hague of the war criminals. It is a reminder that Wales has its part to play through many of its citizens.

We're a small country, as is Bosnia, and I do hope the links will continue, as they've been led by the Senedd. Also, I commend the work of the Welsh Government in taking opportunities to promote awareness of Srebrenica through the education curriculum, for instance.

We all have our part to play in defending a strong democracy, which can only flourish based on cultural tolerance and the celebration of diverse cultures and traditions. When we do that in Wales, we also help the people of Bosnia, as we do with our direct relations with them, which I hope will long continue. Thank you very much—diolch yn fawr.

Thank you, David Melding and First Minister. Cymru'n cofio—Wales remembers Srebrenica, and our Senedd does so today.