30 years after the Srebrenica genocide, why recognising the dead still matters
Wednesday 23 July 2025 18h – 20h. The discussion will be followed by a drinks reception and film viewing
Leigh Day, 27, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AJ
July 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. Despite the passing of time, victims of the massacre are still being identified. On 23 July we are holding a special event to commemorate the victims and highlight the ongoing process of identifying and documenting the dead, both in Bosnia and in current conflicts around the world.
We will look at how and why families, communities and professionals spend decades piecing together the fate of those who died in armed conflict. We will examine why documenting the personal details matter so profoundly to survivors, and the cumulative power they have over a nation’s ability to move forward. This event will demonstrate why restoring the identity of the dead is a vital precondition for restoring the collective humanity of the living.
Speakers include:
- Smajo Bešo OBE, Bosnian Genocide Educational Trust: Smajo Bešo OBE is a Bosnian-born genocide survivor, architect, educator, public speaker, and founder of the Bosnian Genocide Educational Trust. Born in Stolac in 1985, he witnessed ethnic cleansing, the siege of his hometown, and fled to the UK with his family in 1994 where he channelled his experiences into education and remembrance—founding the Trust in 2020 to teach about genocide and promote reconciliation. In recognition of his work, he was awarded an OBE in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to genocide education and commemoration.
- Professor Sue Black, DBE: Baroness Black is a world-renowned forensic anthropologist and academic. Baroness Black has led forensic identification operations for victims of armed conflict and natural disasters around the world, including in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq and the Indian Ocean tsunami response. She was a founder of the British Association for Human Identification and the British Association for Forensic Anthropology, and is currently the President of St John’s College, Oxford.
- Kathryne Bomberger: Kathryne Bomberger is the Director-General of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), the international treaty-based organisation which was initially established to help ensure identification of all those who had gone missing during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. The ICMP’s mandate has now expanded to cover identification of missing persons in armed conflict and insecurity across the globe.
- Fiona Lloyd-Davies, Studio 9 Films: Fiona Lloyd-Davies is an award-winning photo-journalist and documentary film maker whose work focuses on human rights abuses and armed conflict. Fiona has worked on several films about the war in Bosnia including The Unforgiving, A Cry from the Grave and Unconquered: Gorazde City of Heroes. Her latest film, The Grave, follows the identification of 450 bodies from a mass grave in Izium, Ukraine.
- Rachel Taylor, Every Casualty Counts: Rachel Taylor is the Executive Director of Every Casualty Counts (ECC). ECC is the only organisation in the world dedicated to recording all victims of armed conflict individually. It works with a network of 67 partner organisations globally to support documentation processes, and regularly advises United Nations bodies and government actors on casualty recording procedures.
Wednesday 23 July 2025 18h – 19h, followed by drinks reception and film viewing
Leigh Day, Panagram, 27 Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AJ
Places are strictly limited, so please reserve in advance to avoid disappointment.
