Ed Royce: “I appreciate Mr. Smith of New Jersey for bringing this bill up and keeping this atrocity and the lessons that it means…”

“I appreciate Mr. Smith of New Jersey for bringing this bill up and keeping this atrocity and the lessons that it means for us today in front of this body, and as always, I appreciate Mr. Engel's cooperation in seeing this resolution move to the floor. I appreciate the powerful stories that were shared by Mr. Engel and by Mr. Smith today in terms of what happened on that day 20 years ago this month as Bosnian Serb forces transformed what was supposed to be a U.N. safe haven for refugees into what became an extermination camp. On that July day, 8,000 men and boys were massacred. As they shared with you, Serb forces compiled detailed lists of those targeted for killing. They separated families, and they drove those young Muslim men to various fields where they were summarily executed. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ruled that this act was an act of genocide--and rightly so. We do not know the names of many of these victims, as these killers took extensive measures to cover their crimes. As a result, families have never found their missing relatives, and experts continue to uncover and identify remains at the scenes of these mass killings. Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that this tragedy will ``haunt the United Nations forever.'' Although it occurred 20 years ago, this massacre continues to hinder progress towards peace in this troubled region.…”