Thousands of people gathered in Srebrenica on Thursday to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1995 genocide, in which more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serb forces.

Speaking at the memorial in Potocari, Dutch caretaker foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp addressed survivors and bereaved families, saying the international community had failed to protect them.

“We feel ashamed. We, the international community, failed to protect them,” he said. “I feel ashamed that the Netherlands, as part of that community, bears a moral and political responsibility for not preventing the genocide.”

Dutch UN peacekeepers, known as Dutchbat, who were stationed in the so-called “safe area” were incapable of stopping Ratko Mladic’s troops from carrying out the massacre.

Veldkamp repeated the Netherlands’ “deepest apologies” on behalf of the government, saying “I understand these words cannot change the bitter reality of your loss.” The first official apology was issued in 2022 by then defence minister Kajsa Ollongren.

In the Netherlands itself, the anniversary was marked with the symbolic start of a national monument in The Hague.

A memorial stone containing 8,372 small stones — one for each victim — was placed at Churchillplein, outside the location of the former Yugoslavia tribunal, where are number of people were convicted of taking part in the mass killing.

The site is intended to become a permanent memorial, and campaigners hope the adjacent tribunal building can also be used as an educational centre.

Veldkamp told broadcaster NOS he was committed to realising a permanent monument in the Netherlands. “We share responsibility for the failure in 1995,” he said.

“In the Netherlands, the wheels can turn very slowly,” Veldkamp said. “But I am determined this National Monument must happen. It may be a temporary monument for now, but it is crucial that a permanent one is built.”