Dutch court upholds 2014 verdict
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The Netherlands is partly liable for the deaths of 300 Muslims killed in the Srebrenica massacre, a court has today confirmed.
The Hague Appeals Court upheld a decision from 2014 that ordered the Dutch state to compensate families of the victims.
A special service will be held at #Bradford Cathedral to mark Srebrenica led by the Bishop of Bradford
toby_howarth</a> <a href="https://t.co/oC2hqP8Whb">https://t.co/oC2hqP8Whb</a> <a href="https://t.co/oOTbyZTkRb">pic.twitter.com/oOTbyZTkRb</a></p>— Remember Srebrenica (SrebrenicaUK) June 17, 2017
That ruling said Dutch peacekeepers could have known that the Muslim men seeking refuge at a U.N. base in the village of Potocari would be murdered by Bosnian Serb troops if forced to leave – as they were.
#Srebrenica Kurz vor dem Völkermord: Der bosnisch-serbische General Ratko Mladic (l) mit dem holländischen Kommandanten Karremans (2. v. r) pic.twitter.com/jvngGTWMGF
— DW | Politik (@dw_politik) June 27, 2017
The verdict is seen as exceptional as the United Nations enjoys immunity from prosecution. However the Dutch case is an almost unique in holding a state participating in a U.N. peacekeeping mission liable for its actions.
Difficult to sum up today. Memorial Centre outside Srebrenica. #RSS17 #boysbrigade pic.twitter.com/pVJRQDNTEr
— Bill Stevenson (@billBBHQ) June 13, 2017
The Srebrenica massacre, the biggest mass killing in Europe since World War II, saw Bosnian Serb forces kill more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims, who were meant to be under the protection of the U.N.