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Dutch court upholds UN immunity for Srebrenica massacre

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The Hague Appeals Court on Tuesday upheld the UN's immunity from prosecution by rejecting claims brought by relatives of victims of the Srebrenica massacre during the 1992-1995 Bosnian conflict. The relatives, known as the Mothers of Srebrenica, alleged that the Netherlands should be liable for the deaths because Dutch soldiers operating under the UN flag negligently failed to protect civilians by forcing the victims out of a UN-designated "safe area" and turning them over to Bosnian Serbs, resulting in the death of 8,000 Muslim men and boys. The court found that immunity is essential to the UN's ability to carry out its duties, and that the Dutch acting as UN peacekeepers could not be held responsible. The decision upheld the district court's 2008 decision to dismiss the claims. The Mothers of Srebrenica have vowed to appeal the case to the Netherlands Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice if necessary. Earlier this month, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, charged with committing war crimes during the Bosnian conflict, appeared before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to make his opening statements. Karadzic began by denying any plan to expel Muslims from Serbia, and blaming Muslims and Western countries for triggering the civil war. Karadzic also accused Bosnians of planting corpses and embellishing reports about fatalities, calling the Srebrenica massacre a farce promulgated by Bosnian Muslims to incite hatred against Serbian forces. Karadzic is defending himself against 11 counts including genocide and murder, and he faces life in prison if convicted.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 30, 2010 (boomark / email).