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Court Finds Netherlands Responsible for Srebrenica Deaths
Court Finds Netherlands Responsible for Some Srebrenica Deaths
(about 4 hours later)
PARIS — A Dutch court ruled on Wednesday that Dutch peacekeepers had failed to prevent the deaths of more than 300 victims of the Srebrenica massacre, holding the government of the Netherlands liable for those deaths in Europe’s worst ethnically motivated mass murder since World War II.
PARIS — A Dutch court ruled on Wednesday that the government was liable for the deaths of about 300 victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia, Europe’s worst ethnically motivated mass murder since World War II, saying that a United Nations team of Dutch peacekeepers had failed to prevent those deaths.
“The state is liable for the damages suffered” by the relatives “as a result of Dutchbat’s cooperation with the deportation of male refugees from the compound in Potocari who in the afternoon of 13 July 1995 were deported and killed by the Bosnian Serbs,” the ruling said in using the name of the Dutch peacekeeping force.
The ruling indicated that the Netherlands was responsible because the Dutch peacekeeping force, outnumbered by raiding Bosnian Serb forces, had handed over nearly 300 Bosnian Muslim men and boys of fighting age after Gen. Ratko Mladic, commander of the forces, ordered that they be “screened for war crimes.” The ruling, by the district court in The Hague, said the peacekeeping force should have known that the Muslims were likely to be killed by the Serbs.
For relatives of the 300 victims, who were among the roughly 8,000 Muslim men and boys massacred at Srebrenica, the verdict may bring a sense of relief and justice. They have sought for nearly two decades to bring to account Dutch peacekeepers who were stationed near Srebrenica under a United Nations mandate and who failed to protect Bosnian Muslims from the raiding Bosnian Serb forces when the town fell to them. But the verdict was likely to fall short of satisfying the relatives of thousands of other victims, who so far have not been compensated.
For relatives of the 300 victims, who were among the roughly 8,000 Muslim men and boys massacred at Srebrenica, the ruling, which said the government was liable for any compensation, may also bring a sense of relief and justice. They have sought for nearly two decades to bring to account the Dutch peacekeepers, who were stationed near Srebrenica under a United Nations mandate. The relatives of thousands of other victims have not been compensated.
The court’s decision may also pose legal risks for countries involved in international peacekeeping operations, as it holds the Dutch forces liable for events that the Netherlands has long argued were the responsibility of the killers, not of United Nations peacekeepers.
The court’s decision may also pose legal risks for countries involved in international peacekeeping operations, as it holds the Dutch forces liable for events that the Netherlands has long argued were the responsibility of the killers, not of United Nations peacekeepers.
The case centers on the events of July 1995, when Bosnian Serb forces under the command of Gen. Ratko Mladic overwhelmed a group of fewer than 400 lightly armed Dutch peacekeepers before taking control of a safe area around Srebrenica. Men and boys were then rounded up and led to fields where they were shot with their hands bound. Their bodies were later buried in mass graves, as the Bosnian Serb forces sought to cover up the crime. The remains of victims are still being discovered nearly two decades later.
The case concerns the events of July 1995, when Bosnian Serb forces overwhelmed fewer than 400 lightly armed Dutch peacekeepers before taking control of a safe area around Srebrenica. Men and boys were rounded up and led to fields, where their hands were bound and they were shot. Their bodies were later buried in mass graves.
After the town fell on July 11, about 30,000 people sought refuge in the area around the peacekeepers’ base, and some 5,000 refugees were allowed to stay within the United Nations compound. But the Dutch peacekeepers, outnumbered by the Bosnian Serb forces, agreed to hand over the Bosnian Muslim men and boys to Bosnian Serb forces. They were then killed.
After Srebrenica fell on July 11, about 30,000 people sought refuge in the area around the peacekeepers’ base, and 5,000 were allowed to stay within the United Nations compound. But the Dutch peacekeepers agreed to hand over 300 of the refugees to the Bosnian Serb forces.
Referring to Dutchbat, the court ruled that the peacekeepers shared in the responsibility for the deaths of the 300 men and boys. The force “should have taken into account the possibility that these men would be the victim of genocide and that it can be said with sufficient certainty that, had the Dutchbat allowed them to stay at the compound, these men would have remained alive,” the court said. But the ruling cleared the Dutch peacekeepers of being liable for the massacre of thousands of Bosnian Muslims who fled to the surrounding area near the United Nations compound and were later found by the Bosnian Serb forces and killed.
The court ruled that the peacekeeping team, known as Dutchbat, shared in the responsibility for the deaths of the 300 men and boys. The force “should have taken into account the possibility that these men would be the victim of genocide,” it said. “Had the Dutchbat allowed them to stay at the compound, these men would have remained alive.”
Klaas Meijer, a spokesman for the Dutch Ministry of Defence, said by phone that the Dutch deeply regretted what happened to those slain at Srebrenica. But he emphasized that the court had determined that the Dutch state was not responsible for the fall of the enclave, nor responsible for the deaths of the thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys killed in the surrounding area outside the enclave. He said the state would study the verdict before determining compensation.
But the ruling cleared the Dutch peacekeepers of being liable for the massacre of thousands of Bosnian Muslims who had fled to an area near the compound and were later found by the Serbs and killed.
Klaas Meijer, a spokesman for the Dutch Ministry of Defense, said by phone that the Dutch deeply regretted what happened at Srebrenica. He said the Netherlands would study the verdict before determining compensation for the victims’ families.
“It is important to remember that it was the Bosnian Serb forces who are responsible for the killings,” he added.
“It is important to remember that it was the Bosnian Serb forces who are responsible for the killings,” he added.
A team of seven lawyers, four from Bosnia and three from the Netherlands, have worked on the lawsuit, which began in 2007. The suit initially held both the United Nations and the Dutch state liable for the killing of a majority of those men and boys killed near Srebrenica, but the Dutch High Court ruled that the U.N. enjoyed “absolute immunity.” It then sent the suit back to the district court.
A team of seven lawyers had worked on the case since 2007. A lawsuit filed on behalf of the relatives initially held both the United Nations and the Netherlands liable for most of the deaths, but the Dutch High Court ruled that the United Nations enjoyed “absolute immunity.” It then sent the suit back to the District Court.
Simon van der Sluijs, one of the Dutch lawyers on the team, said he was pleased that the state had been held accountable, but said he regretted that the verdict did not include the thousands of men and boys killed outside the U.N. safe area. He said he and his team planned to appeal the verdict.
Simon van der Sluijs, one of the Dutch lawyers on the team, said he was pleased with the ruling, but would appeal it because it did not hold the Netherlands responsible for the deaths of uncounted other men who had sought refuge near the compound.
The decision on Wednesday follows a seminal ruling last year by the Dutch Supreme Court that found the Netherlands responsible for the deaths of three Bosnian Muslim men because Dutch peacekeepers had wrongfully ordered them to leave the United Nations compound during the 1995 massacre. It was the first time a government had been held liable for the actions of peacekeepers operating with a United Nations mandate.
The decision on Wednesday follows a seminal ruling last year by the Dutch Supreme Court that found the Netherlands responsible for the deaths of three Bosnian Muslim men because Dutch peacekeepers had wrongfully ordered them to leave the compound during the massacre. It was the first time a government had been held liable for the actions of peacekeepers operating with a United Nations mandate.
In that case, the court dismissed arguments by the Dutch government that holding forces accountable for events during peacekeeping activities could undermine future United Nations operations and make countries more reticent about supplying troops who could be made liable for their actions.
In that case, the court dismissed arguments that holding forces accountable for events during peacekeeping activities could undermine future United Nations operations and make countries more reluctant to supply troops.
The Dutch Supreme Court, which was upholding a 2011 decision by appeals court judges, said that even though United Nations commanders were in charge of the peace mission at Srebrenica, in the days after the Bosnian Serb takeover, the Dutch authorities in The Hague had “effective control” over the troops and therefore shared liability.
The Dutch Supreme Court, which was upholding a 2011 decision by an appellate court, said that even though United Nations commanders were in charge of the peace mission at Srebrenica, in the days after the Bosnian Serb takeover, Dutch authorities had “effective control” over the troops and therefore shared liability.
Relatives of the victims in Wednesday’s case are expected to receive some compensation from the Dutch state. In April, the Dutch government agreed to pay 20,000 euros, or about $27,000, to relatives of the three Bosnian men who had been killed. But after a public outcry and protests from lawyers of victims’ families, the amount is now being renegotiated.
Srecko Latal, a political analyst who until recently worked with the nonprofit International Crisis Group in Sarajevo, Bosnia, said by phone that the verdict was important for showing that peacekeepers had both a moral and a legal responsibility to protect civilians. But he said it was unlikely to heal the wounds in Bosnia, an ethnically divided country still reeling from the war.
Mr. Mladic, who is accused of orchestrating the massacre at Srebrenica, was arrested in 2011 and is on trial at the United Nations war crimes court in The Hague on genocide charges. In addition to the massacre at Srebrenica, Mr. Mladic is also accused of war crimes during the three-and-a-half-year siege of Sarajevo, in which 10,000 people died. He says he is innocent of the charges.
Relatives of the victims of the Srebrenica massacre have long expressed anger at the West’s inaction during the killings, with particular ire directed against the Dutch, whom they argue should have done more to protect Bosnian Muslims from raiding Bosnian Serb troops, some of whom stole the helmets and vehicles of peacekeepers to trick and capture those trying to escape.
The verdict came at an emotional time for relatives of the victims, days after thousands of people gathered in Bosnia to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the massacre.
Srecko Latal, a political analyst who until recently worked with the nonprofit International Crisis Group in Sarajevo, said by phone that the verdict was important for showing that peacekeepers had both a moral and legal responsibility to protect civilians. But he said it was unlikely to heal the wounds in Bosnia, an ethnically divided country still reeling from the war.
“This verdict is a symbolic gesture that will bring comfort to some victims’ relatives, but it is only a small number who are being compensated,” he said. “It’s a drop in the bucket.”
“This verdict is a symbolic gesture that will bring comfort to some victims’ relatives, but it is only a small number who are being compensated,” he said. “It’s a drop in the bucket.”
