Dutch partially liable for Srebrenica deaths: Courts

A Dutch appeals court has confirmed that the Netherlands was partly liable for the deaths of about 300 Muslims who were expelled from a Dutch UN base after the surrounding area was overrun by Bosnian Serb troops.

The ruling by the Hague Appeals Court upholds a 2014 decision that Dutch peacekeepers could have known that the men seeking refuge at the base in the village of Potocari would be murdered by Bosnian Serb troops if forced to leave - as they were.

The Muslims seeking shelter were among about 8,000 people killed in the massacre, which the UN International Court for Justice, in a 2007 verdict, ruled a genocide.

Tuesday’s ruling is seen as exceptional as the UN enjoys immunity from prosecution.

However, the Dutch case is almost unique in holding a state participating in a UN peacekeeping mission liable for its actions.

Source: Al Jazeera