Survivors of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of nearly 8,000 muslim men and boys have lost their bid to sue the UN for their loss.
‘In the international conventions to do with the foundation of the UN it has been provided clearly that the UN cannot be brought before a national court of law of one of the member states,’ the Appeals Court in The Hague said in a statement announcing the judgment.
The ‘Mothers of Srebrenica’, a grouping of some 6,000 survivors and next-of-kin of victims of the massacre, sought to claim damages against the UN and the Dutch government for allegedly failing to protect the Bosnian enclave.
A district court ruled in July 2008 that the UN could not be cited as a party to such proceedings, a decision now upheld on appeal.
‘The immunity from prosecution guarantees that the UN is not thwarted in the execution of its duties as a result of court cases being instigated against it,’ said the court statement.
Srebrenica was a UN-protected muslim enclave until 11 July 1995, when it was overrun by Bosnian Serb forces who loaded thousands of men and boys onto trucks, executed them and threw their bodies into mass graves in the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II.
The Serbs brushed aside lightly-armed Dutch UN peacekeepers in the ‘safe area’ where thousands of Muslims from surrounding villages had gathered for protection.
The UN has admitted it failed to protect the Muslims of Srebrenica, but none of its officials were held responsible.
The Mothers of Srebrenica are still seeking to claim damages from the Dutch state.
