By Otto Spijkers

Relatives of the victims of the Srebrenica genocide have started a case against the United Nations and the Netherlands. All peacekeepers present at the time of the genocide were Dutch; this explains why the "Mothers of Srebrenica" have started the case in the district court of The Hague, the legal capital of the world. A very interesting case, worth keeping an eye on… A group of some 6,000 surviving relatives of the victims of the fall of the enclave of Srebrenica, known as the ‘Mothers of Srebrenica’, went to court a few days ago. After studying the NIOD Report, the UN’s Report ‘The Fall of Srebrenica’, and the Report of the French Parliament, they decided to hold the State of the Netherlands and the United Nations jointly responsible for the fall of the enclave at Srebrenica and for the death of their family members. The recent judgment of the International Court of Justice can be helpful too. The attorneys of Van Diepen & Van der Kroef have commenced legal proceedings in the Netherlands on behalf of the relatives. On the attorneys’ website, you encounter a warning before you can download and read the writ:

The writ of summons contains passages that can be experienced as extremely shocking. The content of the writ of summons is therefore expressly not suitable for young readers and not for persons who may be sensitive to detailed descriptions of war crimes.

After reading the warning, you can open the writ. It is an extremely interesting case, one that did not enjoy too much international coverage thus far. Depending on the way the trial will evolve (perhaps the UN does not show up and claims immunity), it can be very interesting – or not at all. It is certainly worth paying some attention to. – Otto