Reuters, Jun 27, 2017 – A Dutch appeals court on Tuesday confirmed that the Netherlands was partly liable for the deaths of some 300 Muslims who were expelled from a Dutch U.N. 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 ruling is seen as exceptional as the United Nations enjoys immunity from prosecution. However the Dutch case is an almost unique in holding a state participating in a U.N. peacekeeping mission liable for its actions.
