Srebrenica victims win landmark case against Dutch

THE Netherlands was responsible for the deaths of three Bosnian Muslim men slain by Serbs during the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, appeals judges have ruled, ordering the Dutch government to compensate the men’s relatives.

The landmark ruling could open the path to other compensation claims by relatives who say the victims should have been protected by the Dutch UN peacekeepers in charge of the UN “safe zone” near Srebrenica during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war.

It could also have wider implications for countries sending troops on UN peacekeeping missions, as it opens the possibility of national governments being taken to court for the actions of their troops even when they are under UN control.