Landmark ruling on Srebrenica

In a judgement handed down on Tuesday the court of appeal in The Hague ruled that the Dutch state was responsible for the 1995 deaths of three Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, which at the time was under UN protection. The court said Dutch soldiers had handed over the Muslims to the Serbs. The ruling is a landmark decision, writes the left-liberal daily Der Standard, saying it will lead to a greater sense of responsibility: "So the UN shield doesn't protect a state from liability. If this line of argumentation is pursued (the ruling can still be appealed) governments will have to demand more professionalism and a greater sense of responsibility from their UN troops if they want to avoid being faced with demands for compensation. In view of the scandals in which the UN peace-keeping soldiers were involved in Africa, for example, this is a necessary step anyway. ... The ruling provides the Bosnians with reasonable explanations for the terrible history with which they must live."

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