Court of Appeal at The Hague: UN Immunity is in Public Interest
Laura Boerhout
The Court of Appeal at The Hague has rejected a complaint of the `Mothers of Srebrenica` seeking to hold the United Nations (UN) accountable for the genocide in 1995. The ruling represents a setback for the organization acting on behalf of 6,000 relatives of victims of the genocide in Srebrenica.
The verdict confirms the previous decision of the court in July 2008, which stated that the UN cannot be brought before a Dutch court, because, according to the Court of Appeal, “the UN is granted immunity from prosecution pursuant to international conventions and there are other avenues open to the mothers.”
The Court rejected the allegations of the Mothers of Srebrenica, explaining that the “immunity of jurisdiction applicable to the UN” should not be set aside in favour of the right to a fair trial, as stated in Article 6 of the European Convention for Human Rights. The Court said it understands the claims of the women, given the dreadful atrocities they and their families suffered. However, it is of the opinion that the special position of the UN is of a higher order.
“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, possibly for no other reason than to frustrate the UN’s work. It is in the best public interest that the UN can avail itself of its duties untroubled.”
Attorney Axel Hagedorn, one of the representatives of the Mothers of Srebrenica, called the verdict “highly disappointing.”
“This case should have been referred to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg since it concerns fundamental European rights, such as legal protection,” Hagedorn said.
In 1993 the UN on several occasions promised the citizens of Srebrenica that they would be protected from atrocities. According to the lawsuit, the Dutch peacekeepers deployed by the UN were ill-equipped and did not take any steps to prevent the genocide.
“In our opinion, the UN soldiers can be held accountable for negligence since they failed to prevent genocide. We find it unacceptable that we cannot bring the UN before a Dutch court for these serious crimes,” said Hagedorn.
Currently, a team of 14 attorneys in the Netherlands and Bosnia and Herzegovina is working on the case.
A suit brought by the Mothers of Srebrenica against the State of the Netherlands is pending the outcome of the suit against the UN. The State of the Netherlands has always insisted that its soldiers were operating under the flag of the UN and cannot be held responsible.
Attorney Hagedorn said the ‘Mothers of Srebrenica’ will not accept the verdict.
“The fight for justice for the Mothers of Srebrenica will definitely continue. We will bring this case before the Supreme Court in the Netherlands and hopefully it will be referred to Luxemburg, because the immunity of the UN should have its limits,” he said.
Laura Boerhout is undergraduate student at University College Cork in Ireland. She is BIRN - Justice Report intern in Sarajevo.
Justice Report is a
specialist reporting agency focusing on war crimes trials taking place before
local courts; development of the local legal system; and efforts to come to
terms with the past.
Read more
TRIAL: A Slap in the Face of Justice Expectations
Bosnian authorities have failed to provide access to justice and reparations for thousands of victims of rape and other sexual violence – says a report carried out by the Swiss organisation TRIAL.
Read more
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
The opinions expressed in Balkan Insight are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
Komentari:
Nema komentara.