UN cannot be taken to court, say judges

The families of men killed in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 may not take the UN to court in the Netherlands, judges in The Hague ruled on Thursday.


The families wanted to charge the UN with culpability in the deaths of their relations but the UN claims immunity.
Lawyers for the Dutch state say the UN would not be able to be involved in peace-keeping missions without its immunity status.
Today’s ruling is not connected with two other court cases relating to Srebrenica which are also pending in the Netherlands. Those cases do not centre on the role of the UN but on the role of the Dutch military in handing over refugees to Bosnian Serb militants.
Some 8,000 men and boys were killed in the Muslim enclave which was under the protection of Dutch soldiers operating under the UN flag.

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