Press release October 23, 2009: The Mothers of Srebrenica welcome the start of the trial against Radovan Karadzic

At last, fourteen years after the genocide in Srebrenica, the Mothers of Srebrenica can look one of the persons primarily responsible in the eyes.

At the same time, this United Nations drama is once again brought to the attention of the international community. The 8.000 to 10.000 victims of the genocide were under the protection of the United Nations. Not only were these people deserted by the UN, but blue helmets even assisted in their deportation.

As the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Judge Patrick Robinson, clearly pointed out on October 8 before the General Assembly of the UN, lasting peace in the region can only be achieved if the victims of the genocide are compensated. The President criticised the fact that the international community has forgotten about these genocide victims and called for urgent attention to this situation. (see http://www.icty.org/x/file/press/pr_attachments/pr1335a.pdf)

Fourteen years after the genocide, the UN and the Dutch State still refuse to enter into any kind of dialogue with the victims or their families. Through the Dutch State, the UN is deploying every legal measure available to escape a resolution of this issue for as long as possible. This also is a reason why the UN is losing credibility throughout the world. It would appear that the protection of human rights is only of limited importance when the UN itself is concerned.

It is high time that the international community compels Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon to open the dialogue with the victims and their families and undertake every effort to reach a solution for the suffering inflicted upon them.

For additional information about the proceedings against the UN and The Netherlands, we refer to our website.

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