Genocide, The Crime of Crimes: Massacre in Bosnia

Introduction

Genocide is the deliberate killing of a number of people with the aim of destroying their entire nation or group. Acts of genocide are laid out in Article 2 of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) which includes killing, causing bodily or mental harm, inflicting conditions on a group’s physical destruction, preventing births within a group, and forceful transfer of children to another group. It is, as we know, the worst kind of crime against humanity there is. It is a duty owed to every State to prevent and avoid the act of genocide, known as an erga omnes obligation. However, such a tragic and one of the worst genocide committed in the European continent happened in 1995, that is the Massacre in Srebrenica, Bosnia. The occurrence transpired due to the invasive maneuvers of Serbian forces to eradicate Bosnian Muslims. Until now, the visible and emotional aftermath of the battlefield remains evident upon the loss of tens of thousands of Bosnian Muslims. During that time, the international community was urged to address this matter within an international tribunal – striving for a positive resolution and bestowing justice among its victims.

The Background

In 1992, Bosnian Serb forces commenced a campaign targeted on Srebrenica, with an objective to secure a block of territory within the eastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. With this, they planned to annex this land to the neighboring Republic of Serbia, which, alongside Montenegro, constituted the remaining fragment of the once-unified Yugoslav federation. This strategic endeavor hinged upon the expulsion of the region’s Bosniak inhabitants, who passionately opposed any form of annexation.

In the early stages of 1995, Radovan Karadžić, serving as the president of the self-proclaimed Bosnian Serb Republic, issued directives to his military forces. Their mission was to instigate an environment of insufferable instability, leaving the inhabitants of Srebrenica without any prospect of survival. As the months passed, a perimeter of Bosnian Serb soldiers established a blockade, cutting off essential supplies such as food, leading the majority of Bosniak fighters within the town to abandon their posts and flee.

The Srebrenica Massacre: Events that Led to the Massacre 

By the end of June 1995, following the series of confrontations with the remaining Bosniak fighters, the Bosnian Serb military officially initiated the operation, code-named Krivaja ‘95. This would lead to the biggest massacre in Europe ever since the second world war.

The following morning, the Bosnian Serbian forces began forcing out Bosniaks out of Potočari by using terror (murders and rape), and deceit (giving false promises to persuade the men to surrender). By noon, Bosniak men and boys would be separated from the women, children and the elderly. The women, children and elderly were then deported. The men and boys, ranging from 12 to 77 years old, would meet a grievous fate as they were transported to an area north of Srebrenica and were executed. Similarly, the column fleeing for Tuzla were caught in their tracks and many were captured and executed. The slaughter lasted until the 16th of July, 8.372 Bosniak men and boys were brutally murdered in Srebrenica alone. 

Role of the United Nations

Since April 16 1993, Srebrenica and its surrounding was designated as a safe area by virtue of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 819. Based on UNSC Resolution 743, a battalion of 400 Dutch Peacekeepers were stationed in the enclave area of Srebrenica in January 1995. It can be inferred that this is the reason many Bosniak seek safety within Srebrenica. However, the Dutch Peacekeepers were outnumbered, under-equipped and under-supplied as compared to the Bosnian Serb forces. To make the matter worse, the United Nations (UN) Command in Sarajevo was not willing to give additional military support. All the circumstances above lead to a disaster for the Dutch Peacekeepers when the Bosnian Serb Forces surrounded the area.

Liability of the Dutch Peacekeeping Troops

During the chaos, the effectiveness of the Dutch Peacekeepers in fulfilling their duties becomes a subject of wild speculation. This is apparent as the Dutch Peacekeepers endangered the lives of many civilians by forcing Bosniak men and boys out of their compound in Potočari, claiming that their base is full.  In the 2014 Judgment of Mothers of Srebrenica v. The Netherlands, the District Court of the Hague held that the Netherlands is liable for the deaths of more than 300 men and boys, declaring that the surviving relatives are entitled to compensation. Subsequently, in the 2017 Judgment, the Appeal Court of the Hague upheld the District Court’s decision and held that the Netherlands should not be liable for more than 30 percent of any financial damages awarded to the surviving relatives. This is because there is a high probability that the result would remain the same even if the Dutch Peacekeepers acted differently. 

Judicial Proceedings

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) deemed the Srebrenica killings and the expulsion of Bosniak civilians as genocide, holding senior Bosnian Serb army officers accountable for their actions. Few of which was Radislav Krstić, who was given command over Srebrenica. Whilst, Ratko Mladić was later found guilty for several crimes against humanity and was sentenced to life in prison. However, according to a report published by the Bosnian Serb Government, over 19,473 Bosnian Serbs were involved in the killings, in which many got away scot free.

Whereas, the International Court of Justice, in its 2007 Judgment, found that the incidents occurring throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina’s territory do not fulfill the elements of genocide provided in Article 2 of the Genocide Convention. It did, however, find the conflicts in Srebrenica as an act of genocide committed by the leaders of Bosnian Serb forces, which was not proven to be attributable to Serbia and Montenegro. However, by failing to cooperate with the ICTY in prosecuting Ratko Mladić, Serbia and Montenegro was found to be violating its duty to prevent genocide, and was required to reparate in the form of satisfaction.

Conclusion

Regardless of the Dutch Peacekeeper’s failure to complete their mandated task, the biggest failure remains the fact that the international community allowed the Bosnian Serbs to run amok. The United Nations, despite designating Srebrenica as a  “safe area”, did not commit enough support to protect it.  Due to this, the UN needed a new way in order to have the ability to proportionately respond to massacres such as this. Such attempt can be seen from the formulation of the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which necessitates the UN to protect vulnerable populations against genocide. The implementation is based on 3 pillars, which are:

1. Every state has the Responsibility to Protect its populations from four mass atrocity crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
2. The wider international community has the responsibility to encourage and assist individual states in meeting that responsibility.
3. If a state is manifestly failing to protect its populations, the international community must be prepared to take appropriate collective action, in a timely and decisive manner and in accordance with the UN Charter.

So far, the doctrine has been invoked in more than 80 UNSC Resolutions regarding crises in many states, as well as resolutions concerning the prevention of genocide, armed conflict and restriction of arms trade. Albeit far from perfect, it reflects the commitment of the international community in combating genocide, may it be a preventive or coercive measure.