A court in The Hague is due to rule on Thursday whether or not it is authorized to hear a case about the role of the United Nations during the fall of the Muslim enclave Srebrenica in 1995.

After Bosnian Serbs reconquered the Muslim enclave, they deported and murdered at least 8,000 people. Dutch UN peacekeepers who were supposed to guarantee the safety of civilians in the UN-declared safe zone are to be held accountable for failing to protect them, claim the relatives of those murdered.

The UN is claiming immunity, while the Dutch state, supporting this position, said it was acting under UN orders.

During the hearing on June 18, Dutch defence lawyers argued their immunity applied under all circumstances and in all countries.

If that was not the case, then no countries could participate in peacekeeping forces, they said, as peacekeepers then would always risk to be prosecuted somewhere.

If the court finds it has jurisdiction to deal with the case, the hearing about the events in Srebrenica will take place next year.

On July 11, the relatives of those murdered in Srebrenica will commemorate the genocide in The Hague and Srebrenica.