Srebrenica Reconstruction, background, consequences and analyses of the fall of a ‘safe’ area

In November 1996, the government commissioned NIOD to investigate the events surrounding the fall of Srebrenica on 11 July 1995. On 10 April 2002, the Srebrenica report was submitted to the government and made public. The main report and the supporting studies can be downloaded as PDF files.

The report describes and analyses the fall of the Srebrenica enclave and the mass murders that followed. The central question is ‘What exactly happened exactly and how could it happen?’

The report is essentially arranged as a historical narrative, i.e., chronologically. It opens with the prologue, an introduction and explanation, and then recounts the history of Yugoslavia to clarify the regional context and developments. Next, four phases are distinguished, each covered in one section of the research report. Part I deals with events from 1991, the year in which the multi-ethnic Yugoslavian state disintegrated, up to and including the decision to send Dutch troops to the enclave of Srebrenica, which had by then been declared a Safe Area by the UN (1993). Part II focuses on the presence and actions of Dutchbat in the enclave from February 1994 to the summer of 1995. Part III deals with the fall of the enclave (11 July 1995), so the focus is rather more on the military and diplomatic perspectives. Part IV discusses the consequences and aftermath of the fall of Srebrenica from a wider angle. The report comes with a variety of appendices. Firstly, background research conducted by third parties on behalf of NIOD has been added. Secondly, some aspects of the investigation are explained and put into context in separately written appendices in greater detail than the report allowed for. Thirdly, there are more technical, complete overviews of the sources used. And fourthly, several documents relating to the investigation have been attached.

Download the Srebrenica Report

Find the Srebrenica Report here. The full report is 25.8 MB in size.

The PDF files of the supporting studies can be found below.

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