Handling

We will only process requests submitted before June 15, 2023. After receiving your complete request, the target processing time is approximately three months. You currently have to take into account a period of six months, because a lot of requests have been submitted. The careful treatment takes time. This may result in you not hearing from us for a long time. This does not mean, for example, that information is missing from your request. If anything is missing or unclear in your request, we will notify you.

FAQ

You will receive confirmation of receipt once we have registered the request. If your request is incomplete, an acknowledgement will be sent asking you to provide the missing information.

 

You can find out more about our procedures in the Implementation Protocol.

 

Is it not immediately clear that your surviving relative was at the UN compound on the day in question? But your relative was last seen in Potočari according to reliable sources? In that case the committee asks you to prove with convincing information or witness statements that the victim was inside the fence of the UN compound in Potočari on the afternoon of 13 July 1995. According to reliable sources, was your family member last seen in the woods? If so, we will reject your request.

 

Important to know: You should take into account that under the Arrangement a brother or sister of a victim who has been awarded compensation, cannot receive a second compensation. Only the wife or partner, the parents and children who have a first-degree family relationship with more than one victim, can receive more than one compensation. This means: If you sign the settlement agreement as a brother or sister, you are not eligible for any other compensation. If you sign the settlement agreement as a first-degree relative, you can no longer receive compensation for your brother or sister.

 

We will assess the information provided in the claim form

  • Is it likely that the surviving relative was in the Dutchbat compound in the late afternoon of 13 July 1995?
  • Is there a recognised family relationship as mentioned in the arrangement?


All the information is complete and accurate

You are eligible for compensation.

There are still some ambiguities

We will write to you to ask you for further information.

The further information that you provided is not convincing

You are not eligible for compensation.

Eligible for compensation

  • You will receive a letter from us, notifying you of our decision and providing two copies of a settlement agreement.
  • By signing the agreement, you grant full and final discharge. Read more about what that means under Conditions.
  • Do you approve the agreement? Fill in your bank details, sign both copies and send one by post to the Commission in Sarajevo (Bosnia) or The Hague (the Netherlands). Note your bank account number in the agreement.
  • We will ask the Ministry of Defence to pay the compensation into your bank account.
  • You will receive the compensation payment within 4 weeks after your signed settlement agreement has been returned to us.

Not eligible for compensation

  • You will receive a registered letter, notifying you of the reason(s) for denying your claim.
  • It is not possible to lodge an objection or seek judicial review of this decision.

It is possible but not yet plausible

Is it not immediately clear that your deceased family member was in the UN compound on the day in question? But your relative was last seen in Potočari, according to the reliable sources? In that case, the Committee requests you to provide verifiable information or witness statements to demonstrate that the victim was inside the fence of the UN compound in Potočari on the afternoon of 13 July 1995. Witness statements or additional documents will also be received after 15 June 2023. If you want to make the presence of a victim plausible with the help of witnesses, we test the statements very carefully.

The claim procedure at a glance

Infographic English (PDF: 83.8 KB)

What does a witness statement have to comply with?

What we expect from you?

 

According to the Arrangement compensation is only intended for surviving relatives of victims who were on the UN compound in the afternoon of 13 July 1995. It is not clear in advance from the publicly reliable sources and the Committee’s own investigation, that your family member was at the UN compound in Potocari on the day in question. The two witness statements must show that your family member was present within the fence of the UN compound on the afternoon of July 13, 1995.

  • Did you see how the victim left the UN compound? Whom was the victim with?
  • When and where did you last see the victim? Describe where this was and at what time. What exactly did the place look like where you last saw the victim?
  • What events did you see the day you left Potočari?
  • Did you see how the victim fell into the hands of the Bosnian Serbs? If yes, describe the event.

 

The NCCP tests all witness statements very thoroughly.

FAQ

What requirements must the witness statements meet?

 

  • You must provide at least two certified written statements from witnesses.
  • The witnesses have not submitted a request for the victim. A witness can be, for example: an acquaintance, a relative by marriage, nephew, niece, grandchild, grandparents.
  • A self-declaration from an immediate family member who has submitted a request (eg partner, parent, sister, brother, child of the victim) does not count as one of the two witness statements.
  • Your own statement can only serve as support for the other two witness statements and therefore does not count as one of the two witness statements.
  • The witnesses must declare from their own observation, not from hearsay.
  • The witness statements must have been made separately from each other.
  • The witnesses must give their statement before a municipal official or civil-law notary.

 

The witnesses must testify as extensively as possible about what they know about the presence of the victim at the UN compound in Potočari on 13 July 1995. The statements must contain as much factual data and verifiable information as possible. The mere statement that the victim was present at the UN compound in Potočari on the afternoon of 13 July 1995 is not sufficient.

FAQ

  • The statement must show exactly where the victim was in Potocari. It is therefore important that the witness statements describe as much detail as possible about the presence of your family member at the UN compound on 11, 12 and 13 July 1995.
  • The witnesses must respond to our questions below. The mere statement that the victim was present at the UN compound in Potočari on the afternoon of 13 July 1995 is not sufficient.

FAQ

The witness statement should contain factual information and address the following questions as far as possible.

 

  • How does the witness know the victim? Is there a family relationship, and if so, which one?
  • Was the witness himself at the UN compound? If so, how did the witness get there?
  • Was the witness working at the UN compound? If so, what was his/her position?
  • Was the witness’ presence at the UN compound documented anywhere?
  • Was the witness together with the victim when he/she arrived at the UN compound? When exactly was this?
  • What exactly did the place look like where the witness and the victim member arrived? Can the witness describe as precisely as possible how he/she and the victim entered the compound?
  • If the witness did not arrive with victim, when did the witness first and last see victim?
  • At what exact location did the witness see the victim? Can the witness describe as exactly as possible what the place looked like where the witness and the victim were when they saw each other?
  • From when to when was the witness at the UN compound? Was the witness near the victim all the time or was the victim also away from the witness’ sight for periods of time?
  • When and how did the witness himself leave Potočari?
  • What exactly can the witness tell about the events on July 13, 1995 in Potočari?
  • What can the witness tell about the deportation?
  • When did the witness last see the victim?
  • Did the witness see the victim leave? If so, when was that?
  • Did the witness see the victim fall into the hands of the Bosnian Serbs?
  • When and by what means did the victim enter the UN compound? How did the witness learn about the UN Compound?
  • Was the witness at the UN compound on July 13, 1995? What exactly can the witness tell about that day? Can the witness explain in as much detail as possible the actual events of that day. What exactly did the witness see?
Index