Lack of reaction by United Nations forces in the former Yugoslavia to escalating Bosnian Serb offensives in June and July 1995 played a crucial role in the eventual decision by Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic to murder more than 7,000 Muslim refugees, Bosniak men and boys of Srebrenica, 20 years ago, according to documents posted today by the National Security Archive (http://nsarchive.gwu.edu). The documents show the Srebrenica genocide represented a debacle for international peacekeeping and a turning point towards more forceful intervention, culminating in the Dayton accords that ended the Balkan wars on November 21, 1995.

The documents published today formed part of the briefing book compiled by the Archive for the historic "critical oral history" conference in The Hague this past June on the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and The Hague Institute for Global Justice co-organized the conference with the Archive's support, and this week are publishing the conference transcript and rapporteur's summary to mark the 20th anniversary of the Dayton agreement.