Top U.N. court clears Serbia and Croatia of 1990s genocide

(Image credit: Michel Porro/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, the International Court of Justice — the top United Nations court — ruled that neither Serbia nor Croatia committed genocide in the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. More than 130,000 people died in the eight years of Balkans wars, and forces from both nascent nations committed war crimes. But neither side proved their case of genocide, or the intention of "destroying a population in whole or in part," says ICJ president Peter Tomka, meaning neither country violated the 1948 Genocide Convention.

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Peter Weber

Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.