op 18 front pages-converted - The Watson Institute for International ...

The deteriorating social situation for hundreds of thousands
of civilians in Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro, aggravated
by U.N. policies, undermined the world organization’s
humanitarian credentials. The fact that the Security Council
found the political means to impose sanctions that wreaked
widespread havoc among civilians but lacked the determination
to give meaning to the concept of a war crimes tribunal
illuminated contradictions within the divided house.
This report finds no alternative to redoubling efforts to
assist and protect civilians exposed to the violence and carnage
of the conflicts and the ravages of winter. The current
tragedy would be compounded if the international community
were to judge from the continuing war that the humanitarian
resources committed to the former Yugoslavia should
be reduced or efforts there abandoned. At the same time, the
report urges accelerated steps to find a diplomatic solution to
the war itself.
In an effort to reduce contradictions in the United Nations,
the report urges debate regarding the creation of a new institutional
capacity within the organization to provide assistance
and protection where enforcement under Chapter VII of the
Charter results in economic sanctions or military intervention.
Functioning in such an environment is proving too treacherous
for most members of the U.N.’s existing humanitarian
system.
The report also recommends consolidating several human
rights innovations, implementing changes in policy and operations,
and improving accountability through the creation
of an independent monitoring entity.
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