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

FOREWORD
In June 1993, Thorvald Stoltenberg, Special Representative
for the former Yugoslavia of the United Nations Secretary-
General, aptly described international efforts there as “the
most difficult mission in the history of the U.N.” The United
Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), he said, was forging
“new policies for the United Nations and for the world which
can be of decisive importance in the years to come.”
Having participated in a multi-person review of the U.N.’s
role in that crisis, we can attest to the complexity of the
situation and the immense importance of the international
community’s efforts there. The humanitarian activities performed
were critically needed. But there are real questions
about the organization’s capacity to respond to the plight of
human beings in situations of post-Cold War instability and
about the growing tensions between its humanitarian and
political and military aspects.
The focus of this report is on the efforts of the United
Nations to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to
about four million civilians affected by the conflict in the
former Balkan state during the two-year period that began in
November 1991. The point of departure is the work of the
U.N.’s “lead agency” for this crisis, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees.
This study looks beyond UNHCR, however, to the U.N.’s
other humanitarian and human rights organizations as well as
to the Security Council, the Secretary-General, and
UNPROFOR. It also takes into account the work of governments,
other intergovernmental organizations outside of the
U.N., nongovernmental organizations, and the International
Committee of the Red Cross.
The crisis in the former Yugoslavia is complex and raises
many questions. What is the appropriate role of military force
in support of humanitarian action? What is the relative priority
of emergency relief in relation to other essential tasks such
as defending fundamental human rights and promoting reconstruction?
Can an agency that delivers assistance to people
also affirm and protect their right to seek asylum? How
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