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CHAPTER 3:
TEN CENTRAL POLICY CHALLENGES
Ten major policy challenges confronted the United Nations
in responding to the humanitarian crisis in the former
Yugoslavia. While all involved trade-offs typical of those that
occur in armed conflicts wherever they exist, many proved
more nettlesome in the former Yugoslavia than elsewhere.
Together, the ten represent the greatest collective challenge to
humanitarian action anywhere in the world.
The U.N. response to these ten challenges constitutes what
might be called its humanitarian terms of engagement in this
particular set of conflicts. The terms of engagement had a
direct impact on the effectiveness of its humanitarian activities.
1. Defining the Humanitarian Task
Experience in the former Yugoslavia showed how crucial
it is to identify clearly the humanitarian task. Failure to do so
undermined the credibility and effectiveness of the humanitarian
effort.
Who Should Receive Assistance
An accurate description and number of the intended
beneficiaries of humanitarian assistance was essential for establishing
the credibility of the aid with donors and recipients.
United Nations officials visited the city of Sarajevo in early
1992 and met with government officials and consulted available
demographic information. They estimated the city’s population
at 380,000. Since the Bosnian capital was a city under
siege, that figure became the target number of beneficiaries for
U.N. programs.
The figure of 380,000 remained the operative number
throughout, despite movement in and out of the city. While
some independent analysts placed the current population in
late 1993 at about 225,000, the original number stood at the
insistence of Serb and Muslim authorities. Faced with the
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