The UN Response to the Balkan Wars

Type:

Book Chapter

Author:

Frances Pilch; Joseph Derdzinski

Published:

2004

Publisher:

Palgrave Macmillan US

The involvement of the UN in the Balkans has been labeled a tragic failure by some and a valiant but flawed humanitarian effort that saved thousands by others.2 In spite of this discrepancy in interpretation, there is no doubt that the experiences of the UN during the Yugoslav wars from 1991 through 1995 have led to deep self-examination by that body, and substantial institutional and doctrinal changes concerning peacekeeping operations and the appropriate UN role in conflict situations. Central to consideration of this role are questions concerning the relationship between Security Council mandates and the ability of operational forces to carry out those mandates; the use of force by the UN and by regional organizations to support mandates; the security of deployed peacekeeping forces during ongoing civil wars; and questions concerning impartiality. Some view this as a conflict between traditional peacekeeping and second (or third) generation peacekeeping, in which the old rules—such as consent of parties, neutrality, use of force only in self-defense, and demilitarized buffer zones—no longer apply.3

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