The humanitarian operation in Bosnia, 1992-95: dilemmas of negotiating humanitarian access

Despite the enormous amount of literature which already exists on the Bosnian war,
little research has been carried out on the way humanitarian access was negotiated
with the warring parties.1 This study, which forms part of a larger research project on
the subject of humanitarian access, provides a critical analysis of the efforts made by
UNHCR and other international actors to negotiate humanitarian access in Bosnia.2 It
looks at the various partnerships and alliances which evolved between these different
actors, and their impact on the negotiating process. It covers the period from the early
summer of 1992, when the war in Bosnia began, to December 1995 when the war
ended with the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
Much of the study deals with negotiations between UNHCR and the Bosnian Serb
authorities. This is because of the particular difficulties which UNHCR experienced
throughout the war in obtaining authorisation for humanitarian convoys to transit
through Bosnian Serb territory to the government-held enclaves.
The study is based on UNHCR internal documents and reports, as well as interviews
with UNHCR officials, staff from other humanitarian organisations and local officials.
It draws heavily on the personal experience of the author who, as Head of the UNHCR
office in Sarajevo for much of the war, was directly involved in negotiating with the
Bosnian government and Bosnian Serb authorities.