Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing: An Analysis on the Role of the United Nations during the Bosnian War

The United Nations (UN) was established in 1945 and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was subsequently founded in 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly (Crisp 2001, 169). This investigation will evaluate the UN's structure and domestic limitations in Bosnia in the case of the Bosnian War (1992-1995) in order to determine the role of these factors in the outcome of the UN operation. This case of the UN peacekeeping mission will be considered a success if there was 1) strong leadership, 2) the situation was deescalated, and 3) the afflicted individuals' needs were satisfied. Similarly, this case of the UN peacekeeping mission will be considered a failure if there was 1) weak leadership, 2) the situation remained the same or escalated, and 3) the afflicted individuals' needs were not satisfied. The UNHCR will also be examined to assess its success or failure in managing worldwide refugee challenges and providing humanitarian aid. The UN's refugee agency exists to protect refugees and guarantee that every refugee has the right to search for asylum in another country (Loescher 2001, 42). This paper focuses on the extent to which the UN was successful or unsuccessful as a peacekeeping organization in the case of the Bosnian War. My argument is that the UN was ineffective as a peacekeeping organization during this conflict.