"Humanitarian Intervention and Safety Zones: Iraq Bosnia and Rwanda explores why and how effectively safety zones were implemented as a way to protect civilians and displaced persons in three of the most important conflicts of the 1990s. It shows how states consistently sought to reconcile their political and humanitarian interests, a process which often led to problematic and ambiguous outcomes, and assesses in fascinating detail the difficulties and controversies surrounding the use of such zones, variously called safe havens, safe areas, secure humanitarian areas, and zones humanitaire sures. The book also asks whether or not such zones could serve as precedents for possible future attempts to ensure the safety of civilians in complex humanitarian emergencies."--Jacket.

Introduction -- Providing comfort at home: safe haven in Iraq -- Only so far but no further: safe areas in Bosnia -- A decision not to act: proposed UN secure humanitarian areas in Rwanda -- Too little, too late: France's Zone Humanitaire Sure in Rwanda -- Conclusion.