Bosnia-Herzegovina

For people living in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the war experience has been much more intense. It involved the whole of society, leaving its mark on nearly everyone. In addition, most of the population identified strongly with one of the three warring parties. These factors have made the Bosnians extremely familiar with the ICRC and its mission. Respondents see the ICRC as the first to turn to for help when civilians are mistreated, placing other organizations, including fellow humanitarian agencies, the United Nations (UN) and the government, far behind. The conflict was also highly internationalized, which may have contributed further to the ICRC’s visibility. As the war progressed, the international community became heavily involved, culminating in the signing of a peace accord in Dayton, the deployment of NATO-led forces (IFOR) and ongoing trials of “war criminals” by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. (See Country Report Bosnia-Herzegovina for details.)