Safety Zones and International Protection: A Dark Grey Area

Recent developments in former Yugoslavia raise the question of the suitability of a safe area, safety zone or security zone mechanism for protecting civilians in internal conflict. This article reviews arrangements of this type, assesses their impact in providing safety from persecution and conflict, and offers some considerations for their future use. Some historical examples are mentioned, but the primary focus is on experience with safe areas in Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka. The author examines practice in relation to basic refugee rights, such as the right to seek and to enjoy asylum from persecution, and in turn raises questions about the adequacy of protection, and the extent to which, if at all, ‘containment’ is an acceptable alternative to asylum. She concludes that the UN should reconsider safety zones, with emphasis on applicable international humanitarian law principles, the need for consent, the necessity for a clear distinction between combatants and non-combatants, and continuing commitment to the basic principles of international refugee law