ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses two salient features of action regarding internally displaced persons (IDPs), relief delivery and military protection. It focuses on some of the intractable problems the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) veteran Larry Hollingworth had to solve: aid in war zones, early repatriations and reconstruction programmes. The UNHCR appealed for international funds and organised a camp and aid delivery system that preempted cross-border movements. Relief policies in northern Iraq and Rwanda were implemented from the start so as to discourage exodus and encourage early return. The situation in Bosnia differed as the constant worsening of the war made it impossible to plan meaningfully the early return of displaced persons. The chapter shows that governments and international agencies can choose to contract protected spaces so as to develop a return impetus. Thus, the international community's impact on the size and evolution of humanitarian spaces is greater than accounted for so far.
