Why did the UN not intervene in Bosnia allowing for war crimes and genocide?

by roorahree

I don't know much about the war, why this blew out into a full scale war in the first place and the depths of horror. I do see references from celebrities/athletes from the region who have talked about the circumstances of growing up during this time. It seems hard to believe that the UN wouldn't have interceded in a conflict in Central Europe resulting in genocide, mass rapes, and cultural cleansing.

thefourthmaninaboat

Hey there,

Just to let you know, your question is fine, and we're letting it stand. However, you should be aware that questions framed as 'Why didn't X do Y' relatively often don't get an answer that meets our standards (in our experience as moderators). There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, it often can be difficult to prove the counterfactual: historians know much more about what happened than what might have happened. Secondly, 'why didn't X do Y' questions are sometimes phrased in an ahistorical way. It's worth remembering that people in the past couldn't see into the future, and they generally didn't have all the information we now have about their situations; things that look obvious now didn't necessarily look that way at the time.

If you end up not getting a response after a day or two, consider asking a new question focusing instead on why what happened did happen (rather than why what didn't happen didn't happen) - this kind of question is more likely to get a response in our experience. Hope this helps!