{
  "id": "RL30831",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30831",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 100288,
      "date": "2001-02-05",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:27:56.298941",
      "title": "Balkan Conflicts: U.S. Humanitarian Assistance and Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "Since the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia in 1991, there have been four wars in the\nBalkans.\nU.S. Humanitarian assistance programs have been a key part of the overall multilateral effort to\nrelieve human suffering and assist refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) during these\nconflicts and in their immediate aftermath. With the emergency phase of the Kosovo crisis winding\ndown and a political transformation well underway in Serbia, Congress and the Administration can\nbe expected to assess the status of U.S. humanitarian assistance in the Balkans.\n The Balkans serve as a leading example of a new category of crisis, the complex humanitarian\nemergency, in which the United States played a significant role in the provision of humanitarian\nassistance. The very nature of humanitarian disasters-the need to respond quickly in order to save\nlives and provide relief-has resulted in an unrestricted definition of what this type of assistance\nconsists of on both a policy and operational level. U.S. humanitarian assistance in the region over\nthe past decade, including projected spending for FY2001, is over $2 billion. However, exact dollar\namounts are difficult to determine with any accuracy as each agency has its own budget, accounting\ndetail and regional specificity. Nevertheless, the U.S. response can be captured in terms of spending\nand relief efforts in trends over time. \n Members of Congress have expressed concern that the United States is carrying too much of\nthe cost of the conflicts in the Balkans, particularly with regard to the war in Kosovo. The\nEuropeans are now paying a much greater portion of the reconstruction costs in the region. Due to\ndifferences in purpose and scope, comparisons in spending are not easily calculated. For example,\nthe European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) has spent over $2 billion in the region in\nthe past decade, but this does not include substantial bilateral assistance by member states. Ongoing\nchallenges in the region remain, particularly with regard to the 1.7 million refugees and IDPs, and\ndemonstrate the need for continued humanitarian assistance.\n The U.S. role as part of a multilateral effort is one area of potential interest to Congress. \nAnother is the link between humanitarian assistance and broader foreign policy goals. Other issues \ninclude current levels of commitment, determining which agencies and departments are the best\nproviders and the overall effectiveness of emergency aid, not only in the Balkans but with application\nto future complex humanitarian emergencies.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs"
  ]
}