Overview In a world where 90% of the casualties linked to conflict are civilian compared to the same number being attributed to military casualties at the beginning of the century, it appears crucial to understand what policies are effective, and whether safe haven operations can still be useful in protecting the lives of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and would-be refugees. Firstly we look at the context of international refugee law and policy, and from this refer back to the ‘original’ notion of what safe-havens were intended to be. We then analyze the application of the concept during the 1990s looking at 3 case studies: Operation ‘Provide Comfort’ in Iraq, the six Bosnian ‘safe havens’ and Operation Turquoise in Rwanda. We infer the crucial elements raised by the case-studies and attempt to understand what seem to have been the positive and negative elements of past ‘safe haven’ experiences, This brings us to finally asses the usefulness of safe haven policy and consider the solutions for a restructured safe-haven policy. Even though the application of safe haven policies in the 1990s have been highly problematic to say the least, there is still a clear role to play for a system of ‘restructured’ safe-havens closer to the original definition in the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Mere reliance on asylum by countries in the North and South does not deal with the sheer numbers of people in danger. This policy also excludes IDPs from protection; furthermore, the growing reluctance of Western governments, due to the politically contentious issues of immigration, have made this policy unsustainable. | 
