In the 1990s, UNHCR has faced several major challenges. It has had to respond to a larger number of crises than in any preceding decade. These crises also have become more complex and produced new types of victims in addition to cross-border refugees. As the war in Kosovo indicates, the humanitarian operations also have become "contaminated" by military activities in a manner that was inconceivable before. To be able to respond to the humanitarian emergencies, UNHCR has had to take a lead role in coordinating multilateral efforts and, at the same time, to contract many of the tasks to an increasing number of NGOs. Many times the hands of UNHCR have been tied by financial limitations. In fact, its budget has been inadequate and the flow of money from voluntary donors too unsteady for the lead role in a humanitarian operation. Therefore, in some cases, as in Kosovo, UNHCR has had to operate on the sidelines of the humanitarian crisis. Despite its limited and difficult role, it has been subjected to political criticism for various humanitarian failures, and occasionally for a reason. In a larger sense, the dilemma faced by UNHCR boils down to the contradiction between the expectation of it providing an effective international regime of refugee protection and the lack of predictable and robust commitments by the member states. This had made UNHCR an anomalous institution which has had to meet three major requirements simultaneously: long-term planning, rapid reaction capacity, and continuing fund-raising. With such demands some trade-offs are unavoidable.

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refugee institutional reform humanitarian aid