"It will require international leadership, leadership of a perhaps reformed Security Council, and the mature leadership of the United States," she said. "Leadership that is not just responding to polls, but forward-looking and global in approach."

Ogata questioned many of the political and military decisions that affect her work.

"Could a stronger, more coherent political solution have prevented the so-called humanitarian intervention that is now pushing out thousands of refugees out of Kosovo?" Ogata said, referring to the NATO airstrikes in the Balkans.

She also discussed the changes in the refugee problems that occurred in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse.

"Today's wars kill civilians with unpredictable viciousness. And there is no predictable mechanism to stop them," Ogata said. "They produce refugees as an objective rather than on the sidelines."

In light of these changing situations, Ogata suggested two ways to adjust methods of intervention: recreating governments and rebuilding divided societies.

"We must do more creative thinking at designing and creating projects that aim at bringing together divided countries," Ogata said.