To publish and produce the first comprehensive and really international Yearbook on international humanitarian law! That idea and challenge emerged during the aftermath of the Geneva War Victims Conference in 1993 at the Legal Depart­ ment of the Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs. It would take another five years, numerous discussions with experts in the Netherlands and abroad, and the expertise and knowledge of the staff of the T. M. C. Asser Instituut, before the first volume could be presented. A major inducement for the publication and the preparatory work was also the research which was undertaken at our Institute by young, dedicated scholars in the field of humanitarian law, including state practice, the frequent contacts with Professor Dr. Horst Fischer and his 'Institute for International Humanitarian Law' at the University of Bochum and the cooperation in the publication of the Bofax Newsletter. It was Alan Stephens of Kluwer Law International who came up with most useful comments and sugges­ tions concerning the focus and structure of the new Yearbook Gradually, the 'idea' turned into a reality and all ingredients for the official project launch were present when the search for a competent and enthusiastic managing editor was successful: Avril McDonald, with research experience and having been employed at the Yugoslav Tribunal, turned out to be the right person at the right place at the right time.