In 1995 he was a sector commander for the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Bosnia heading 6,000 multinational troops including the 400 soldiers who witnessed the Srebrenica Massacre.
[3][4] The escapees were transported out of southern Lebanon in a UN-marked armoured personnel carrier and dressed in Norwegian military uniforms[3] with UNIFIL insignia.
When the massacre started Haukland was on vacation,[1] which had been postponed several times to deal with events in the United Nations Safe Areas that he was responsible for.
[6] The article reported the anonymous officer as stating "We knew early that the Serbs were amassing (or positioning and increasing) their forces around Srebrenica.
[7] A 2002 report by Netherlands Institute for War Documentation entitled Srebrenica: a ‘safe’ area did not apportion any blame for the massacre to Haukland.