International organisations in global politics - Essay Example

International organisations in global politics Under what circumstances can a UN peace-keeping operation successfully prevent armed conflictoccurring Abstract This essay discusses how the UN peacekeeping organisations have prevented conflict in the past and whether these strategies need change or improvement. The paper discusses the social, political and economic contexts with in which a successful UN peace-keeping mission can be carried out to avoid armed conflict. Introduction "UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after decades of conflict. The blue helmets and their civilian colleagues work together to organize elections, enact police and judicial reform, promote and protect human rights, conduct mine-clearance, advance gender equality, achieve the voluntary disarmament of former combatants, and support the return of refugees and displaced people to their homes." -- Kofi Annan Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is "a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace."1The functions of such missions are to monitor and maintain peace processes in war torn areas and help promote post war rebuilding and the enforcement of peace agreements. Such measures generally include confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, economic and social development.. The post Cold war Era has seen an increase within international peace and security operations, to maintain peace within the international system ,restrict armed conflict and promote rehabilitation of war torn countries. The UN Charter empowers the UN Security Council to take collective action and to authorize peacekeeping operations' initiates and maintains most of these operations. Academics have often had been sceptic at effectiveness and success of peacekeeping missions with areas affected by civil war and armed conflict. Today the UN peacekeepers (the blue helmets) are deployed in war torn locations around the world. According to recent statistics; "As of January 1, 2004, 13 "blue helmet" missions still exist. With the full deployment of the 15,000-member Liberian stabilization force, the total number of UN peacekeepers will be just under 50,000, the biggest total since the early 1990s and an increase of some 6,000 from the same period in 2003. Actual deployed strength at the start of the year stands at 45,815 troops, military observers, and civilian police from 91 countries. They are supported by 3,241 international civilians and 6,497 local civilians. The U.S. contribution is 518 spread to seven missions-494 civilian police, 22 military observers, and two "troops" with the new Liberia peacekeeping mission. In addition, there are 12 political and peace building missions. Many observers expect that 2004 will see three new peacekeeping deployments, all in Africa: Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire, and Burundi".2 The chart portrays the number of UN missions at the end of each year since 1989. The table lists the 13 ongoing UN peacekeeping operations as of January 1, 2004. 3 Figure I: UN Peacekeeping Operations (The figure for each year is the number of operations at the end of that year. The numbers on the left indicate the number of missions.) After the end of the Cold War the international community and the UN have moved beyond the notions and practices of "traditional peacekeeping" and their presence is more and more pronounced with in civil conflicts, monitoring .They are also involved in the management and operation of peace. The UN Charter empowers the United Nations Secretary-General to dispatch personal representatives or create "offices" or missions to advise and promote good governance and national or regional stability. The deployment of "blue helmets" can be led by an experienced military commander; 4for one of the following functions. (1) If authorized under Chapter VI of the UN Charter, the force may simply monitor or assist, as required, formerly warring parties as they move along a diplomatic spectrum from implementing and observing the cessation of fighting to either a new governmental structure (following a civil war) or a new diplomatic relationship (following cross-border conflict). (2) If fighting is still occurring but the Security Council decides that "extraordinary" circumstances warrant intervention by the international community (e.g., to halt massacres of non-combatants, to get critical relief supplies to refugees), it may invoke Chapter VII of the Charter to initiate a peace-making or peace enforcement operation in which the rules of engagement permit greater latitude to the intervening troops to employ force to achieve their mandate.5 Problems and Reforms of the UN peacekeeping missions Many critics and academics have expressed the opinion that the UN is facing a crisis as peacemaker. Some of the reforms that have been proposed include the resolution of funding and administrative difficulties and there has been a proposed uniform system of common UN security.Some of the problems faced by the UN council peace missions which have resulted in failure in the past have been:6 Regional and ethnic tensions that that have erupted or are threatening to erupt into full-scale violence. The degeneration of disaster management into political battlefields for the "Overburdened and logistically-challenged forces of U.N. peacekeeping7." The continued costs of an unrestrained arms trade and of the proliferation of unregulated "dual-use technology." The costs of peacekeeping against the costs of the social and economic dislocation of conflict when such problems are left untreated. Lack of an early warning system and mediation systems for dispute settlements. As such there has been a proposal for a host of reforms to make UN peacekeeping missions from failing. Some of these proposed reforms are:8 Establishment of an International Inspection Agency which will empower the IAEA in the better inspection of the "chemical and conventional as well as nuclear weapons, thereby enabling the agency to distinguish civilian from military uses of technologies with dual-use potential, and to create confidence that negotiated disarmament measures will enhance rather than undermine security" 9 The use of a Satellite Monitoring Agency to prevent the concealment of the undeclared weapons facilities and help in effective " conflict prevention, peacekeeping and confidence-building measures and economic sanctions"10 The use of an Economic Sanctions Council within the U.N. to deal with the secondary economic and social effects of UN peacekeeping. Establishment of an Electoral Observation Agency which will establish "internationally accepted rules for both the conduct and the monitoring of the elections that are often crucial ingredients in national peace and reconciliation accords." The peacekeeping missions need the backing of a stronger mandate from the International Court of Justice to adjudicate international disputes as well as the creation of a permanent " International Criminal Court to investigate serious violations of international humanitarian law during armed conflicts, rather than continuing to rely on underfunded, understaffed ad hoc efforts." 11 Role of the US in successful UN peacekeeping The United States has a primary role in the success or failure of UN peacekeeping missions, but critics have called for lesser control of the in U.N. peacekeeping missions as well as a pronounced "focus on working out practical rules of operations that ensure greater cohesion among different national contingents". 12 Instead it has been recommended that it should focus on a "stand-by agreement with the U.N., as some 60 countries have done or are in the process of doing, designating non-combat personnel that would, in effect, be on-call for peacekeeping service". As a leading superpower and a prominent member of the UN Security, the US should be involved in training programs for peacekeeping personnel which emphasise upon " separate peacekeeping training from traditional military (i.e., combat) training." There needs to a promotion of the culture and academics of peacekeeping with the help of courses being offered in the Universities. This kind of education should focus international conflict mediation and negotiation. The peacekeepers will be in need of permanent peacekeeping training facilities for effective physical training. For the more effective impact of the peacekeepers there also needs to be provision of modern communications and combat equipment. Other ways in which the success of peacekeeping missions can be promoted There needs to be diversity in the recruitment process and military and civilian volunteers should be encouraged. Other measures include the deployment of specialists like "military observers, human rights monitors, election specialists, fact-finding personnel, and conflict mediation experts" in the affected areas.13 The success of UN peacekeeping also includes the establishment of a permanent peacekeeping unit which should allow the Secretary-General to recruit staff. There has to be a lesser emphasis on combat and more on traditional peacekeeping and the development of early warning centres which provide warnings pertaining to impending conflicts.14 Conclusion The structure of U.N. peacekeeping cannot be reformed in isolation and there needs to be a contextual analysis and a coherent rethinking of policies in this regards.UN peacekeeping has been an indispensable and valuable source of support for international affairs.The reform process should be aimed at making the UN peacekeeping institution into a security system very much able to detect violent conflicts early and uses the mediation system successfully. The social, economic, and environmental pressures which are at the root of armed conflicts need pre-emptive resolution through peaceful means.Effective peacekeeping is therefore essential to the process as it " builds confidence in common security measures and in the possibility of deep reductions in military spending."15However in the light of the recent anticipated reforms which are seeking a more successful and effective role of the UN Peacekeeping Missions, it is hoped that in the future , peace management of the war torn regions will be more organised and less politicised in the achievement of the peace objectives. _______________________________________________________________ References 1. Cousens, Elizabeth M., and ChetanKumar. (2001) Peacebuilding as Politics: Cultivating Peace in Fragile Societies. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. 2. Diehl, Paul F. (1994) International Peacekeeping. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 3. Mackinley, John, and PeterCross, eds. (2003) Regional Peacekeepers: The Paradox of Russian Peacekeeping. Tokyo: United Nations University Press. 4. Morrison, Alex, Douglas A.Fraser, and James D.Kiras. (1997) Peacekeeping with Muscle: The Use of Force in International Conflict Resolution. Clementsport, NS: The Canadian Peacekeeping Press. 5. Otunnu, Olara A., and Michael W.Doyle, eds. (1998) Peacemaking and Peacekeeping for the New Century. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. 6. Panel of Experts on United Nations Peace Operations. (2000) United Nations Document A/55/305-S/2000/809, 21 August 2000. 7. Renner Michael, Remaking U.N. Peacekeeping: U.S. Policy and Real Reform, National Commission for Economic Conversion and Disarmament 8. Ratner, Steven R. (1996) The New UN Peacekeeping: Building Peace in Lands of Conflict after the Cold War. New York: St. Martin's Press. 9. Thakur, Ramesh, and AlbrechtSchnabel, eds. (2002) United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Ad Hoc Missions, Permanent Engagement. Tokyo: United Nations University Press. Read More