(As part of the project that I did with the United Nations Association of Singapore (UNAS), I wrote 7 essays concerning various aspects of the UN and the international system. This is essay 5 out of 7)
Section 5 (Preventive Diplomacy, Peace Making and Peace Keeping)
Q43. Of late, regional organisations (e.g. ASEAN, NATO, and OAS) have become important in peace-making and peace-keeping. Give 2 examples of such regional efforts. What advantages do regional organisations have over the UN?
By Linus Wong, National Junior College
Peace is a universal goal of humanity. It must be the primary objective for all governments as a climate of peace and stability within a nation and with other states is often a fundamental prerequisite for economic development and the attainment of social stability and equity. The United Nations has long served as the preeminent and largest organisation capable of creating, preserving and creating peace on our planet. However, with the onset of the regionalisation of the world and the increased proliferation and pre-eminence of regional organisations, they too have begun to take up the mantle of fostering and safeguarding peace in our world.
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| UN Peacekeepers |
It is perhaps best to begin by defining what exactly is peacemaking and peacekeeping. Peacemaking is essentially a process of conflict resolution and conflict resolution. It means creating a climate of peace by resolving pre-existing conflicts through compromise acceptable to all parties and to engender an environment that would sustain the peace achieved. Peacekeeping meanwhile is a process of recreating the climate of peace after there has been conflict or instability so as to facilitate the process of peacemaking in a more conducive environment.
The advantages of having the UN as an organisation that is capable of conducting peacekeeping and peacemaking operations globally certainly cannot be discounted. However, there are various advantages that regional organisations possess that the UN can never have.
These advantages are as follows:
1. Being closer to the conflict, such organisations can react faster and have a better understanding of the conflict than the international community as whole, as represented by the United Nations
2. Countries in a regional organisation have a greater stake in peace and stability in their region and are thus more likely to be actively engaged and more devoted towards peacekeeping and peacemaking efforts
3. Affected countries in question might be more willing to accept the mediation efforts and peacekeeping forces of regional states through regional organisations as compared to the United Nations which is occasionally seen as a vehicle to advance Western or democratic interests
4. Regional organisations will have a better understanding of local conditions and at times even local cultures and traditions which make them more acceptable to the local population as they appear less foreign
5. There is less factionalism and bureaucratic delays within regional organisations due to their smaller composition and the fact that states are unlikely to be as polarized or differring in viewpoints as in the United Nations due to its global representation
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) led peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo are a key example. NATO can also be credited with its efforts in intervening in Bosnia after the collapse of Yugoslavia and its peacemaking efforts resulting in the Dayton Accords which has created relative peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the Balkan region as a whole. The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is tasked with maintaining a secure environment in Kosovo. At the beginning of its mandate in 1999, Kosovo was confronted with a pressing and urgent humanitarian crisis of the highest degree. Military and paramilitary forces from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Liberation Army, mainly composed of Orthodox Christian Serbs were in daily engagement with Kosovans who were largely Muslim Albanians. Ethnic tensions were at their highest and the death toll was astronomical. Nearly a million people were displaced as refugees. It was in this climate that the NATO led peacekeeping forces, comprised of a large European contingent, which eventually managed to restore peace amongst the ethnicities and a stable political environment. Perhaps the greatest testament to NATO’s success and its ongoing efforts in Kosovo is the fact that Kosovo, despite its declaration of independence from Serbia has not descended into ethnic conflict and has remained relatively peaceful.
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| NATO's Flag |
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| German Panzer as part of the Kosovo Force |
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| Distribution of forces in Kosovo |
Following Somalia’s descent into chaos and the dissolution of political structures and peace with the onset of the civil war, the African Union has played a major role in creating, preserving and strengthening peace and stability efforts in the world’s first failed state. The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) helps to support the transitional government, to train the Somali army, to assist in the implementation of a security plan to bring peace to Somalia and to effect the delivery of humanitarian aid. ANISOM faces a daunting challenge. With the transitional government unable to even control Mogadishu, the nation’s capital, with warlordism rife, with radical Islamic fundamentalism and a secessionist state of Somaliland in the north, ANISOM and the Somali transitional government have many pressing challenges. However, it is to AMISOM’s credit and perseverance that the transitional government has not been toppled by Harakat al-Shabab Mujahedeen. It is an ongoing struggle for the soul of Somalia. With the transitional government’s control limited to certain border areas and a section of the capital, AMISOM’s efforts must be complemented with those of the international community in order to ensure that the Somali people once again see the light of peace in their nation.
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| Flag of the African Union |
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| An open area in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital |
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| ANISOM forces on patrol |
Peace can thus only be attained when all parties see that conflict is detrimental and when all parties, internal and external, are committed towards achieving and maintaining peace.
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