Can International Organizations Be Effective in Moderating International Insecurity - Essay Example

?Can international organizations be effective in moderating international insecurity? Collage Introduction After the World War 2, theworld leading powers decided that there was a need to create an international body in order to prevent global conflict in the future. This body would also provide a forum for promotion of international relationships. A good example is the United Nations which was established on 24thOctomber, 1945 with its main aim being Develop friendly relations amongst nations Maintain peace and security To act as a center for harmonizing actions of nations To promote respect for human rights and solve international problems There are many international bodies whose aim is to promote not only peace but also the welfare of their people (Williams, 2012). By pool their resources, nations easily reach for their set goals. A good example is a nation with raw materials but has no sufficient machinery and/or man power to process. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention nations has realized the immense need to form organizations which will be enhance security and promote good relations among nations. This in return will create a friendly environment activity that can be carried out in ease. Different forums have been created to discuss a variety of issues such as transportation, peace keeping, human rights and businesses among many others (Babione, 2007). Security concerns all over the world are high on the political agenda. This is as a result of the widespread perception that current security situation is continuously threatened by malicious acts, which are in most cases, intentional and a good example is terrorism attacks. Measures to improve and maintain security are he in place .major Events such as the 9/11 attacks triggered strong actions to improve security all over the world. As a result, security must be ensured in the transport sector since many vehicles and transport facilities are the main targets for terrorists due to concentration of potential victims. In addition, transport in one way or the other can acts as a conveyor for attacks by terrorists. This are evidenced from the reported cases in which weapons are moved into ports or airplanes are turned into weapons as in the 9/11 case. The greatest challenges are protecting the potential targets and maintaining smooth operations in the transportation sector. The cost of damage from a potential damage from terrorism cause substantial loss to the economic set up. On the other hand, the cost of improved security is equally high. Careful appraisal policy, therefore, makes sure that scarce resources are put into good use. However, cost-benefit analysis is difficult to handle while dealing with security issues because of the uncertain nature involved. We can hardly determine the probability of attacks by terrorists on any of the means of transportation. Terrorism can thus be hindered by cooperation of states and continents. A good example is the International Transport Forum which is an inter-governmental organization within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) group. It is an outstanding global platform for all concerned transport makers and stakeholders. Its main aim is to serve political leaders and the public at large to develop a better understanding the role transport takes in social and economic aspects. They are, thus, very effective in moderating international security. International courts include International Criminal Court among others. They are created with the aim of promoting peace by way of solving international matters, which mainly result from conflict of interest. In 1993 and 1994, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) were established to try and apprehend individuals suspected of committing crimes against humanity including genocide. Since the end of World War 2, the 1990s witnessed the greatest advancement of international humanitarian law. The successes and failures of tghese4 to tribunals became the basis upon which the need of a permanent international criminal institution and as a result, the International Criminal Court came to be (Barria, 2005). Different standards are used to gauge the relative success of these tribunals. The ICTR and the ICTY were formed to deal with atrocities that were considered as some of the worst seen since the end of World War 2. Given the complexity and the nature of the cases the tribunals dealt with, many authors think that the tribunals did not fulfill their mandate. This is majorly because the Security Council knew that the tribunals have diversified mandates (Kirgis, 2003). Even though my approach is quite different, I feel that they have fulfilled their mandates. Having been formed by the United Nations, the tribunals had Resolution notes that: ICTR will contribute to maintenance of peace. ICTR will ensure such violations are stopped and effectively redressed. ICTR will lead to national reconciliation. Going by this, it is clear that there were already set rules to guide the actions and steps taken by tribunals, and they could not have acted on issues beyond their power. In the cases, the tribunals were able to stop the violations of human rights and this lead to maintenance of peace. Hence, although the tribunals have not fulfilled their mandates fully, they have provided security and justice more than the national courts could have provided. The International Security Forum covers a wide range of issues related to national and international responses to security threats. Mine action mostly occurs in post-conflict situations where the social and governmental structures are being rebuilt or lacking. After the conflicts, mine action directly contributes to human security by use of a range of activities such as removal of explosive remnants of war thereby strengthening the security (Buzan, 2009). Moreover, it manages and destroys munitions stockpiles and hence prevents explosions and limit the possible access of militia groups to explosives. In addition, Mine Action provide a point of entry for broader reforms of security sector. During a post-conflict disarmament MA contribute to regional stability as a tool of cooperation among states or the armed groups. It gives the first step in the process of disarmament with tangible benefits to the communities, and this creates confidence for cooperation and stability. The MA often involves the military and/or police forces together with civil actors such as NGOs, commercial operators and international organizations. The civilians face abuse and develop distrust of security forces, but MA installs trust in the civilian and the civil-military help to reintegrate former combatants in civilian life. MA also provides a range of other interpreted activities such as victim assistance and risk education. By encouraging cooperation, particularly in information sharing and transparency, MA provides a point for entry of humanitarian and human rights norms by different means such as gender-sensitive approach and the rights of the disabled (Doyle, 2009). Multilateralism is the collective cooperation by states to deal with common challenges and problems when it is easier to at the international level. The key areas are international peace and security, human rights, international trade and economic development, technical and functional cooperation and the protection of the environment by jointly utilizing the resources sustainably. Such problems cannot be effectively addressed unilaterally. This is mainly because of the difference between the development levels of different states and the uneven distribution of resources which without proper management may lead to conflict of interests. In addition, the weaker states, economically and socially, face vulnerabilities of being exploited by the stronger states. Even the powerful states can never achieve total security or maintain health and prosperity in isolation. Hence, multilateralism has contributed a large share to maintenance of security and peace by virtue of bringing different states on one platform. In such a globalized, networked and interdependent world as we are in today, multilateralism will always be a key aspect of relations amongst different states. However, the effectiveness and the utility of former multilateral institutions are conditioned, inevitably and constrained by the power. Thus, powerful states may manipulate them by way of working through or around these institutions at their own will. In order for international organizations to remain viable, they must be in line with the 21st century legitimacy and governance principles. This puts them in a position to talk of contemporary issues effectively. This, however, calls for a move beyond the original multilateralism roots and recognition of both prospective and contemporary challenges which requires flexibility, anticipatory, nimbleness and agility rather than reactive solutions (Menachof, 2009). Many writers who criticize the performance of international bodies point out several failures and argue that the performance and legitimacy will accumulate and consequently, crisis of confidence in the world’s multilateralism will result. To add on this, chief multilateral bodies do not meet standards of consent, representative and rule of law, juridical accountability, transparency and broad participation. This is a massive problem because international organizations play an exceedingly crucial role in people’s lives. The more this happens the more people get to realize that multilateralism has an appreciable value regarding the balance between human rights, market and equity. A range of policies and practices have been transferred to the international level thereby raising a number of normative challenges. Despite all these challenges, multilateralism has had many positive impacts to many of its member states. Among them is the promotion of international peace and security enhancement. Creating a forum and providing different states with one common platform has led to discussion of different issues and harmonization of outstanding issues, which would otherwise have lead to conflicts. This way, we can clearly see that multilateralism has been effective in moderating international insecurity. Without peace and international security, multilateralism would have been a total fail (Newman, 2006). Since the abolition of the slave trade, there has been the formation of many groups championing for human rights. These include, among many others, the rights of children. This specifically came up after industrialized countries adopted laws that limited the minimum working age and the working conditions and international organizations were requested to champion for similar measures all over the world. The effectiveness of these efforts is seen in the abolition of child labor by the International Labor Organization as early as 1919. Child trafficking was causing serious anxiety in the countries which the traffickers targeted. Mistrust arose amongst countries, and this led to frequent wars. As a result, there was a bleach of international peace and security. The emergence of international organizations such as the International Labor Organization aimed at eliminating such vices, through indirectly, ended up maintaining peace and international security effectively. In addition, the international bodies have agreed on some universal codes a majority of which indicate clearly how the provisions of such codes is to be effected and by whom. This aims at minimizing the probability of conflict of interest among the member states. Many multi-state organizations all over the world have been formed with the main aim promotion of business amongst them. A recent example is the formation of East African Community (EAC) which is a group of several countries in East Africa. The greatest and direct advantage the inhabitants of these countries will enjoy are free movement from one country to another, tax free importation of labor and goods, a common currency and most importantly a common government (Russel,2003). This goes without saying that the common government will at all costs unit all the people in this region and will as result, enhance peace and security in that region. The United States of America has dominated in military power since the end of the cold war. Its success can be associated with its ability to associate with other military in the cause of its operations. A good example is the troops in the Somalia Country, which is a country in the war-torn region of the horn of Africa. The Kenyan military troops in the recently ended the war against Alshabab militia in Somalia was able to cooperate with the Somali military troops and wiped out the militia. In the course of their, operations, the troops were able to evacuate the civilians from the hot spots and offered them security (Weiss, 2010). This clearly indicates how far cooperation among nations can promote international peace and security. References Babione, R. (2007). Security Cost Impact on Port of Washington-DC: (P. 334) Washington, University of Washington. Barria, L. (2005). How effective International Criminal Tribunal are. The International Journal of Human Rights. , 549-568. Blokker, N. (2010). Towards More Effective Supervision by International Organizations. (P 43) Tokyo: University Press. Buzan, B. (2009). The Evolution of International Security Studies. ( P 208)UK Cambridge University Press. Doyle, E. C. (2002). Increasing International Insecurity. The Aftermath of 11 September. Ireland. Trocaire's Networks Kirgis, F. L. (2003). International Organizations in Their Legal Setting. International Journal Of Law. 2, 522-715. Menachof, D. a. (2009). The Efficient Trade-Off between Security and Cost for Sea Ports. International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management. 12 (2)2-4 Newman, E. (2006). Multilateralism Under. (P.49)Tokyo: University Press. Russell, D. (2003). Five tenets of security-aware logistics and supply chain. Transportation Journal, 44-54. Weiss, T. G. (2010). An unfinished. Global Governance and the UN. Journal of global governance 2 (5)12-23 Williams D.D.P (2012). Security Studies An Introduction. (p. 334) U.S. Routledge Read More