International Conflict Resolution - Research Paper Example

INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION Dreams of peace and prosperity ushered in the end of the Cold War; a new world order with liberal democracy firmly entrenched as the dominant ideological system in international affairs. Optimistic dreams of a new world order in which free reigned supreme and peace became the global modus operandi were shattered in the early 1990s with the explosion of ethnic conflict and humanitarian tragedies on a grand scale. Ethnic conflict threatened the territorial integrity of countries throughout the world including Somalia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Liberia in Africa; Bosnia and Kosovo in Eastern Europe; state-sponsored ethnic cleansing in East Timor in Asia and extreme violence on the North American island nation of Haiti. Although ethnic conflict and humanitarian crises have existed since the dawn of time, for the first time ever images of extreme bloodshed, violence and even genocide were broadcast into the homes of everyday Americans through international television stations like the Cable News Network (CNN), Fox and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Despite shocking violence perpetuated by a variety of militia forces in the Western African countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia, the international community, by and large, stood still while extreme violence and crimes against humanity were carried out with seeming impunity. While it is evident that conflict has been endemic in the modern post-Cold War world, how has conflict been resolved in recent times? There are a variety of theories to international conflict resolution including peacebuilding, peace keeping, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. This essay will discuss each theoretical paradigm and will persuasively show that peacebuilding and peacekeeping go hand in hand and that they are the most viable means through which global conflict can be managed and averted. We will explore the case of Sierra Leone and argue that it emphatically demonstrates that international actors must work to maintain the peace in societies which have experienced incredible violence and social collapse and that both peacekeeping and peacebuilding must take place in order to heal old wounds and ensure that conflict does not reamerge. Alternative Dispute Resolution is a third-party resolution process whereby mediation is undertaken by an external party to help resolve conflict. Although important in a variety of personal, business and social relations, this form of conflict/dispute resolution is not the most viable form of conflict resolution from an international perspective. The failed attempts by the United States to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict (failed Camp David Accord II between the Bill Clinton, Ehud Barack and Yasser Arafat in 2000) as well as the Norwegian attempts to end the violence between the LTTE and Sri Lankan government over the past decade in a half are cases in point. The most important ways to resolve international conflicts once endemic violence and widespread killing has occurred is through the intervention of international bodies such as the United Nations to implement a two-track peace keeping and peacebuilding initiative. We now turn to an exploration of the United Nations and its role in global conflict management (The United Nations 2008). The United Nations and Human Security At its very core, the United Nations was established to promote peaceful solutions to international problems through multilateralism and intercultural dialogue. Human security and the promotion of international peace have been important goals of the United Nations since its establishment following World War II. In recent times, the United Nations has extended its concept of global security to include not only the physical security of the person from armed conflict and war but also the security of the international system as well as of states. Additionally, individual security has been extended to encompass a security which transcends physical or geographic borders. This notion of security is based upon the idea of a shared humanity, irrespective of country of origin or geographic location. The development of UN peacekeeping forces is undeniably the most pronounced aspect of this desire to promote security on a global scale and United Nations Peacekeepers have been involved in a variety of situations since its establishment from Israel to Cyprus and Rwanda to East Timor. Peacekeeping is an important objective of the United Nations and peacekeeping operations exist throughout the world to protect human security and the lives of some of the most vulnerable people on the planet. While UN peacekeeping operations have at times been mired in controversy, this UN initiative exists to ensure a common standard of peace across the globe. Accordingly, UN structures and practices have evolved over time to encompass a far-reaching conception of human security. From a structural perspective, the United Nations has developed a variety of institutions to promote international security including the aptly named Security Council, a plethora of UN mandated international peacekeeping missions (UNAMIR in Rwanda was perhaps the most infamous in recent memory) and organizations such as UNICEF and the UNRWA in Israel/Palestine. Another recent attempt to promote international human security, irrespective of political borders and geographic frontiers has been the establishment of the United Nations International Criminal Court. Current incarnations of this international body include the International Criminal Court in Liberia and the International Criminal Court for the Former Yugoslavia. These institutions work directly to promote a common human rights standard across the globe and try perpetrators of violent crimes and crimes against humanity. By promoting human security through a variety of endeavours and bodies, the United Nations has evolved both in scope as well as in substance to promulgate a shared sense of humanity (Yoder 1993; Rothschild 2005). The United Nations and Global Conflict Management The United Nations (UN) is a supranational body composed of constituent member states. As a multinational organization which espouses universal values, rights and responsibilities (as embodied in the United Nations Charter of Human Rights), the United Nations serves to safeguard human rights and security across the global community. Established in the wake of the Second World War, the United Nations was created to ensure that the horrors of that conflict never happen again. As such, the protection and promotion of human security is an important goal of the United Nations. Accordingly, peacekeeping has been at the heart of United Nations global endeavours since 1948 and continues to be an important component of the United Nation’s promotion of global security (The United Nations 2008). The United Nations was created with the goals of ensuring that the calamity of the Second World War never occurs again through the promotion of peaceful diplomacy and the maintenance of international security regimes. As a multinational organization, the United Nations exists to promote peace and harmony on an international scale. More specifically though, the UN promotes cooperation and multilateralism in the following realms: international security, international law, human rights, social progress and economic development. Peacekeeping is an important initiative of the United Nations and the following will explore the UN’s conception of security and how this conception has affected the structures and practices of the UN. Accordingly, what role does peacekeeping and peacebuilding, play at the UN and has its peacekeeping and peacebuilding initiatives been successful in Sierra Leone? These questions will be addressed further below. Case Analysis: Sierra Leone Sierra Leone is a country which has been ravaged by civil war and beset by internal strife for more than a decade and a half. Despite being home to incredible natural beauty as well as a vast assortment of natural resources, Sierra Leone is a very poor country. Its citizens are impoverished and its land has been plundered since the colonial era. While the exploitation of the natural resources in Sierra Leone is a historical fact with a litany of antecedents going back to the earliest days of Portuguese encroachment, the recent civil war in Sierra Leone, as well as in neighbouring Liberia, have contributed to the overall social, economic and political decimation of this potentially very rich coastal country. Although movies like Blood Diamonds have popularized the conflict over resources in Sierra Leone, this movie is a dramatic representation of the plight of this country and fictional in nature. In spite of this, the international community is starting to pay long overdue attention to the violent conflicts and civil wars in West Africa as well as the struggle over land and other precious resources. Today, Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world and its resources have been plundered. Accordingly, the people of Sierra Leone presently have a combined life expectancy of 41 yeas (43 for women and a shocking 38 years for men). This is one of the poorest on earth, a place which was ranked last in a recent United Nations Human Development Index. Understanding the war and the diamond plundering which took place during the war is integral to understanding the situation in Sierra Leone today. Beginning in 1991, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of Foday Sankoh undertook a bloody insurrection which killed tens of thousands of civilians and displaced more than 1/3rd of the entire population. A humanitarian crisis ensued as the forces of Sankoh and the RUF fought the national armed forces of the country, leading to more than 2 million people fleeing their homes. The country was in disarray for a new decade as the Sierra Leone Civil War carried on until the early years of the twenty-first century. Called the “Cruel Rebel”, Foday Sankoh’s forces were notorious for rape, plunder and the insidious act of amputation. Accordingly, thousands of men, women, boys and girls had their limbs amputated by the RUF. Using rusted machetes, the ragtag army of the RUF engaged in extreme brutality. Much of the world stood by while the bloodshed was being undertaken with near impunity by young boys and girls, feared fighters of the RUF (CIA 2008). Unfortunately, the international community has been slow to respond to the pillaging undertaken in Sierra Leone since 1991. Despite this, the international community has been more successful in dealing with the perpetrators of war crimes as part of the overall conflict. Accordingly, the United Nations established an international criminal court, aptly called the Special Court for Sierra Leone, to try the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and extreme violence during the civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia. As an independent international body, this country operates under UN auspices but is impartial and independent. This is an important component to the court since it is not a court run by the present authorities in Sierra Leone. Believing that it has a duty to protect as well as to try the perpetrators of heinous crimes and crimes against humanity, the Special Court for Sierra Leone was established to bring the perpetrators to justice in a court of law. These proceedings are being undertaken with respect to alleged crimes which contravene the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Accordingly, this Declaration has been used to protect innocent civilians and try those who have participated in genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity as well as those involved in the illegal drug trade. Peacekeeping, followed by peacebuilding – through organs such as the Special Court for Sierra Leone – have ensured that the outbreak of violence in this country never occurs again. Concluding Remarks Has the international community been successful in ensuring that the perpetrators of extreme violence and civil war are brought to justice in the case of Sierra Leone? Yes, through a joint effort at peacekeeping and peacebuilding, the international community has responded using principles of international human rights, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The role of international actors seeking a resolution to the conflict in Sierra Leone has been paramount and the United Nations has been at the forefront of these initiatives. Through a joint effort of peace keeping and peacebuilding, the United Nations has played an unparalleled role in ensuring that the perpetrators of extreme violence are brought to justice in this incredibly poor West African state. REFERENCES Green, JF. (1956). The United Nations and Human Rights. Washington: Brookings Institution, 1956. Rothschild, E. (1995). What Is Security? Daedalus, 124,3 (Summer): 53-98. Sierra Leone. (2008) . Central Intelligence Agency 2008. Last Accessed June 07, 2009 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world factbook/geos/sl.html Sutterlin, J. S. (2003). The United Nations and the Maintenance of International Security. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group. UN peacekeeping operations: principles and guidelines. (2008). New York: The United Nations. Yoder, A. (1993). The Evolution of the United Nations System. London: Taylor & Francis. Read More