UN and Internal conflicts of the 1990s - Essay Example

ost widely known internal conflicts included Iraq-Kuwait (demilitarization), Angola (peace accord implementation), Cambodia (UNTAC), Yugoslavia/Kosovo (relief), Somalia (ceasefire civil war, relief), Uganda-Rwanda (border), Haiti (transition, institution), and East Timor (independence transition). Mostly those that have undergone civil strife within the warring factions in the local communities were given humanitarian relief instead of striving towards the achievement of peace through peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions, especially due to ethnic and cultural conflicts.

Brahm (2005) mentions that the lack of central authority in nations that experienced tragic deaths due to ethnic and cultural conflicts makes it difficult for the UN to act, when it is in fact the UN that should already serve as the main central authority. Brahm also cites that the UN is known to act towards existing crises, not preventing them. He continues to note that although the UN Secretary-General at the time of post by Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan was effective in extending a diplomatic hand in negotiations and interventions without the requirement of the Security Council’s go-signal, it is still the Security Council who is main executor of resolutions and actions that will pursue missions.

The commitment value of the Member States in assuring thorough relief and support in aiding the nations involved with civil strife based on political and cultural differences, according to Brahm, is way low, and primarily the difficulties lie in the finger-pointing of who will provide continuous advocacy that will eventually help these said afflicted nations towards their own deliverance. In this we agree. Most of the times the UN has been seen to act based on the individual interests of the Member States, and if it is something that does not involve their nation’s benefiting from such a situation, it is most likely that they are not as keen to offer sincere assistance.

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