Role of the UN in the Arab Spring - Assignment Example

Role of the UN in the Arab Spring The Arab Spring refers to the ground-breaking series of violent and non-violent protests and demonstrations in thatstarted in December 2010 (Olimat, 2013: 5). Three years down the line dictatorial regimes had been forced from power in Yemen, Egypt and Tunisia. Additionally, civil uprisings had come up in Syria and Bahrain while major protests had emerged in Sudan, Morocco, Kuwait and Algeria. Tuareg and weapons fighters from the civil war in Libya stirred up a conflict in Mali. The conflicts in Lebanon were as a result of the war in Syria that resulting to the Arab Spring in the region. These Arab Spring demonstrations have been faced by violent comebacks from counter demonstrators, pro-government militias as well as the authorities. Some political observers have likened the Arab Spring to the Autumn of Nations that took place in Europe in 1989 (UN APPG, 2012). This essay addresses the role played by the UN in the Arab spring. The UN lost its significance in the international scene when the US made the unilateral decision to occupy Iraq. The UN demonstrated transformed willingness to protect civilians throughout the Arab spring. In other words, the UN took an increasingly proactive role in global politics in the past few years as there has been an upsurge of crisis in Arab countries. In the recent civil wars that took place in the Ivory Coast and Libya, the UN pledged to use all the necessary ways to protect the lives of innocent civilians (Manhire, 2012: 32). This eagerness to confront crisis in the Arab Spring comes after years of dissatisfaction where the UN took a back seat as the US practiced its selfish interests around the globe. As political revolutions have spread across Arab nations, the UN has become the main area of focus on global efforts to take a general position on conflicts that influence global stability. The UN demonstrated its capability and willingness under the appropriate political conditions through economic sanctions and the use of military force so as to enforce human rights and international law (UN APPG, 2012). The UN has become increasingly active by employing a wide range of coercive instruments. The recent events that have taken place in Arab countries were not widely envisaged however, one section of the UN did point out the possibility of upheaval. The UNDP published a number of reports in the years between 2001 and 2005 evaluating the social, demographic and economic issues in North Africa and the Middle East region (UN APPG, 2012). These reports stated that if the pace of social and economic reforms in Arab countries was not picked up, there would be violent political upheavals. However, these discerning reports did not result into any political action. Nevertheless, the UN response has been impressive. The UN took a strategic political side throughout the Arab Spring. The US secretary general appealed to the Egyptian regime to take positive action to the demand on the citizens that held a demonstration on Tahrir Square and supported David Cameron in Downing Street. He also made constant and strong statements on the situation in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Syria (Manhire, 2012: 45). While on the same visit in the UK he made a bold speech on the responsibility to Protect and humanitarian intervention. In making such bold statements it was clear that the UN was ready to face any criticism by the key member states and some governments. This received a positive response from the larger UN system. In fact, the Human rights Council banned Libya’s membership and formed a commission of inquiry to look into the issues and turned down Syria’s candidature. The General Assembly switched its endorsement to the opposition in Libya and adopted a Human Rights resolution in 2012 on Syria (UN APPG, 2012). More importantly, the UN Security Council adopted a number of sanctions to Libya and referred it to the International Criminal Court. Later in the year, it established a campaign allowing the use of all the necessary means to protect its civilians and termed the country as a no flying zone. These are seen as the most drastic measures taken by the UNSC in the past twenty years. This laid the basis for a military campaign that lasted for five months that was done by NATO and its allies to remove Colonel Gaddafi from power and protects the innocent Libyan civilians (Prashad, 2012: 53). Implementation of military action by NATO and its allies proved to be a highly controversial issue for the UN. China and Russia stated that attacks were beyond the UNSC mandate as the focused on the change of regimes instead of the protection of civilians (Panara and Wilson, 2013: 15). Months after the operation, Russia is still asking for the investigation into the causalities resulting from the military action. However, these criticisms were unfounded as it was made apparent that the military forces would be applying all the necessary tools to protect the citizens from attacks by Gaddafi forces. The secretary general stated that the NATO military forces were overly careful and successful in avoiding civilian casualties. The reaction in the UNSC is still looming and the consequent talks in Yemen, Sudan and Syria that have been more difficult. In particular, China and Russia vetoed the resolutions in Syria by stating that the move was simply mainly aimed to give a leeway to military action. This backlash however did cripple military action by the UNSC and the council authorised a UN support mission that is assisting Libya with security issues and preparation for legal elections (Andersson and Djeflat, 2012: 15). The UN eased up the sanctions that had imposed earlier and freed up the assets that had been held abroad causing a recovery of the economy. The UN has also played a key role in other areas. To start with, the UNDP assisted Tunisian and Egyptian governments with writing of the constitution and conducting elections. The UN was involved in drafting of the peace agreement in Yemen that resulted into the steeping down of President Saleh and elections were held resulting to the launch of a political revolution in the country. The most recent peace keeping action by the UN was in South Sudan that is known as the newest nation in the world. The UN peace keeping forces established a territory in Abyei that was a highly volatile region (UN APPG, 2012). The most encouraging move by the UN was when then council reached common resolutions on Syria which supported Kofi Annan’s plan to end conflict and set up political talks that could lead to a political change in the nation. The UN is seen as the body that oversees execution of the plan (Andersson and Djeflat, 2012: 15). The UN played a key role in The Arab Spring through removing dictatorial regimes from power, preventing conflicts, supporting the transition of nations that are recovering from authoritarian regimes and promoting human rights and democracy. Critics argue that the UN has not done its best in the Arab Spring owing to the rifts within the organisation. The UN is advised to work towards establishing unity among Arab states and avoid any form of condemnation that only makes the situation worse. The UN should abide by its founding principles that are aimed at meeting the needs of people across all nations. The UN should acknowledge that democracy takes time to develop in Arab countries. The components of democracy have to be developed from scratch and the process is different in various countries (UN APPG, 2012). It is not upon the UN to dictate on these Arab countries on how to respond to their challenges but to take this as a chance to help them out of their political crisis. These are some of the most valuable lessons and solutions that the UN can learn from Libya. Finally, for the UN to improve its effectiveness in helping Arab countries get n their feet by working on the three pillars that are human rights, security and development. To sum up, the UN played a significant role in the Arab Spring towards helping Arab countries fight against tyrannical regimes and promote respect of the rights of civilians. However, there are those that argue that the UN needed to find new and better ways of helping these nations. The demand for the UN to take action increased in 2012 during the Arab Spring and this is seen across the various nations that are discussed above. However, the UN should take a more active role in solving the political and security issues in the Arab countries. References Andersson, T. & Djeflat, A. (2012) The real issues of the Middle East and the Arab Spring: addressing research, innovation and entrepreneurship, Springer. Manhire, T. (2012) The Arab Spring: Rebellion, revolution, and a new world order, Guardian Books. Olimat, M. (2013) Arab Spring and Arab women, Routlege. Panara, C. & Wilson, G. (2013) The Arab Spring: new patterns for democracy and international law, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Prashad, V. (2012) Arab Spring, Libyan Winter, AK Press. UN APPG. (2012) The UN’s response to the Arab Spring and the evolving role of the Security Council. Retrieved from . Read More