Outreach week in New York: PSIA at the United Nations – Part 2: From the Brahimi Report to a New Horizon
The United Nations is a beast of thousands of heads. Originally conceived to prevent the earth from experiencing another world war, over the time the UN has had to overcome difficult failures and has been commended of very few of its successes. Today its missions go beyond the supervision of ceasefires. New and future challenges in conflict prevention, peace building and peacekeeping are attributable to the UN.
The UN is not liked everywhere in the world. The UN figures low in public polls in the Middle East. Developing countries denounce the dominating role of rich countries. To put it in caricatural terms: The latter decide and give the money – the first sacrifices the blood of their troops. “UN should represent more than the interest of States; it must represent the interest of all of the people of the world”, reminded Vijay Nambiar. He was talking to us minutes after the UN Security Council had adopted, in a historically short delay the ground-breaking resolution (1970) imposing sanctions on Libya. Nambiar acknowledged that there were “no go areas where the UN cannot make statements”. Chinese interior conflicts are out of bounds and the permanent five practically untouchable. Nevertheless since its birth the UN has run 63 missions, with 14 missions currently being implemented.
Combined energy: Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein and Lakhdar Brahimi
An important and understated player in one of those missions is Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, the permanent representative of Jordan. He chairs the Liberia configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission. His principle is to never forget that “it is their country and their future” you are working on. For him peacekeeping is a “vehicle to get a State out of an emergency and into a situation where development can begin”. In all conflicts, implicated persons must find their own answers to their problems. They need support – not imposed solutions. However, helping the people to help themselves is not always easy in Liberia where the traditional elite network and structure remains highly influential despite the establishment of a new government.
In other conflicts, like Darfur or Afghanistan, the biggest challenge is getting the long list of actors to agree to sit at the same table. Nicholas Haysom, Director for Political Affairs in the UN Secretary-General’s Executive Office, laments the “lack of imagination” on the part of negotiators and the international community.
He agreed with Stephen Jackson, Chief of Policy at the Department of Political Affairs, in saying that along with the need for creative solutions for conflict, the UN needs to take important steps in bolstering and supporting existing channels that may prevent conflicts from breaking out.
Conflict prevention is “an area where we are still looking for our way”, said Jackson. One path has been traced by Kofi Annan in 2008 when the former UN general secretary succeeded to settle the conflict in Kenya by monopolizing the mediation process in his hands. Multilateral mediation in contrary is contra productive. “In general we have already enough different opinions on the other side”, explained Jackson.
PSIA in NY: Asking for answers – looking for distraction
In his talk with us, David Harland pointed out a few other weaknesses in the UN system. The UN has difficulty in managing its funds, spending them effectively, and ensuring that all missions are financially and structurally flexible: “We are incredibly bad in sequencing and choosing the good instruments”. It is easy to explain why countries are functioning, but it is hard to say why a country fails. “Every unhappy family is different”, argues Harland. As director of the UN Review of civilian capacities he tried to identify possibilities to make those families happy.
Ten years after the Brahimi-Report has proposed possibilities to ameliorate UN peacekeeping efforts, a new strategy called OPEN (national Ownership, global Partnership, deliver with Expertise, be more Nimble = flexible) shall respond to the civilian capacity in the aftermath of a conflict. The UN is aware of the need to adjust its instruments. The 2009 partnership agenda “New Horizon” was presented to us as response to present challenges.
Michael got it right
But ten years after the Brahimi-Report has proposed possibilities to ameliorate UN peacekeeping efforts, a new strategy called OPEN (national Ownership, global Partnership, deliver with Expertise, be more Nimble = flexible) shall respond to the civilian capacity in the aftermath of a conflict. The UN is aware of the need to adjust its instruments. The 2009 partnership agenda “New Horizon” was presented to us as response to present challenges. But one problem persists. The UNSC has the capacity to decide about the instruments, but not the resources to implement them.
