Do you think that UN has been effective in maintaining peace

and security or not?

UN peacekeeping missions operate in the most dangerous and difficult
environments in the world, dealing with conflicts – or their aftermath – which
others cannot or will not address. We can achieve what others can’t, but success is
never guaranteed.

UN built up an impressive record of peacekeeping achievements over more

than 60 years of our existence, including winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Since 1948, the UN has helped end conflicts and foster reconciliation by
conducting successful peacekeeping operations in dozens of countries, including
Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mozambique, Namibia and Tajikistan.

UN peacekeeping has also made a real difference in other places with

recently completed or on-going operations such as Sierra Leone, Burundi, Côte
d’Ivoire, Timor-Leste, Liberia, Haiti and Kosovo. By providing basic security
guarantees and responding to crises, these UN operations have supported political
transitions and helped buttress fragile new state institutions. They have helped
countries to close the chapter of conflict and open a path to normal development,
even if major peacebuilding challenges remain.

In other instances, however, UN peacekeeping – and the response by the

international community as a whole – have been challenged and found wanting, for
instance in Somalia, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. These
setbacks provided important lessons for the international community when
deciding how and when to deploy and support UN peacekeeping as a tool to
restore and maintain international peace and security.

Nowadays, UN have a big argument for peacekeeping. Some point out it is

effective or not! Here are some statistics collected from the United Nations'
database:

— 783 million people worldwide do not have access to clean water and
almost 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation.

— Six to eight million people die annually from the consequences of

disasters and water-related diseases.

— Women comprise 70 per cent of the world's poor.

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— Some 160 million children are moderately or severely malnourished, and
about 110 million are not attending school.

Sounds scary doesn't it? These facts come from an organization that is
dedicated to solving the above-mentioned problems that still very much exist in the
world today. But why do they exist?

The United Nations outlines its purposes in its charter:

1. To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take

effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the
peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace,
and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of
justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or
situations which might lead to a breach of the peace.

2. To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the

principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other
appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace.

3. To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of

an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and
encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without
distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and

4. To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of

these common ends.

The only great change that can come to developing countries in hopes of
solving equality, gender, race and human rights issues is through intervention in
each country's respective politics.

This is because with good leaders come laws that benefit society as a whole,
such as universal health care, free education, increased funding toward clean
drinking water and personal freedom and liberties. This will result in improved
lives for the citizens of those countries.

But it is quite evident, with the presence of all the cruelties in the world, that
the United Nations has the weakest political influence on the planet.

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The first point in article I of the UN charter outlines one of the most
important purposes of the United Nations at the time of its creation in 1945: to
maintain international peace and suppress acts of aggression. But has the UN been
successful in living up to that ideal? The genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and
Bosnia, the U.S invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Syrian civil war show
where the UN has fallen short.

Acts of violence, war and suppression will continue unless the UN takes
strong measures against it. In order to become a strong political force, the UN
should create its own army that will fight against injustice at any part of the world.

This army should be given the freedom to fight anyone without the
interference of security council members that have veto power. The veto greatly
undermines the protection of people under fire, as it forbids a UN military
intervention to protect the innocents trapped within a conflict.

The humane way to ensure aggressors do not take advantage of vulnerable

citizens is to eliminate the veto completely. Instead, a democratic vote should be
used to determine any military intervention by the UN.

The UN has to do more to fulfil its promises as outlined in the charter, and
make its sole purpose the protection of people facing the threat of violence
anywhere on Earth.

Wali Khan is a Grade 12 student at Waterloo Collegiate Institut

What factors are required for success?

As past experience shows, there are several factors that are essential for a
successful peacekeeping operation. It must:

 Be guided by the principles of consent, impartiality and the non-use of force

except in self-defense and defense of the mandate;
 Be perceived as legitimate and credible, particularly in the eyes of the local
population;
 Promote national and local ownership of the peace process in the host
country.

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Other important factors that help drive success include:

 Genuine commitment to a political process by the parties in working

towards peace (there must be a peace to keep);
 Clear, credible and achievable mandates, with matching personnel,   logistic
and financial resources;
 Unity of purpose within the Security Council, with active support to UN
operations in the field;
 Host country commitment to unhindered UN operations and freedom of
movement;
 Supportive engagement by neighbouring countries and regional actors;
 An integrated UN approach, effective coordination with other actors on the
ground and good communication with host country authorities and
population;
 The utmost sensitivity towards the local population and upholding the
highest standards of professionalism and good conduct (peacekeepers must
avoid becoming part of the problem).

Unique global partnership

UN peacekeeping is a unique global partnership. It brings together the

General Assembly, the Security Council, the Secretariat, troop and police
contributors and the host governments in a combined effort to maintain
international peace and security. Its strength lies in the legitimacy of the UN
Charter and in the wide range of contributing countries that participate and provide
precious resources.

Reference; http://www.therecord.com

http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/operations/success

By

Ma Thinzar Tin Win

DIR-41

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