GA 2 - Reconstructive Role of the UN in the Aftermath of Conflict by TEIMUN Newsletter

TEIMUN 2011 11th July â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 17th July

GENERAL ASSEMBLY (GA) Topic II: The Reconstructive Role of the UN in the Immediate Aftermath of Conflict

Introduction The end of the Cold War marks an important turning point for United Nations peace operations. Various factors contributed to a series of collective actions deviant from previous traditional peacekeeping operations.1 Gradually, the UN accepted a more constructive role in the aftermath of conflicts and disasters. On the other hand, this transformation was due to an increase in the number of complex emergencies arising at the beginning of the 1990s. The UN struggled to find an effective response and it sometimes spectacularly failed to address these crises. The international community realised that conventional approaches to conflicts were no longer sufficient and in some cases clearly counter-productive.2 On the other hand, stemming from the core goals of the UN was the shared belief that the obligation to maintain international peace and security was not limited to keeping peace, but also there initiated a responsibility to rebuild war-torn societies gained prominence. The Agenda for Peace by the former Secretary-General of the UN, Boutros-Boutros Gali was the first official document defining this new concept of peacebuilding in post-conflict settings as the establishment of a long-lasting peace. Yet statistics show that more than half the countries which have experienced 'successful' UN peace operations fell back into conflict within less than 5 years.3 This leads to an important realisation: peacebuilding activities do not, in all cases, lead to a sustainable peace. According to Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, the threats to peace are often greatest during the early phase, in the immediate aftermath of two years following a conflict, but so too are the opportunities to set virtuous cycles in motion from the start.4 However, in this immediate aftermath of conflicts and disasters, the UN repeatedly failed to integrate peacebuilding aspects in their short-term relief programs5. In addition, the constructive role of the UN focused on rebuilding the exact pre-conflict structures of societies that led to the outbreak of conflict. The UN repeatedly failed to build institutional government structures and to restore national leadership that would prevent repetition of conflict and disaster. 6 Lasting peace requires the establishment of viable institutions capable of maintaining internal stability and peace. After a series of peacebuilding measures in the last few decades, the time has now come to evaluate the UN's reconstructive role. Challenges to integrate 1

The defintion of disaster hold in this paper encompasses both natural and man-made disasters. 2 K. Menkhouse, Impact assesment in post-conflict peace building. Challenges and future directions, 2004, p. 3. 3 L. Brahimi, Statebuilding in crisis and post-conflict countries, 2007, p. 2. 4 B. Ki Moon, Report of the Secretary-General on peace building in the immediate aftermath of conflict, 2009, paragraph 2. 5 J. David Whaley & B. Piazza-Georgi, ‗The link between peacekeeping and peace building‘, Monograph No. 10 Conflict management, peacekeeping and peace building, 1997. 6 G. Junne & W. Verkoren, ‗The challenges of Postconflict Development‘, in G. Junne & W. Verkoren (eds), Postconflict development. Meeting new challenges, 2005, p. 1-5.

development strategies and to institutionalise national capacity in rebuilding states urgently need to be addressed by the United Nations. Together with the Security Council, the General Assembly is responsible for the peacebuilding efforts of the UN but it has failed to take comprehensive action concerning these current challenges. It is up to you, delegates of the General Assembly of TEIMUN 2011 to show that the GA is capable of tackling the issues at hand. This document will first provide you with the necessary context by sketching the past activities of the UN in the peacebuilding field. It offers you insight in some of the cases the UN failed to act effectively. In the next section, this background paper distinguishes five key themes the UN needs to deal with when reconstructing war torn societies. Thirdly, this paper will shed light on the recent developments of the UNâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s reconstructive role in the immediate aftermath of conflict and disaster. At the end, the document will close with some useful conclusions, questions to ponder and further research material. What is Peacebuilding? As briefly discussed in the introduction of this paper, reconstruction after conflict, more commonly refered to as peacebuilding, encompasses all the activities that aim at addressing root causes of conflict in order to prevent a new cycle of violence. Thus, prevention and rebuilding are linked, which leads to the conclusion that any formal agreement ending a civil conflict is meaningless unless it is accompanied by long term programs that will cure the illed society.7 Often the peacebuilding acitivities conducted by the UN involve the transfer of a Western model of governance entailing new domestic governance norms and new democratic political institutions. One may say,that this Westernisation of domestic politics reflects the relationship between the identity of states and the international system, whereas more realist scholars would argue that these norms merely reflect the identity of the more powerful states, thereby imposing a new identity on these states, rather than assisting them in creating their own.8 In addition, the complex reality of peacebuilding is illustrated by the multifaceted nature of peaceoperations. Their specific characteristisc depend upon political will among those authorising an operations and the nature of the conflict.9 Many peacebuilding operations have involved various UN agencies that usually cooperate with more regionally based organisations such as the NATO, the European Union, the Organisation of American States and numerous nongovernmental organisations. 10 However, this complex cooperation of multiple organisations logically leads to problems of coordination and communication. Defining a common strategy and shared priorities is often problematic.11 However, there is widespread agreement that peacebuilding is more than 7

N. Weinberger, Civil-Military coordination in Peacebuilding:the challenge in Afghanistan, 2002, 248. C.P. David 'Alice in Wonderland meets Frankenstein: Constructivism, realism and peacebuilding in Bosnia', Contemporary Security Policy, 22: 1, 2001, 1-4. 9 M.P. Karns, Searching for the Roots of UN peacebuilding, 2008, 4. 10 See for example http://www.peacebuildingportal.org/ . 11 M.P. Karns, Searching for the Roots of UN peacebuilding, 2008, 5. 8

stability promotion, and it is designed to create a positive peace, to eliminate the root causes of conflict and to allow states and societies to develop stable expectations of peaceful change. Consensus though, breaks down over the substance behind the symbol of peacebuilding.12 One the one hand, there is for example no empirically-based, definitive study of the causes of peace.13 Complex discussions evolve around the exact definition and conceptualisation of peacebuilding. Different terms are used both within and outside the UN system, causing confusion among the various actors.14 The term peacebuilding was defined and concretised by UN Secretary General Boutros Ghali in 1992 in his report An Agenda for Peace as ―action to identify and support structures which will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid relapse into conflict.‖ Such actions include the monitoring of elections, rebuilding police and judiciary structures and managing administrative activities. 15 In his Agenda, he sees peacebuilding as essential to prevent renewed conflict after peace has been made and kept. He states 'only sustained, cooperative work to deal with underlying economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems can place an achieved peace on a durable foundation'.16 Research shows that indeed 29 out of the 48 UN peacekeeping operations involved tasks associated with postconflict reconstructive activities.

12 13 14 15 16

M. Barnet, Hunjoon Kim, Madalene O‟Donnell, and Laura Sitea. “Peacebuilding: What is in a Name?” Global Governance 13:1 2007(Jan-Mar), 44. However, various scholars have tried. See for example J. de Rivera, 'Assesing the culture of peace', UN Chronicle Jun-Aug2005, Vol. 42 Issue 2, 53-55. M.P. Karns, Searching for the Roots of UN peacebuilding, 2008, 5. B. Boutros -Ghali, An agenda for peace, 1992, specifically paragraph 21. Boutros -Ghali, An agenda for peace, specifically paragraph 57.

Historical Context of the Reconstructive Role of the UN During the last decades the concept of peacebuilding has emerged on the one hand through practice, and on the other hand through efforts made by various Secretary Generals and UN representatives. In the next section, both aspects will briefly be discussed. Since the emergence of the concept of peacebuilding, reality proofed that sustainable peace is not easily established. By looking specifically at various cases in which the UN has conducted peacebuilding activities, it will be easier to understand how the concept has evolved throughout the years. It is essential to understand past successes and failures, in this regard to understand the full scope of the concept and to address the underlying issues. UN's reconstructive role in the decolonisation process

The reconstructive role of the UN firstly emerged shortly after the second world war. The UN took up an important role in the decolonisation process, by granting all colonies the right to self-determination.17 This process brought more than 100 new states into being. Their independence was collectively legitimised by the UN's recognition of their existence. In addition the UN helped some of these states transforming their administrative capacities. Authorised by the UNSC, the UNGA, or the Trusteeship Council, small missions were, issued with no more that 30-40 personnel on the team which were closely involved in the individual process of decolonisation of various states, such as British-administered Togoland.18 However, their purpose was not in the first place to establish a form of democratic governance, but to ensure the process of self-determination was reasonably fair and free.19 UN electoral monitoring activities were in no sense seen as the general rule, but scarcely adopted in specific cases. The UN experience in the Congo for example in the beginning of the '60's was quite controversial. The peacebuilding capabilities gained through past experiences of the UN were severely put to the test in this young independent state. One might argue that this was the UN's first experience with a failed state.20 The first days of Congo's independence are hardly to be called rosy. The army mutinied and harshly threw all the Belgian soldiers out, Europeans were roughed up and women were systematically being raped.21 Public administration, law and order quickly dissolved and the vacuum was filled with chaos, anarchy and distress. The UN took up a complex basket of tasks that included the restoration of law and order, the removal of Belgian forces, providing public services and establishing a new government. 22 It was a 17 18 19 20 21 22

UN charter, Chapter XI. .P. Karns, Searching for the Roots of UN peacebuilding, 2008, 6 Y. Beigbeder,. International Monitoring of Plebiscites, Referenda and National Elections: Self-determination and Transition to Democracy, 1994, 120-121. M.P. Karns, Searching for the Roots of UN peacebuilding, 2008, 7. M.P. Karns, Searching for the Roots of UN peacebuilding, 2008, 7. A. Walter Dorn and David J.H. Bel, 'Intelligence and Peacekeeping: The UN operation in the Congo 1960 1964', International Peacekeeping, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1995, 11-33.

messy, costly and controversial operation. Within the secretariat, the experience in Congo left the UN with a bad taste in its mouth concerning peacebuilding activities. Within the secretariate, resistance to new nationbuilding missions was wide spread.23 The Congolese experience showed that any reconstructive missions need both military and civilian personnel, viable intelligence mechanisms and depend on strong leadership and need popular and genuine support for the UN members.24 However, the various experiences gained during the early years of UN peace operations would prove valuable in the early 90's when the UN would become actively involved in organising, supervising and monitoring elections. UN’s role in a changing international system

Within the changing international system, due to the fall of the Soviet Union, the UN consequently needed to redefine its role in the modern state system. The newly emerged world order offered a wide range of new possibilities to the UN. Major changes were underway, and amongst others the UN Secretary General Pérez de Cuellar was aware of these shifts in the international system and the new opportunities this would bring: ―Over the past year, in the midst of continuing regional strife and economic and social hardship, there have been occasions in which a great solidarity among nations was evident in addressing serous problems with global implications, within the multilateral framework of the United Nations….It is as if the sails of the small boat in which all the people of the earth are gathered had caught again, in the midst of a perilous sea, a light but favourable wind.‖25 In the beginning of the 1990s, the permanent member were cooperating within the Security Council in a way that illustrated their renewed attitude towards international cooperation. During the 1990s the UN had a series of significant peacebuilding experiences in the field. In Nicaragua, the UN's major objectives of the UN mission ONUCA were the monitoring of elections and the disarmament and demobilisation of the Contra forces. According to Perez de Cuéllar, the then Secretary-General, explains that the UN was entering a news and unknowm terrain. More flexible methods for UN involvement in domestic developments within a Member state. Most striking was perhaps the role UN took up in strengthening the democratic institutions and to monitor compliance with internationally established human rights norms.26 The UN set a straight new method to control the developments within the jurisdiction of a state, which article 2 (7) striclty limits. 27 It was the first time the UN stept over the restrictions the article poses and monitored 23 24

J. Dobbins, The UN’s Role in Nation-Building: From the Congo to Iraq, 2005, 13. A. Walter Dorn and David J.H. Bel, 'Intelligence and Peacekeeping: The UN operation in the Congo 19601964', International Peacekeeping, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1995, 11-33.

J. Pérez de Cuéllar, Report on the Work of the Organization, 1987. J. Pérez de Cuéllar, Pilgrimage for Peace,1997, 404-405. 27 J.Pérez de Cuéllar, Pilgrimage for Peace,1997, 409. 26

elections outside the framework of decolonisation processes.28 The elections conducted in February 1990 were labelled as free and fair by the international observers. However, by March, the demobilisation (one of the two objectives of the UN mission) had still not begun and the ONUCA was enlarged. 29 By July 1990, the UN felt the demobilisation process had progressed sufficiently and retreated. Up untill today, Nicaragua has not known a widescale war, however, there are still upsurges of violence and the factors that led to the revolution in the first place, are largely unaltered and persist. 30 One on the problems that the UN was uncapable of overcoming, and undermined UN activities in Nicaragua, was the demobilisation and demilitarisation of the armed contra forces. When the rebel movement in El Salvador signed the San Jose agreement on Human Rights, the UN was given a substantial role in verifying the accord. The UN implemented a truth commission that would investigate any crimes against humanity in El Salvador. The UNSC established the UN observer Mission in El Salvador. In 1992 the UN peacekeepers helped to implement the Chapultepec Accords, trying to bring an end to twelf years of violent conflict. 31 According to Alvaro Soto, the Chief Political Advisor to Secretary General Boutros-Ghali, this was the first time the UN actually took up a peacebuilding role intentionally. 32 The UN mandate was weak, it simply stated that the UN should monitor all agreements made by the conflicting parties.33 Luckily for the UN, these agreements came to include a cease-fire, as well as judicial reform and and the establishment of a new national body that included representatives from both the government and the rebels, called the National Commission for the Consolidation of Peace (COPAZ). 34 In El Salvador, the UN succeeded in managing the implementation of the peace accords, it failed however to push for human rights and to set priorities for the further reconstruction of the state. Many of the root causes of the conflict remained to be adressed at the time ONUSAL retreated from Salvadorean territories.35 Boutros-Ghali's ‘An Agenda for Peace’

Since the late 1980s the UN slowly took up more challenging missions in terms of peacebuilding. In 1988 the UN peacekeepers forces received the Nobel Peace Prize for their ―decisive contribution toward the initiation of actual peace negotiations.‖ The UN around the 1990's to a larger extend took up its responsibility to maintain international peace and security.36 It was an extraordinairy time caused by the colapse of the bipolar world system in 1991 28 29 30 31 32 33

J.Pérez de Cuéllar, Pilgrimage for Peace,1997,412. United Nations Security Council, 'Central America', Resolution 650, 27 March 1990. R. Paris, At War’s End: Building Peace after Civil Conflict, 2004, 119-120 J.S. Kreilkamp, „UN post-conflict reconstruction‟ , International law and politics, vol. 35, 2003, 627. J.S. Kreilkamp, „UN post-conflict reconstruction‟ , International law and politics, vol. 35, 2003, 627. United Nations Security Council, 'El Salvador', Resolution 693, 20 May 1991.

J.S. Kreilkamp, „UN post-conflict reconstruction‟ , International law and politics, vol. 35, 2003, 628. R.C. Orr, 'Building peace in El Salvador: from exception to rule', Peacebuilding as politics, cultivating peace fragile societies, ed. Elizabeth M. Coussens & Chetan Kumar, 2001, 154. 36 United Nations Security Council, 'Note by the President', S/23500, 31 January 1992. 35

as outlined above. As then under-secretary general for political affairs Vladimin Petrovsky commented 'there was a general feeling that the only center for the exchange of ideas and for afreed actions was het United Nations. Everybody was expecting that the UN would lead the process in that directions and everything would go right.‖ 37 The UNSC organised a special summit in 1992 to define a common strategy on how the UN could effectively respond to the recent changes. At the closure of the summit, the council members asked Secretary General Boutros-Ghali to prepare a report in which he would incorporate all his recommendations on ways to strengthen the capacity of the UN for preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and for peacekeeping. Note that peacebuilding was not mentioned.38 When the report was issued, it touched on a number is topics that were not mentioned in the presidnential statelemnt. One of them being post-conflict peacebuilding. The report was drafted by a high-level working group established by BoutrosGhali and composed of the four under-secretaries-general (USGs) with Petrovsky, USG for Political Affairs, as chair;19 James Jonah, Assistant Secretary-General for Special Political Questions; Alvaro de Soto, the Secretary-General‘s senior political adviser; Tapio Kanninen as secretary; Virendra Dayal, Chef de Cabinet for Boutros-Ghali as rapporteur; and Bertrand G. Ramcharan as drafting officer. 39 The draft these men proposed to the Secretary General was heavinly criticised by him. According to him, the report did not incorporate a specific kind of activities the UN had conducted during the last 50 years. He is supposed to have said to Alvaro the Soto ‗I would rather like something on peace-building also. It is not included in the agenda. It is not included in the resolution itself, but it‘s a concept which I want to bring to the UN as my concept—peace-building.‘40 The Agenda for Peace was translated into 40 languages and has been subject to various UN debates ever since it was issued. Up until today, the concept of peacebuilding remains a prominent concept within the UN system. The UN's reconstructive role after 1992

However, in the period following 1992, from 1993-1996, the UN conducted various operations with a component specifically referred to as 'peacebuilding' that did not turn out to be must succesfull, such as Rwanda, Cambodia, and the Haiti and Angola. Some people do not however feel like these failures were to blame on the Agenda. Rather, they feel like the UN system had not yet been given sufficient time to incorporate these new notions. 41On the other hand, the part of the Agenda dedicated to peacebuilding was rather brief and did not capture the full scope of the concept, one might argue. In order to clarify various components of the concept., the Secretary General submitted a

M.P. Karns, Searching for the Roots of UN peacebuilding, 2008, 20. United Nations Security Council, 'Note by the President', S/23500, 31 January 1992. 39 M.P. Karns, Searching for the Roots of UN peacebuilding, 2008, 21. 40 M.P. Karns, Searching for the Roots of UN peacebuilding, 2008, 23. 41 M.P. Karns, Searching for the Roots of UN peacebuilding, 2008, 23. 38

Supplement to the Agenda for Peace in 1995. 42All in all, the Agenda did provide the UN with a solid ground to engage in more reconstructive practices such as the strengthening of democratic structures.43 Starting with an operation in Cambodia, the UN exercised various governmental functions after the Cambodian conflict was concluded with a peace treaty. In Cambodia, the Paris peace agreement on a comprehensive Political Settlement of the Conflict in Cambodia envisaged a UN mission to take over various aspects of governance. The accord was the result of complex negotiations within the UN among the five permanent members and between the various parties of the conflict. UN Transitional Administration in Cambodia (UNTAC) was given direct control over Cambodian foreign affairs, national defense, finance and public security until a new government was established. There was however one catch: UNTAC had to follow any advice given by the Supreme National Council, which functioned as a blue print of the future government consisiting of members of all factions, to the extend that it did not conflict with the Agreement.44 However, UNTAC proved unable to establish effective control over the Cambodian administration due to resistance among actors who formerly controlled the civil insititution. The cease-fire was repeatedly violated by the conflictive parties. A coup in 1997 ereased many of the political gains conducted in the past years. Cambodia was thrown back to into the conflict. The UN failed to monitor and implement the treaty effectively. In addition, the UN forces were unable to demilitarise the fighting parties, and they were uncapable of incorporating various fractions that formerly controlled state institutions into new power structures.45 Moreover, the UN did not sufficiently control the civil services and administration capacities. All in all, the UN bluntly failed in reconstructiong the Cambodian state. Since 1975, when Portugese control of East-Timor officially ended, Indonesian forces entered the territory and occupied it. In 1999 Portugal and Indonesia agreed to ask the UN to conduct a consultation amongst the population of the East Timorese to determine what the citizens prefered: independence or autonomy within Indonesia. With an overwhelming majority, the population voted to become independent. Just shortly after this popular consultation, a terrible conflict broke out, started by anti-independence militias. The UN issued a mission vesting all authority in the UN transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET).46 The UN mission faced a state in chaos, with no institutional infrastructure. The militias withdrew and the international forces could guarantee internal and external security. However, when the mission tried to transfer the the power to the local population, they significantly failed. 42

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 'Supplement to an Agenda for Peace', (A/50/60-S/1995/1), 1995. M.P. Karns, Searching for the Roots of UN peacebuilding, 2008, 24. 44 M.J. Matheson,' United Nations governance of post-conflict societies', American Journal of International Law, Vol. 95, 2001, 76-85. 45 M.W. Doyle, 'Peacebuilding in Cambodia: legitimacy and power', Peacebuilding as politics, cultivating peace i n fragile societies, ed. Elizabeth M. Coussens & Chetan Kumar, 2001,p. 89-95 46 United Nations Security Council, 'On the situation on East Timor', S/RES/1272, 25 October 1999. 43

The absolute authority vested in the UN undermined the process towards selfgovernance.47 This experience painfully shows that progress towards self governance is undermined when no national capacity is build and all the governance is imposed from the outside. 48 In Angola the UN has tried to improve the dreadful situation by sending four observer missions to the country since 1990. However, despite all effort to establish an enduring peace, the violence restarted in 1998 when opposition forces fighting against the government refused to continue implementing the peace accord. Due to a lack of security the UN failed to accompany humanitarian aid with national capacity building activities and to monitor the implementation of the treaty, which indirectly led to the loss of millions of lives.49 The UN's track record for Rwanda is even worse. The UN Security Council has explicitly accepted responsibility for failing to prevent the genocide in Rwanda in which an estimated 800.000 people were killed. 50 A UN mission present in Rwanda to secure a non-violent transition period during the elections with the implementation of a peace treaty, was withdrawn after Belgian soldiers had died. The death of the Presidents of both Burundi and Rwanda, probably caused by Hutu extremists, led to an upsurge in the use of violent that turned in to one of the gravest conflicts in human history.51 Since 1995 Haiti received various forms peacebuilding support and initiatives. The international community helped the small country rebuild its infrastructure, judicial and police systems after an elite coup dismembered the Haitian society. The UN operation, which had been present since 1992, was quite successful in transferring power to the local population. The earthquake that struck Haiti destroyed and completely destabilised the Haitian society. Emergency relief was mobilised quickly within hours, however, at this point in time, one year later, the UN struggles to make the transition to peacebuilding en developmental activities. The UN Security Council recently provided a mandate for a UN deployment focusing in long-term reconstruction and building a national police service.52 Individual Leadership

The concept of peacebuilding developed over the years not just because of past UN experiences and changing world systems, to a large extend its development can also be attributed to individual leaders. Ever since the UN 47 48 49

J.S. Kreilkamp, „UN post-conflict reconstruction‟ , International law and politics, vol. 35, 2003, p.655 J.S. Kreilkamp, „UN post-conflict reconstruction‟ , International law and politics, vol. 35, 2003, p. 619-670.

United Nations „United Nations and Angola‟, http://www.un.org/peace/africa/pdf/Angola.pdf , retrieved Febuary 8, 2011. 50 BBC News, „UN admits Rwanda genocide failure„, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/714025.stm, retrieved Febuary 9, 2011. 51

„History of Rwanda‟,

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad24#ixzz1DHxgLWeG, retrieved Feburary 9, 2011. 52

United Nations, „United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)‟, `http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minustah/background.shtml, retrieved Febuary 9, 2011.

was established, the head of the secretariat of the organisation has been able to play a significant role both within the organisation as on the world stage. Secretary Generals have succesfully taken advantage of the oppotunities the UN system offered them to contribute to the development of the organisation and of new concepts within the international community. All have played a significantly different role during their periods in office. The Secretary General has proven not just to be a senior civil servant, but an actual international political figure.53 Two secretary generals in particular have contributed to the development of the concept of peacebuilding: Javier Pérez de Cuélar and Boutros BoutrosGhali. Javier Perez de Cuéllar has succeded remarkably in reattributing legitimacy to the UN in promoting international peace and security. He turned the UN into an active instrument in resolving conflicts in the 1980's. As a schooled lawyer he was very much concerned about the limits of article 2(7) placed on the UN's reconstructive role in monitoring elections. In his report in 1989, he noted that within peaceoperations there was a growing importance for the inter-state situation and that the scope UN related tasks had broadened. 54 Eventhough his final report in 1991 reflected valuable insights the UN gained in the previous years in terms of peacebuilding, Perez de Cuéllar was unable to establish a incorporate the overarching concept of peacebuilding within the UN system. Nevertheless, he left the office of Secretary-General upholding a good reputation.55 Boutros-Boutros Ghali was able to further develop the notion of peacebuilding as we have seen in his report an Agenda for Peace. Nevertheless, various peacekeeping operations turned out to be unsuccesful while he was in office. One of the reasons might be his stiff relationship with the US, but he also antagonised others including many in the Secreatriat.56 After Mr. Boutros-Ghali, initiated his ideas about UN peace operations, he continued to specify his new concepts in various documents such as his supplement to an Agenda for Peace, in which he elaborated on situations in which peacebuilding would be ultimately relevant. He emphasized in his supplement that peacebuilding was not limited to post-conflict situations but could be perceived to have much wider significance.57 Lakhdar Brahimi, one of the most highest UN officials and special advisor to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, issued a report on UN peace operations. In this report he advocated for a peacebuilding strategy known as 'a light footprint' , based on re-establishing the rule of law and on the use of remaining national capacities. As special representative for the missions in Haiti and Afghanistan, Mr. Brahimi was able to implement this approach. 58 53 54 55 56 57 58

M.P. Karns, Searching for the Roots of UN peacebuilding, 2008,p. 28. J. Pérez de Cuéllar,. Anarchy or Order: Annual Reports 1982-1991, 1991, p.224-225. M. Kondracke, "Javier of the UN." New Republic 203, NO. 7, 1990, p. 20-23. M.P. Karns, Searching for the Roots of UN peacebuilding, 2008, 30. B. Boutros -Ghali, Supplement to an agenda for peace, 1995. L. Brahimi, Report of the panel on United Nations peace operations, 2001, paragraphs 35-47.

Mr. Kofi Annan emphasised in his report In larger Freedom the importance of building a sustainable peace as war has ended. He stipulates that the successful implementation of peace accords potentially saves millions of lives. In his document preceding the World Summit in 2005 he advised the Member States to create an intergovernmental peacebuilding Commission, since 'no part of the United Nations system effectively addresses the challenge of helping countries with the transition from war to lasting peace'. 59 The historical framework of peacebuilding

Hopefully, the previous section has given you a sufficient overview of the historical development of the notion of peacebuilding. For one part of the concept can be traced back to the role of the UN in the process of decolonisation. The UN 's involvement in the aftermath of independence of post-colonial states set valuable precedents. One challenge the UN effectively adressed was the legal obstacle article 2(7) posed to the UN monitoring elections. In addition, another part of the roots of UN peacebuilding can be traced back to the new types of roles the UN played in monitoring the implementation of peaceaccords such as Cambodia, Nicaragua and El Salvador. After these relative succesfull peacebuilding operations the UN has some less rosy experiences in Rwanda, Haiti, East-Timor and Angola. Another important contribution to the concept of peacebuilding was made by various indivuduals, most notably several Secretary Generals of the UN. Major Peace-keeping Operations

K. Annan, In larger freedom, 2005, specifically paragraph 114.

1. 2.

Table: M. Kondracke, "Javier of the UN." New Republic 203, NO. 7, 1990, p.

Challenges to UN reconstruction activities Building peace in war-torn or disaster-struck societies has never been a simple job, as is illustrates by the mixes record of the UN in past experience. In this section we will touch upon some of the difficulties the UN faces in peacebuilding operations. In order to provide you an insight into the challenges of peacebuilding, this section provides you with some of the urgent problems the UN faces on the grounds. 1.

Peacebuilding and Democracy

Democracy and peace are often two desired goals of the same reconstructive process and the assumption that democracy inherently results in peace is widely held. However, both factors may have significant negative effects on each other. When a peace accord is reached, the conflict between the two parties tends to linger on. Transition to an all-inclusive election process in which all parties are represented (including the rebels) often endangers the fragile and newly achieved peace. In other situations, political elites and civil society may remain polarised. In short, core elements of democracy such as popular participation, mobilisation of interest groups and open competition amongst political parties increase the risk of falling back into conflict. 60 In addition, elections, need to be rightly timed to be effective. If not, elections simply turn into a superficial public demonstration. National capacity and institution building

As described in in the previous sections, one of the ingredients for a successful peacebuilding process is the recreation of national capacities which have been destroyed during the conflict. The local parties and interest groups need to actively engage in the decision-making processes and priority-setting of the reconstructive process in order to ensure its success. The leadership role of nationals must unquestionably be recognised.61 Yet, one of the greatest failures of the UN has been its ability to relate to those most affected by the conflict or disaster. The beneficiaries of the peace process need to be able to relate to the solutions offered. One of the failures in this respect, is the systematic neglect of women in the process of peacebuilding.62 Moreover, the rebuilding of state institutions in the immediate postconflict phase, such as administrative, police and judicial systems, is essential since they regulate the functioning of the state that is being rebuilt. The reconstruction of such institutions however, has been underestimated. It is a unique undertaking with little resemblance to standard institution building efforts. The difference lies in the order of priorities and in the nature of the institutions. In war-torn societies there must only be one priority namely to 60

A.K. Jarstad, „Dilemmas of war-to-democracy transitions: theories and concepts‟, in A.K. Jarstad & T.D. Sisk (eds), From war to democracy. Dilemmas of peace building, 2008, p.15-36. 61 L. Brahimi, Statebuilding in crisis and post-conflict countries, 2007, p. 3. 62 J. David Whaley & B. Piazza-Georgi, „The link between peacekeeping and peace building‟, Monograph No. 10 Conflict management, peacekeeping and peace building, 1997.

avoid renewed conflict.63 In addition, the structure of the institutions needs to be altered and not simply be rebuild since these exact same institutions led to the outbreak of conflict. Peacebuilding and development

War, conflict and disaster generally prove to be the antithesis of development. In addition to which, to rebuilding a society, must go hand in hand with the creation of economic opportunities. After fighting has ceased, peace operations must not solely focus on emergency relief. A trajectory for development needs to be initiated fin order for peace to be sustained as economic perspectives will make the continuation of fighting less likely. However, the economy cannot simply be jump-started by a peace agreement. The effects of conflict on the economy such as massive capital flight, destruction of physical capital and destruction of infrastructure need to be addressed. Moreover, economic reforms threaten the delicate peace in post-conflict societies for they tend to generate 'winners' and 'losers'. 64 Next to that, there is in a increased risk for violent conflict in underdeveloped countries and when disaster strikes, the impact is usually more severe than in developed countries. Usually, when developmental aspects are involved in reconstruction, the United Nations Development Programme is likely to be involved.65 Peacebuilding, disarmament, demobilisation and reconciliation

It is essential to incorporate these three aspects in reconstructive process in the immediate aftermath of conflict. Ideally, the 'DDR' are incorporated in the peace agreement. It is not uncommon for international forces to monitor the disarmament and demobilisation of the fighting parties but they do not actually disarm combatants.66Implementation of the provisions in peace treaties is therefore seldom straightforward. Problems arise when one of the two parties is reluctant to cooperate in these DDR processes. Not surprisingly, handing in their arms symbolises a point of no return and not infrequently generates feelings of fear. In addition, there is the danger of the 'illusion of disarmament'. Rarely does the international community have an accurate picture of the weapon strength of the armed forces and can therefore never be sure of total disarmament and the risk of renewed conflict. Remains. 67 Peacebuilding and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO's)

It regularly appears that NGO's are present in conflict regions before international organisations such as the UN. On the one hand, they are well informed about the conflict, they are familiar with local institutions and often sprung from grassroots movements in the civil society. UN cooperation with 63

J. L. Herrero „Building state institutions‟, in G. Junne & W. Verkoren (eds), Postconflict development. Meeting new challenges, 2005, p. 43-58. 64 B. Kamphuis, „Economic policy for building peace‟, in G. Junne & W. Verkoren (eds), Postconflict development. Meeting new challenges, 2005, p. 185-210. 65 United Nations Development Programme, The role of the UNDP in post-conflict situations, 2001. 66 L. Brahimi, Statebuilding in crisis and post-conflict countries, 2007, p. 12. 67 D. Salamons, „Security: an absolute prerequisite‟, in G. Junne & W. Verkoren (eds), Postconflict development. Meeting new challenges, 2005, p. 19-42.

NGO's present in the field and making use of their capacities, especially in the early post-conflict stages when no UN capacities have been established yet, generates important opportunities. However, sometimes NGO's instigate the conflict and are in many cases not objective. Their participation in the peaceprocess therefore, may generate advantages for one specific group, which in turn can lead to an upsurge of violence. 68

Source: Rivera, de, J., 'Assesing the culture of peace', UN Chronicle Jun-Aug 2005, Vol. 42 Issue 2, 54.

H. F. Chip Carey, â&#x20AC;&#x17E;NGO dilemmas in peacebuildingâ&#x20AC;&#x;, in O.P. Richmond (ed), Palgrave advances in peace building, critical developments and approaches, 2010, p. 235-261.

Recent Developments Ever since the birth of the concept of peacebuilding in 1992, the concept has continually changed. In order to grasp the problem in its totality and to find effective solutions, this section elaborates on the most recent developments of peace building within the UN system. Peacebuilding Commission, 2005

During the World Summit in 2005 the UN officially created the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), followed by formal resolutions from both the General Assembly (GA) and the Security Council (SC).69 As Kofi Annan stated, the aim of the Commission is to fill the leaping peacebuilding gap within the UN system.70 Together with the PBC, a small secretariat and a Peacebuilding Fund were established. Both have a supporting function and are independent institutions. The PBC focuses on specific countries and regions placed on the agenda either by request of the state concerned, the Secretary-General, the SC, the ECOSOC or the GA.71 The main purpose of the PBC is 'to bring together all relevant actors to marshal resources and to advise on and propose integrated strategies for post-conflict peacebuilding and recovery.'72 There are 4 countries on the current PBC agenda, respectively Sierra Leone, Burundi, South-Africa and Guinea Bissau. In these countries the PBC coordinates and monitors all UN reconstructive activities. 73 Indeed, the PBC in the last few year tried to fill the gap within the UN system identified by Kofi Annan, but did it succeed in this hard task? Review Peacebuilding Commission, 2010

As Lakhdar Brahimi points out, the task set for the PBC is an ambitious one and if it succeeds, it deserves a great deal of credit. The Commission does however risk to duplicate rather than simplify existing peacebuilding processes.74 The review conducted and issued in 2010 points out that the high expectations have yet to be realised. The report elaborates on the following areas in which the PBC could still improve its functioning in the field: reconstructing national ownership and capacity-building, developmental aspects of peacebuilding, the need for coherence and coordination and the importance of the regional dimension. It also underscores that post-conflict states are afraid to lose the attention of the Security Council when they will ask the PBC to help. These states might feel PBC support would indicate dysfunctionality.75 The review indicates that there is a need for a lighter version of peacebuilding support. Moreover, the review stipulates that the PBC is underestimated by UN organs such as the SC and GA which should more 69 70 71 72 73 74 75

Security Council, resolution 1645, 2005. General Assembly, resolution 60/180, 2005. United Nations, World Summit Outcome Document, 2005, specifically paragraphs 97-105. K. Annan, In larger freedom, 2005, paragraph 114. General Assembly, resolution 60/180, 2005, specifically paragraph 12. United Nations, World Summit Outcome Document, 2005, specifically paragraph 98. See: http://www.un.org/peace/peacebuilding/pbcagenda.shtml . L. Brahimi, Statebuilding in crisis and post-conflict countries, 2007, p. 18. United Nations, Review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture, 2010, specifically paragraph 46.

actively involve the PBC in their work.76 The review ends with a series of recommendations. However, up until today, the UNGA and SC have both not explicitly repsponded to the report, still leaving the issue of peacebuilding unadressed within the larger UN system. PEACEBUILDING OBJECTIVES IDENTIFIED IN STRATEGIC FRAMEWORKS

Source: Ejeviome Eloho Otobo, A UN Architecture to Build Peace in Post-Conflict Situations, october 2009.

Ibid., 103-117

Presidential statement by the Security Council, 2011

Following an extensive debate on the topic of post-conflict reconstruction that started in October 2010, the SC in fact had two options: adopt a resolution formalising the outcome of the review in parallel to the GA, or to issue a presidential statement on the wider topic on post-conflict peacebuilding.77 The SC chose the less-detailed option and issued a presidential statement 78 partly responding to the review in which it states that the international community has a responsibility to stabilise regions in the aftermath of conflict and that it regards institution-building as a critical part of the reconstructive process.79 The GA has not yet formally responded to the outcome of the review. Reports of the Secretary-General, 2009/2010

The Secretary-General issued two statements on peacebuilding in the immediate aftermath of conflict to the SC and the GA in which he underscored his concerns about the topic. He focuses on, as he sees it, the most urgent and important aspects of peacebuilding: establishing security, building confidence in a political process, delivering initial peace dividends and expanding core national capacity.80 In addition he stipulates the need for clear and early priority setting that reflects unique conditions in a country, but at the same time he expresses his wish to develop a single strategic concept and underlines the importance of the Post-Conflict Needs Assessment. In his second report the Secretary-General defines two areas of increasing concern: the risk the competition for natural resources poses to the delicate peace and the threat of illicit trade and organised crime to the new stability. 81 Conclusion Ever since Boutros-Boutros Ghali issued his Agenda for Peace and distinguished certain activities as peacebuilding, the concept has broadened and expanded its scope. Almost none of the UN‘s peace operations nowadays lacks peace building efforts. However, statistics show that more than half of the countries in which the UN maintains peace, relapses into conflict within 5 years. This proves that the United Nations peace building system still leaves a lot to be desired.

United Nations, „Security Council, October 2010, peace building‟, http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/site/c.glKWLeMTIsG/b.6280877/k.1E2F/October_2010brPeacebuilding.htm, retrieved Febuary 10, 2011. 78 Be careful: NOT a resolution. Presidential Statements are unanimously adopted statements with no formal status under the UN Charter, issued by the president of the SC. For more information see:

http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/specpk.htm#pres 79

Security Council, „Presidential Statement on post-conflict peacebuilding‟ S/PRST/2011/2, 2011. Dawn.com, „UN stresses peace building efforts in post-conflict period‟, http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/22/unsc-stressespeacebuilding-efforts-in-post-conflict-period.html, retrieved Febuary 10, 2011. 80 B. Ki Moon, Report of the Secretary-General on peace building in the immediate aftermath of conflict, 2009, paragraphs 1-6. 81 B. Ki Moon, Progress report of the Secretary-General on peace building in the immediate aftermath of conflict, 2010, paragraphs 44-45.

Firstly, this paper focuses on the past efforts made by the United Nations to rebuild war-torn societies. Experience shows in this regard, that national capacity building and leadership is essential for an effective transformation of society. However, in multiple cases, the failure of the UN in this respect, lead to the relapse in to conflict. Secondly, several challenges the UN faces in the field where described. A more comprehensive UN peacebuilding system must find solutions to these issues. How to build and not rebuild national institutions? How to ensure peace and democracy are combined into one process? How to implement longer term developmental aspects in the short-term relief operations? How to disarm the fighting forces? All of these questions need an adequate response. Up until now, the UN still struggles finding a congruent policy vis à vis these challenges. Thirdly, this paper elaborates on a number of recent developments of the UN‘s peacebuilding activities. The UN tried to fill a gap in its structure of peace operations as identified by Kofi Annan by establishing a Peacebuilding Commission, however, the Review Document shows that still the UN still needs to make improvements if they want to prevent half of the post-conflict countries to relapse into conflict within 5 years. Issues a resolution must address: ■

The response of the GA to the outcome of the Peacebuilidng Commission review;

■

How the UN can grasp the specific opportunities the immediate aftermath of a conflict period offers;

■

The place of the Peacebuilding Commission and UN peacebuilding activities within the UN system;

■

How to determine and address existing challenges to UN reconstructive activities as identified by the Secretary-General and the PBC Review;

■

The future role of the UN in peacebuilding.

Questions to ponder: ■

What exactly entails the concept of peacebuilding? Are the definitions in the various reports of the UN all-encompassing? Or do they need to be clarified?

■

Can an external organisation like the UN bring internal stability?

■

Is it possibile to determine a set of 'peace factors'? Is peace a matter of ticking certain boxes like democracy and law and order?

■

The previous less succesfull operations of the UN, can they be attributed to specific situations, certain individuals or a lack of political will amongst the UN member states? What can be done to prevent failure in the future?

Further research: (Review, Reports of the Secretary-General)

e UN documents used for this Background Paper

Peacebuilding commission PBC GA discussions on the PBC and in the recent SC debates (if your countries currently is a member if the SC) always effective. Not only further investigate the UN missions listed in this paper, but also for example UN missions to Bosnia/Kosovo, Afghanistan, Namibië, Sri-Lanka, El Salvador. 3. Bibliography Annan, Kofi, In larger freedom, 2005. Barnet, M., Hunjoon Kim, Madalene O‘Donnell, ―Peacebuilding: What is in Name?‖ Global Governance 13:1 2007(Jan-Mar).

and

Laura

Sitea.

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