Page 426 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International

Commissioner for External Relations has talked of the need to “make a solid
and focused contribution in those international organizations and institutions
which are active in conflict prevention and crisis management, like the United
Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the
Council of Europe.”

The development of a common European Defence policy should further
aid stability in Europe by allowing problems to be resolved regionally. This is in
line with Chapter VIII of the UN Charter which encourages where possible the
peaceful settlement of local disputes on a regional level before referring them to
the Security Council. And this is a key point I would like to underline, namely
the importance of resorting to existing structures when it comes to the settle-
ment of disputes within Europe — or indeed elsewhere. And of course the
importance of using — not by-passing — the Security Council - in cases of
intervention. Eroding the mechanisms of the United Nations by-passing
the Security Council, can only erode our future collective security, both in
Europe and across the globe.

Final comments

As I hope I have outlined, the relationship between Europe and the United
Nations is deep and complex. There is much give and take. In the field, the UN
offers Europe years of peace-keeping experience with its work in
democratization, election-monitoring, and establishing lines of separation
between hostile parties. At the institutional level it is playing a key role in
forging closer ties between those organizations working for European security.

In turn, European countries, in particular the Scandinavians are among the
biggest contributors to peace-keeping, both in budgetary and personnel terms.
European Member States continue to hold three of the five permanent places
on the Security Council. What better illustration is there than this of how
deeply intertwined the history of Europe and the UN is. And so it seems is their
future: as Europe functions increasingly as a single political bloc with its own
security capacity, its relationship with the United Nations will be enhanced and
strengthened.

Lastly, a word or two about Switzerland: Switzerland has a history and
reputation for playing a much-valued role in the field of international
diplomacy. Switzerland is an active member of many regional organizations,
including the Council of Europe and OSCE, where it was effective as chairman

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