Page 75 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Bringing the Concept to Life

So today, what I would like to do is share with you some of my
observations about the new UN in the hope that they will help you to better
understand what this Organization is really about.

2. Almost fifty years ago, the United Nations was created both to preserve
peace and as a symbol of peace. And whilst it really does work for peace, it does
so in a way which its founders could never have imagined. Ironically, at first
glance, the UN now resembles a sort of major world military power. It has
under its control armed contingents comprising a total of some 80,000 troops,
which is comparable to the armed force of a medium-sized country. Take, for
example, the armed force of Portugal which comprises about 87,000 personnel.

Unlike other countries of the world, these UN military contingents are
permanently engaged in operations all over the globe. The Organization is
currently conducting peace-keeping operations, some of which - such as those
in Somalia or the former Yugoslavia - are on a very large scale. In addition,
unlike national military structures with huge defense establishments, UN
operations are controlled by a small civilian staff of some two dozen people at
UN Headquarters in New York. Sometimes the Organization rather resembles
the lonely sheriff in an American western film - fighting a dozen bad guys at
once while the local inhabitants watch from a safe distance.

3. The UN assumed this function in an attempt to ensure that warring par-
ties observe the cease-fire agreements which have been reached. This
peace­keeping role is not even envisaged in the Organization's main document,
the UN Charter, although this does contain two chapters dealing with related
subjects: Chapter VI, dealing with peaceful means of settlement of disputes;
and Chapter VII, authorizing the Organization to use force to restore interna-
tional peace. During the cold car, the confrontational situation prevented the
international community from either taking action under Chapter VI or react-
ing promptly when conflicts were still in their initial stages and thus susceptible
to resolution by diplomatic means. This also prevented the UN from enforcing
peace.

The Organization was, therefore, only able to intervene once the conflict
had already developed to the point of open hostilities and troops had to be
used mainly to separate the warring factions. For this reason, peace-keeping
operations are sometimes called "measures in accordance with Chapter six and
a half"!

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