Page 76 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International

4. Today, the role of peace-keepers has been expanded. They perform a
variety of complex tasks, such as protecting humanitarian aid convoys,
supporting the supervision of elections and monitoring human rights, in
addition to their basic responsibilities of separating warring factions. The work
of peace-keepers in the new humanitarian field is rather impressive. To give
you just one example: this time last year, 3,000 people were dying from hunger
each day in Somalia; today, as a result of UN involvement in that country,
many deaths from famine have been prevented.

5. The outcome of any peace-keeping operation depends largely on the
position of Member States since, in practical terms, the power of the UN
resides in the power of its member countries. The UN has no troops, no
money; the UN, practically speaking, is a broker. We obtain the participation of
troops through the political will of Member States; we obtain financial
contributions from Member States. In short, the UN is dependent on the
political will of its Member States.

If Member States are seriously determined to end the conflict, this can be
done rather quickly. Arms supplies and financial support to the parties to the
conflict can be stopped and the necessary pressure can be applied to persuade
them to stop fighting and begin negotiating. No less importantly, for peace-
keeping to succeed, the parties to the conflict must possess the necessary
political will - otherwise the conflict can last for decades while the UN plays the
role of scapegoat and is blamed for the inability to solve the problem.

Little by little, the Organization is getting used to this role. As the UN
Secretary-General said in one of his recent interviews: "If what the members
want is the UN as an excuse, a scapegoat, then that serves them too. Our job is
to serve the members".

6. Peace-keeping forms part of UN peace-promotion operations through-
out the world. The UN also actively makes use of the political tools of
preventive and peacemaking diplomacy - indeed, our preference is clearly to
use these means since they provide an opportunity to resolve conflict with a
minimum of violence. They are also more cost-effective.

The UN is currently - either directly or in conjunction with regional
organizations - dealing with over 30 ethnic conflicts and is monitoring the
situation in at least another 30 potential trouble-spots throughout the world.
We realize that if ethnic conflicts are not stopped immediately, they could
degenerate into much more widespread turmoil.

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