Potential & Difficulties of Effective UN Actions

The end of the Cold War has provided an exceptional opportunity for the United Nations to more completely fulfill its mandate to further the rule of law as opposed to the rule of force in the world, and to ensure adherence to the basic principles of human rights on the part of nations around the world. So long as much of the world was divided between two powerful, ideologically opposed power blocs, as was the case during the Cold War era, local conflicts around the world often became stages for their rivalry, precluding effective United Nations action. With the end of the Cold War, the potential for effective United Nations action has been greatly increased.

In some cases, notably the repulsion of Iraqi aggression against Kuwait, the United Nations has performed very well in meeting its mandate. In other cases, however, including the current civil conflict in Yemen, internal disorder in Somalia, a multi-party war in Bosnia, and other instances, the United Nations has failed to achieve its potential. The failure of the United Nations has been particularly regrettable, in that it is not an instance (as in Somalia and Bosnia) of practical difficulties in undertaking international actions to control conflict, but rather has been a more fundamental failure even to address the issue.

To place these situations in perspective, it is worth noting a remarkable characteristic of the conflicts with which the United Nations is currently called upon to respond. Without exception, ev

Related Essays

Environmental Dispute Resolution Process 5665: 7/2/90 8 pages .... a result of the UN's drastically underfunded but occasionally effective Environment Program .... important despite the potential difficulties involved in .... (7349 29 )

International Difficulties in the Middle East .... boycott against Israel has caused many difficulties in terms of .... would not have been as effective in terms .... a deterrent message to other potential terrorists in .... (4692 19 )

UN High Commission on Refugees .... his or her career with the potential success of .... it is bad management." To remain effective, the UNHCR .... arise, the UNHCR is faced with new difficulties and even .... (7953 32 )

Street Gang Membership INTRODUCTION A variety of reasons un .... with "A"; however, the potential or such .... an environment than are problems and difficulties. .... must be fulfilled before effective interpersonal communications may .... (8451 34 )

Implications of Increased European Integration .... when the Single Act of Luxembourg became effective. .... because of the tremendous cost potential to restructure .... in Europe, the more difficulties other countries .... (5583 22 )

world at large. Unfortunately, the United Nations has failed entirely to take energetic action in response to the Yemeni civil war. It is not a question of the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of a military intervention; no such intervention was ever proposed or considered. The United Nations failed even to intervene seriously on the diplomatic level, to seek to bring the warring parties to the peace table. This constitutes a striking failure of the United Nations to address its mandate. We do not know whether diplomatic intervention would have been effective, and still less do we know whether military intervention would have been possible or even necessary. In this important instance, the United Nations failed entirely to address the problem. This failure to respond calls into significant question the ability of the United Nations to fulfill its mandate under current circumstances. There are no guarantees to the effectiveness of diplomatic intervention, and still less of military intervention, but intervention certainly cannot be effective if it is not attempted. It there appears incumbent upon the United Nations to consider more effective means of mobilizing its organization and diplomatic capabilities, so that it can

Category: Government - P