United Nations Security Council

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Topic: Cooperation between the United Nations and Regional Arrangements in the Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts

The United Nations peace operations have overcome great transformations throughout the 1990s that continued in the years 2000. Today’s peace operations are distinguished by a markedly multidimensional character with the civil component being as important as, and frequently more numerous than, the military body. The goals set and accomplished by these missions have also become broader, including the protection of humanitarian operations and more direct mandates for the protection of civilians.

Running parallel to these transformations, there was a visible increment in the number and dimension of peace operations conducted by regional organizations and coalitions, generally referred to as “regional arrangements”.  The European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), more recently, the African Union, and, in some cases, sub-regional organizations like the Economic Community of West-African States (ECOWAS) have brought forth their own peace mission experiences.

The role played by regional and sub-regional organizations in the prevention and resolution of conflicts is foreseen in Chapter VIII of the UN Charter.  In addition to contributing to the operations with a more comprehensive understanding of the conflict dimensions, regional arrangements usually grant more credibility and acceptance to the missions, therefore improving the mood for peace initiatives in the regions at conflict.

Nonetheless, as the so-called “regionalization of peacekeeping” intensifies, a number of questions arise concerning cooperation between the United Nations and regional arrangements. The negotiation and the implementation processes of hybrid missions and co-deployment in peace operations embodies a number of issues, ranging from the coordination between the organizations and financing of the operation to logistics and deployment of personnel.  The mismanagement of these issues may put at stake the success of the peace initiative.

            The practical questions aforementioned are usually solved on a case-by-case approach, consuming time and energy which result in the deterioration of the conflict. This is the reason why the United Nations Security Council has decided that time has come to go beyond the mere recognition of the fact that regional arrangements are a valuable tool in the prevention and resolution of conflicts. Besides working on the construction of a general framework for cooperation, this year’s Council will analyze the lessons learned and the future challenges of a specific case in which this cooperation is being put to test.

            Which regional arrangements can cooperate with the UN and in which cases? How can the capacity and weaknesses of each arrangement, concerning peace-related operations, be improved? How can the goals set in each mandate be achieved in time and how can late deployment and the lack of promised financial resources be avoided? How can we guarantee that cooperation between the UN and regional arrangements will be an effective means to the prevention and resolution of conflicts?

             The development and implementation of a constructive and proactive interaction between such regional arrangements and the Security Council begins now!