UN Case Studies Flashcards
Syrian Civil War
The Syrian crisis has illustrated the difficulty of achieving consensus within the Security Council and resolving conflict which involve the interests of the great powers
Although the Security Council resolution 2254 outlined the peace process for Syria France the UK and the US and Russia all launched their own military strikes without them being coordinated in a single human force and there is little hope for you and mandated international force being deployed on the ground to enforce the proposed peace process
The Security Council in spite of the doctrine of responsibility to protect too often fails to intervene within the states either because of the fear of the consequences of open-ended military engagement or because of permanent members like Russia and China vetoing action
By 20 18/400,000 people have been killed in Syria get the UN cannot effectively broke a piece because all the main actors Iran and Russia Turkey France the UK and the USA are pursuing their own regional interests and so cannot agree on which group of terrorists and which group they should support
Turkey Russia and Iran are seeking to advance their power in the area Turkey by weakening Assad And Iran and Russia by strengthening their influence through the Assad regime
Do you wear and specifically the Security Council have come on the significant criticism for their lack of response to the war in Syria which began in 2011 critics say that the Security Council should have done more to prevent government forces led by Assad Committing systematic torture and barrel bombing of neighbourhoods these forces were responsible for the death of 300,000 people
After the Assad regime is used chemical weapons against the billions in 2013 so expected that the US would lead military action against the regime Obama had previously stated that the use of chemical weapons represented a red line by 2013 it was clear that Russia serious ally and the UK and US public would not support a resolution for military action therefore the Security Council resolution 2118 set out a plan to disarm serial its chemical weapons weapons were shipped out on the neutral observer is the barrel bombings using toxic chemicals continued
The Security Council past several resolution supporting peace talks the international serious support group is 15 states including several major global and regional powers that have an influence on the conflict including Saudi Arabia the US Russia Iraq and Iran the support group has secured only temporary ceasefires but has nevertheless provided a forum for influential actors to keep the dialogue open
Do you and has provided humanitarian assistance the Ritz office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs as of 2016 there were 13.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance however difficulties in accessing key areas of need such as the besieged city of Aleppo have hampered the US efforts
Yemen
In Yemen the UN has been unable to intervene within the civil war although it has accused All sides of deliberate atrocities But has been unable to act
A Saudi lead multinational coalition fighting in Yemen killed over 600 children in 2016 and has been accused of carrying out 38 attacks on schools and hospitals
The coalition has denied intentionally targeting civilians or infrastructure but more than 8000 people 60% of them civilians have been killed and over 48,000 injured in airstrikes and fighting on the ground since 2015
The conflict has also left over 20 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and has created the worlds largest food security emergency and lead to a colour outbreak that is believed to have affected over 750,000 people and caused over 2000 deaths
However it is providing aid and in 2018 appealed for record £17 billion in aid
Ottawa Treaty
the UN has achieved very considerable success in combating landmines and 159 states have now signed up to the Ottawa treaty
This treaty is aimed at the complete elimination of all landmines and a growing number of countries including Rwanda have now been declared landmine free
tackling disease (malaria and AIDS)
Concerted action against malaria has led to a 38% drop in malaria deaths in the past decade with the UN seeking the total elimination of the disease by 2025
AIDS infection rates have also decreased by 20% in the past decade with its eradication now envisaged by 2020
Such medical social and educational progress will help lead to the establishment of more socially cohesive societies that will be less likely to sink into delinquency and civil strife
UNGA power: South Africa (suggesting UNGA is effective)
the General Assembly has the power to censure states for violating UN Charter principles
in the 1960s, the Assembly suspended the South African delegation from the United Nations because the country was practising apartheid, in violation of both Security Council resolutions and international law
South Africa was readmitted in 1994, following its democratic transition
UNGA power: Russia (suggesting UNGA is ineffective and powerless)
following Crimea’s 2014 referendum to leave Ukraine and join Russia, the General Assembly adopted a nonbinding resolution declaring the referendum invalid and Russia’s annexation of Crimea illegal
the resolution passed 100–11, with 58 abstentions
yet Russia has ignored the UNGA
key UN successes
East Timor
Lebanon
Ivory Coast
DRC
Iraq
Sierra Leone
key UN failures
Somalia
Bosnia
Rwanda
Darfur
Syria
East Timor
- In the mid-1970s, Indonesia (which had territory in West Timor) invaded East Timor and made it a province of Indonesia
- This was not a peaceful annexation and the Timorese consistently claimed independence
- By the late 1990s, with the collapse of the authoritarian regime in Indonesia, it seemed that a referendum for East Timor’s independence might be possible
- This led to UNAMET (the United Nations Mission in East Timor) in 1999 – the objective was to oversee the referendum and ensure that it was conducted peacefully
- UNAMET was a success in that it allowed the referendum to occur without interference from Indonesia and without the UN, this democratic accomplishment could never have happened
- However, when the Timorese voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence, the Indonesian military responded with violence
- The UN responded by sponsoring a peacekeeping taskforce called INTERFET (the International Force for East Timor), which managed to quell the violence and restore order
- At this point, the UN took control over East Timor with UNTAET (the United Nations Transnational Administration in East Timor) and under this supervision, East Timor was ready to become independent
- It’s independence was formalised in 2002 when it became a UN member state
- UN peace-keepers have been vitally important in easing East Timor’s transition to independence and democracy; indeed, without them it is quite likely that East Timor’s youthful population could have ended up in complete anarchy
- Given that East Timor’s independence and statehood is now internationally recognised, the UN’s overall peacekeeping actions can be deemed a success
- It’s hard to argue that East Timor could have reached the level of self-reliance it has achieved without the UN’s constructive role
Somalia
- Peacekeepers were met with a hostile reception in Mogadishu. Several of them were killed and the bodies of dead US soldiers were paraded through the streets on the orders of the Somali warlords
- In 1992, UN peacekeepers in Somalia were unable to defend themselves against a rebel attack and were forced to retreat
- US troops attempted to rescue the situation by fighting back against the militias but this has disastrous results
- When an American Black Hawk helicopter was shot down as part of the Battle of Mogadishu, the US withdrew its troops. In 1995 the UN withdrew all peacekeeping troops
- It was described at the time by one UN official as “the greatest failure of the UN in our lifetime”
Lebanon
- UNIFIL was created by the UNSC in 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security and assist the Lebanese Government in restoring its effective authority in the area
- Following the 2006 Lebanon War, the UNSC decided that in addition to the original mandate, it would also monitor the cessation of hostilities, accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the south of Lebanon and extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons
- UNMIL has achieved some success in maintaining a ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah in Southern Lebanon
Bosnia
- Peacekeepers, who did not have sufficient resources to defend themselves, failed to prevent Serb forces from executing 8000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica when Serbian forces invaded a UN declared safe zone
- As Serb forces began shelling Srebrenica, Bosnian Muslim fighters in the town asked for the return of weapons they had surrendered to the UN peacekeepers but their request was refused
- The peacekeepers were obliged to watch as the killings began
- It was the worst massacre in post-Second World War European history
- NATO also took a more effective role in Bosnian and the crisis was only resolved after NATO bombed the Bosnian Serbs, which led to the Dayton Peace Accords
Ivory Coast
- UNOCI (The United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire) was established as a peacekeeping mission in 2004, two years after a failed coup attempt led to Ivory Coast’s first civil war which split the country between northern rebels and troops loyal to then President Gbagbo
- It was tasked with guiding the country to a presidential election, which took place in late 2010 with around 9,000 UN troops in place
- It also aimed to facilitate the implementation of a peace agreement which aimed to end the civil war
- The results declared Ouattara the winner, and the majority of the international community recognised him as president
- When Gbagbo refused to step down, UN peacekeepers and French soldiers backed pro-Ouattara rebel fighters
- In 2011, UNOCI helped restore legitimacy and stability after violence broke out in the wake of an electoral crisis
- The operation ended in 2017, leaving behind a stable country on the path to economic development, with the annual average growth rate standing at 9 percent, as well as reconciliation, and sustainable peace
- This illustrates that the UN can be highly successful if it is prepared to take sides – in this case, it was prepared to use considerable force to oust Gbagbo following the disputed election of 2011
Rwanda
- The 1994 Rwandan genocide was not prevented precisely because the P5 put their own strategic interests first and failed to agree on military intervention
- UN peacekeepers were powerless to stop the genocide as the Council had not agreed on appropriate action to be taken and had not given the peacekeepers permission to intervene with force against the tribal fighters. As a result, up to 1 million civilians lost their lives in just over 100 days
- This was another major failing of the UN – not enough was done to prevent the genocide
- A 1999 inquiry found that the UN ignored evidence that the genocide was planned and refused to act once it had started
- More than 2,500 UN peacekeepers were withdrawn after the murder of ten Belgian soldiers. In one case, the peacekeeping forces deserted a school where Tutsis were taking shelter – hundreds of people inside were immediately massacred
- Kofi Annan, who was then head of UN peacekeeping forces was accused of failing to pass on warnings of the massacre. UN soldiers did not return to Rwanda until June, by which time hundreds of thousands of people were dead. The UN was accused of “leaving Rwanda to its fate”
DRC
- MONUSCO is a UN peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was established by the UNSC to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War
- A peace deal was reached as early as 2003 and the UN continues to maintain peace in the region
- For example, MONUSCO has successfully policed Congo’s 2016 democratic elections, which under the imperatives of a Security Council resolution were transparent, credible and respectful of the Constitution and the electoral calendar
