The Formation The United Nations Organization

The United Nations Organization

In the earliest times, wars existed between nations creating unfavourable human relations between nations, therefore, affecting social and economic relations. The League of Nations who were directly or indirectly affected by the wars in the likes of World War I &II respectively gave impetus for the need in drafting a charter for the institutionalization of what is today known to be the United Nations. The charter maintains that:

"We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, and for these ends to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples, have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims. Accordingly, our respective Governments … have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations"(asdf, 2008).

The unification of these nations was to establish an organization that would oversee the activities of nations and to save the world from feature wars, reaffirm human right and the establishment of equal rights for all persons.

This paper seeks to examine the rationale behind the creation of the United Nations, its aims and objectives, the role it as played overtimes since its inception as a body charged with the responsibility of ensuring peace and co-operation between nations, to promote international co-operation and to achieve peace and security.

The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was first used in the "Declaration by United Nations" of 1 January 1942, during the Second World War, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their governments to continue fighting together against the Axis powers. States first established international organizations to cooperate on specific matters. The International Telecommunication Union was founded in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, and the Universal Postal Union was established in 1874. Both are now United Nations specialized agencies. In 1899, the first International Peace Conference was held in The Hague to elaborate instruments for settling crises peacefully, preventing wars and codifying rules of warfare (asdf, 2008).

It adopted the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes and established the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which began work in 1902. The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an organization conceived in similar circumstances during the First World War, and established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security." The International Labour Organization was also created under the Treaty of Versailles as an affiliated agency of the League. The League of Nations ceased its activities after failing to prevent the Second World War (asdf, 2008).

In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. Those delegates deliberated on the basis of proposals worked out by the representatives of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States at Dumbarton Oaks, United States, from August to October 1944. The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented at the Conference, signed it later and became one of the original 51 member states (asdf, 2008).

The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and a majority of other signatories. United Nations Day
is celebrated on 24 October each year.

Purposes and principles

Asdf (2008) maintains that, the purposes
of the United Nations, as set forth in the Charter, are:

• To maintain international peace and security;

• To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples;

• To cooperate in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and in promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;

• To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining these common

ends.

The United Nations acts in accordance with the following principles:

• It is based on the sovereign equality of all its members;

• All members are to fulfill in good faith their Charter obligations;

• They are to settle their international disputes by peaceful means and without endangering international peace and security and justice;

• They are to refrain from the threat or use of force against any other state;

• They are to give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the Charter;

• Nothing in the Charter is to authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters

which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.

Membership    

Membership of the United Nations is open to all peace-loving nations which accept the obligations of the Charter and are willing and able to carry out these obligations. The General Assembly admits new member states on the recommendation of the Security Council. The Charter provides for the suspension or expulsion of a member for violation of the principles of the Charter, but no such action has ever been taken (asdf, 2008).

Official languages

Under the Charter, the official languages of the United Nations are Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Arabic was later added as an official language of the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council (asdf, 2008).

Structure of the Organization

The Charter established six principal organs of the United Nations: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat. The United Nations family, however, is much larger, encompassing 15 agencies and several programmes and bodies (asdf, 2008).

General Assembly

The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ. It is composed of representatives of all member states, each of which has one vote. Decisions on important questions, such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority. Decisions on other questions are by simple majority (asdf, 2008).

Functions and powers

According to Asdf (2008), under the Charter, the functions and powers of the General Assembly include:

• To consider and make recommendations on the principles of cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament and arms regulation;

• To discuss any question relating to international peace and security and, except where a dispute or situation is being discussed by the Security Council, to make recommendations on it;

• To discuss and, with the same exception, make recommendations on any question within the scope of the Charter or affecting the powers and functions of any organ of the United Nations;

• To initiate studies and make recommendations to promote international political cooperation, the development and codification of international law, the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, and international collaboration in the economic, social, cultural, educational and health fields;

• To make recommendations for the peaceful settlement of any situation, regardless of origin, which might impair friendly relations among nations;

• To receive and consider reports from the Security Council and other United Nations organs;

• To consider and approve the United Nations budget and to apportion the contributions among members;

• To elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council, the members of the Economic and Social Council and additional members of the Trusteeship Council (when necessary); to elect jointly with the Security Council the Judges of the International Court of Justice; and, on the recommendation of the Security Council, to appoint the Secretary-General.

Sessions

According to asdf (2008), The General Assembly's regular session begins each year on Tuesday in the third week of September, counting from the first week that contains at least one working day. The election of the President of the Assembly, as well as its 21 Vice-Presidents and the Chairpersons of its six main committees, takes place at least three months before the start of the regular session. To ensure equitable geographical representation, the presidency of the Assembly rotates each year among five groups of states: African, Asian, Eastern European, Latin American and the Caribbean, and Western European and other states.

In addition, the Assembly may meet in special sessions at the request of the Security Council, of a majority of member states, or of one member if the majority of members concur. Emergency special sessions may be called within 24 hours of a request by the Security Council on the vote of any nine Council members, or by a majority of the United Nations members, or by one member if the majority of members concur.

At the beginning of each regular session, the Assembly holds a general debate, often addressed by heads of state and government, in which member states express their views on the most pressing international issues. Most questions are then discussed in its six Main Committees:

• First Committee (Disarmament and International Security);

• Second Committee (Economic and Financial);

• Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural);

• Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization);

• Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary);

• Sixth Committee (Legal).

Some issues are considered directly in plenary meetings while others are allocated to one of the six Main Committees. Resolutions and decisions, including those recommended by the committees, are adopted in plenary meetings — usually before the recess of the regular session in December. They may be adopted with or without a vote.

The Assembly generally adopts its resolutions and decisions by a majority of members present and voting. Important questions, including recommendations on international peace and security, the election of members to some principal organs and budgetary matters, are decided by a two-thirds majority. Voting may be conducted as a recorded vote, a show of hands or a roll-call vote. While the decisions of the Assembly have no legally binding force for governments, they carry the weight of world opinion, as well as the moral authority of the world community (asdf, 2008).

The work of the United Nations year-round derives largely from the mandates given by the General Assembly — that is to say, the will of the majority of the members as expressed in resolutions and decisions adopted by the Assembly. That work is carried out: by committees and other bodies established by the Assembly to study and report on specific issues, such as disarmament, peacekeeping, development and human rights; In international conferences called for by the Assembly; and By the Secretariat of the United Nations — the Secretary-General and his staff of international civil servants.

Security Council

The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Council has 15 members: five permanent — China, France, and the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States— and 10 members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. Each member has one vote. Decisions on procedural matters are made by an affirmative vote of at least 9 of the 15 members. Decisions on substantive matters require nine votes and the absence of a negative vote by any of the five permanent members (asdf, 2008).

All five permanent members have exercised the right of veto at one time or another. If a permanent member does not fully agree with a proposed resolution but does not wish to cast its veto, it may choose to abstain — thus allowing the resolution to be adopted if it obtains the required number of nine votes in favour. Under Article 25 of the Charter, all members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council. While other organs of the United Nations make recommendations to member states, the Council alone has the power to take decisions which member states are obligated under the Charter to implement (asdf, 2008).

Functions and powers

Asdf (2003) asserts that under the Charter, the functions and powers of the Security Council include the following:

• To maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations;

• To formulate plans for establishing a system to regulate armaments;

• To call upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means;

• To investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction, and to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;

• To determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to

recommend what action should be taken;

• To call upon the parties concerned to comply with such provisional measures as it deems necessary or desirable to prevent an aggravation of the situation;

• To call on members of the United Nations to take measures not involving the use of armed force — such as sanctions — to give effect to the Council's decisions;

• To resort to or authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security;

• To encourage the peaceful settlement of local disputes through regional arrangements and to use such regional arrangements for enforcement action under its authority;

• To recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary General and, together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice;

• To request the International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on any legal question;

• To recommend to the General Assembly the admission of new members to the United Nations. The Security Council is so organized as to be able to function continuously, and a representative of each of its members must be present at all times at United Nations Headquarters.

When a complaint concerning a threat to peace is brought before it, the Council's first action is usually to recommend that the parties try to reach agreement by peaceful means. The Council may set forth principles for a peaceful settlement. In some cases, the Council itself undertakes investigation and mediation. It may dispatch a mission, appoint special envoys or request the Secretary-General to use his good offices. When a dispute leads to hostilities, the Council's first concern is to bring them to an end as soon as possible. The Council may issue ceasefire directives that can be instrumental in preventing an escalation of the conflict.

The Council may also dispatch military observers or a peacekeeping force to help reduce tensions, keep opposing forces apart, and create conditions of calm in which peaceful settlements may be sought. Under Chapter VII of the Charter, the Council may decide on enforcement measures, including economic sanctions, arms embargoes, financial sanctions, travel bans or collective military action.

The sanctions instrument is an important tool available to the Security Council in seeking to promote international peace and security. Each of the sanctions regimes currently in existence features "smart" or targeted sanctions — arms embargoes, financial sanctions and travel bans — designed to eliminate or minimize unintended effects by focusing on those responsible for the policies condemned by the international community, while leaving other parts of the population and international trade relations unaffected (asdf, 2008).

The Council has established two international criminal tribunals to prosecute crimes against humanity in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda. The tribunals are subsidiary organs of the Council. Following the terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001, the Council established its Counter-Terrorism Committee, also a subsidiary organ. Since 1994, a working group of the General Assembly has been considering Security Council reform, including the issue of equitable representation and expansion of membership (asdf, 2008).

Economic and Social Council

The Charter established the Economic and Social Council as the principal organ to coordinate the economic, social and related work of the United Nations and the specialized agencies and institutions — known as the United Nations family of organizations. The Council has 54 members, who serve for three-year terms. Voting in the Council is by simple majority; each member has one vote (asdf, 2008).

 

Functions and powers

The functions and powers of the Economic and Social Council according to asdf (2008) are:

• To serve as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations system;

• To make or initiate studies and reports and make recommendations on international economic, social, cultural, educational, health and related matters;

• To promote respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms;

• To assist in preparing and organizing major international conferences in the economic, social and related fields and promote a coordinated follow-up to these conferences;

• To coordinate the activities of the specialized agencies, through consultations with and recommendations to them, and through recommendations to the General Assembly.

Through its discussion of international economic and social issues and its policy recommendations, ECOSOC plays a key role in fostering international cooperation for development and in setting the priorities for action.

Sessions

The Council generally holds several short sessions and many preparatory meetings, roundtables and panel discussions with the members of civil society throughout the year, to deal with the organization of its work. It also holds a four-week substantive session in July, alternating between New York and Geneva. That session includes a high-level segment, attended by Ministers and other high officials, to discuss major economic, social and humanitarian issues. The year-round work of the Council is carried out in its subsidiary and related bodies.

Subsidiary and related bodies

The Council's subsidiary machinery includes:

• Eight functional commissions, which are deliberative bodies whose role is to consider and make recommendations on issues in their areas of responsibility and expertise: Statistical Commission, Commission on Population and Development, Commission for Social Development, Commission on the Status of Women, Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Commission on Science and Technology for Development, Commission on Sustainable Development;

• Five Regional Commissions: Economic Commission for Africa (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok, Thailand), Economic Commission for Europe (Geneva, Switzerland), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Santiago, Chile), and Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (Beirut, Lebanon);

• Three standing committees: Committee for Programme and Coordination, Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, Committee on Negotiations with Intergovernmental Agencies;

• A number of expert bodies on subjects such as development policy; public administration; international cooperation in tax matters; economic, social and cultural rights; energy and sustainable development;

• Other bodies, including the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the United Nations Forum on Forests.

The Council also cooperates with and to a certain extent coordinates the work of United Nations programmes (such as UNDP, UNEP, UNFPA, UN-HABITAT, and UNICEF) and the specialized agencies (such as FAO, ILO, UNESCO and WHO), all of which report to the Council and make recommendations for its substantive sessions.

Relations with non-governmental organizations

Under the Charter, the Economic and Social Council consults with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with matters within its competence. Over 2,870 NGOs have consultative status with the Council. The Council recognizes that these organizations should have the opportunity to express their views, and that they possess special experience or technical knowledge of value to its work (asdf, 2008).

The Council classifies NGOs into three categories: category I organizations are those concerned with most of the Council's activities; category II organizations have special competence in specific areas; and organizations that can occasionally contribute to the Council are placed on a roster for ad hoc consultations. NGOs with consultative status may send observers to meetings of the Council and its subsidiary bodies and may submit written statements relevant to its work. They may also consult with the United Nations Secretariat on matters of mutual concern. Over the years, the relationship between the United Nations and affiliated NGOs has developed significantly. Increasingly, NGOs are seen as partners who are consulted on policy and programme matters and as valuable links to civil society.

NGOs around the world, in increasing numbers, are working daily with the United Nations community to help achieve the objectives of the Charter (asdf, 2008).

Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council was established by the Charter in 1945 to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories placed under the administration of 7 member states, and ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self-government or independence. The Charter authorized the Trusteeship Council to examine and discuss reports from the Administering Authority on the political, economic, social and educational advancement of the peoples of Trust Territories; to examine petitions from the Territories; and to undertake special missions to the Territories (asdf, 2008).

By 1994, all Trust Territories had attained self-government or independence, either as separate states or by joining neighbouring independent countries. The last to do so was the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Palau), which became the 185th member state. Its work completed, the Trusteeship Council — its membership reduced now to the five permanent members of the Security Council (China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States) — has amended its rules of procedure to meet as and where occasion may require (asdf, 2008).

International Court of Justice

As asdf (2003) maintains that the International court is located at The Hague, in the Netherlands, the International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory opinions to the United Nations and its specialized agencies. Its Statute is an integral part of the United Nations Charter.

The Court is open to all states that are parties to its Statute, which include all members of the United Nations. Only states may be parties in contentious cases before the Court and submit disputes to it. The Court is not open to private persons and entities or international organizations.

The General Assembly and the Security Council can ask the Court for an advisory opinion on any legal question. Other organs of the United Nations and the specialized agencies, when authorized by the Assembly, can ask for advisory opinions on legal questions within the scope of their activities.

Jurisdiction

The Court's jurisdiction covers all questions that states refer to it, and all matters provided for in the United Nations Charter, or in international treaties and conventions. States may bind themselves in advance to accept the jurisdiction of the Court, either by signing a treaty or convention that provides for referral to the Court or by making a declaration to that effect. Such declarations accepting compulsory jurisdiction often contain reservations excluding certain classes of disputes (asdf, 2008).

In accordance with its Statute, the Court decides disputes by applying:

• International conventions establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states;

• International custom as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;

• The general principles of law recognized by nations; and

• Judicial decisions and the teachings of the most qualified scholars of the various nations (asdf, 2008)

Membership

The Court is composed of 15 Judges elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council, voting independently. They are chosen on the basis of their qualifications, and care is taken to ensure that the principal legal systems of the world are represented in the Court. No two Judges may be from the same country. The Judges serve a nine-year term and may be re-elected. They cannot engage in any other occupation during their term of office (asdf, 2008).

The Court normally sits in plenary session, but may form smaller units called chambers if the parties so request. Judgments given by chambers are considered as rendered by the full Court. The Court also has a Chamber for Environmental Matters and forms annually a Chamber of Summary Procedure (asdf, 2008).

Peacekeeping

United Nations peacekeeping operations are a crucial instrument at the disposal of the international community to advance peace and security. The role of UN peacekeeping was recognized in 1988, when United Nations peacekeeping forces received the Nobel Peace Prize. While not specifically envisaged in the Charter, the UN pioneered peacekeeping in 1948 with the establishment of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East. Since then, it has established a total of 63 — operations — 50 of these since 1988.1 On 1 October 2007, there were 17 active peacekeeping operations (asdf, 2008).

Peacekeeping operations are deployed with the authorization of the Security Council and the consent of the host government and/or the main parties to the conflict. Peacekeeping has traditionally involved a primarily military model of observing ceasefires and the separation of forces after inter-state wars. Today, it has evolved into a complex model of many elements — military, police and civilian — working together to help lay the foundations of a sustainable peace. In recent years, the Council has introduced the practice of invoking the enforcement

provisions in Chapter VII of the UN Charter when authorizing the deployment of certain UN peacekeeping operations, or mandating them to perform tasks which may require the use of force — such as the protection of civilians under imminent threat of physical violence. Traditionally, UN peacekeepers could only use their weapons in self-defence, but the more "robust" mandates under Chapter VII enable them to use force, for example, to protect civilians. The military personnel of peacekeeping operations are voluntarily provided by member states and are financed by the member states, who are assessed under the peacekeeping budget (asdf, 2008).

Troop-contributing states are compensated at a standard rate from that budget. Peacekeeping operations were expected to cost some $5.28 billion for the fiscal year beginning July 2006 — an historic high for UN peacekeeping, but still less than half of 1 per cent of world military spending. Operations are financed through the peacekeeping budget and include troops from many countries. This worldwide "burden-sharing" can offer extraordinary efficiency in human, financial and political terms (asdf, 2008).

On 1 November 2007, there were 82,237 military and police personnel from 119 countries serving in UN peacekeeping operations. Since 1948, 2,415 peacekeepers had lost their lives in the line of duty. Conflicts today are a complex mix. Their roots may be essentially internal, but they are complicated by cross-border involvement, either by states or by economic interests and other non-state actors. Recent conflicts in Africa have shown the deadly mix of civil strife and illegal export of natural resources — primarily diamonds — to fuel arms purchases. In addition, the consequences of conflicts can quickly become international because of illegal arms flows, terrorism, drug trafficking, refugee flows and environmental degradation (asdf, 2008).

United Nations peacekeeping operations between 1948-2007

• United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO, established 1948), in the Middle East (strength: military 152; civilian 225)

• United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP, 1949) (military 44; civilian 73)

• United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP, 1964) (military 872; civilian police 66; civilian 145)

• United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF, 1974), in the Syrian Golan Heights (military 1,047; civilian 140)

 

• United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL, 1978) (military 12,341; civilian 908)

• United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO, 1991) (military 214; police 6; civilian 247; UN Volunteers 24)

• United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG, 1993) (military 134; police 18; civilian 282; UN Volunteers 1)

• United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK, 1999) (military 40; police 1,953; civilian 2,412; UN Volunteers 132)

• United Nations Observer Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC, 1999) (military 17,359; police 1.049; civilian 3,021; UN Volunteers 571)

• United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE, 2000) (military 503; civilian 343; UN Volunteers 63)

• United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL, 2003) (military 12,438; police 1,148; civilian 1,453; UN Volunteers 238)

• United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI, 2004) (military 8,034; police 1,182; civilians 989; UN Volunteers 284)

• United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH, 2004) (military 7,064; civilian police 1,923; civilian 1,663; UN Volunteers 199)

• United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS, 2005) (military 9,288; police 664; civilian 3,196; UN Volunteers 250)

• United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT, 2006) (military 33; civilian police 1,546; civilian 1,134; UN Volunteers 124)

• African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID, 2007) (military 7,509; police 1,704; civilian 960; UN Volunteers 129) (when fully deployed: military 19,555; police 6, 432; civilians 5,034; UN Volunteers 548)

• United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT, 2007) (military 14; police 71; civilian 32; UN Volunteers 16) (when fully deployed: "a maximum of 300 police and 50 military liaison officers and an appropriate number of civilian personnel" (asdf, 2008).

Peacekeeping operations can take many forms. They are constantly evolving in the light of changing circumstances. Among the tasks discharged by peacekeeping operations over the years are:

• Maintenance of ceasefires and separation of forces. By providing "breathing space", an operation based on a limited agreement between parties can foster an atmosphere conducive to negotiations.

• Protection of humanitarian operations. In many conflicts, civilian populations have been deliberately targeted as a means to gain political ends. In such situations, peacekeepers have been asked to provide protection and support for humanitarian operations.

However, such tasks can place peacekeepers in difficult political positions, and can lead to threats to their security.

• Implementation of a comprehensive peace settlement. Complex, multidimensional operations, deployed on the basis of comprehensive peace agreements, can assist in such diverse tasks as providing humanitarian assistance, monitoring human rights, observing elections and coordinating support for economic reconstruction (asdf, 2008).

No catalogue of such roles can be exhaustive. Future conflicts are likely to continue to present complex challenges to the international community. An effective response will require courageous and imaginative use of the tools for peace.

 

Enforcement

Under Chapter VII of the Charter, the Security Council can take enforcement measures to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such measures range from economic sanctions to international military action.

Sanctions

The Council has resorted to mandatory sanctions as an enforcement tool when peace was threatened and diplomatic efforts had failed. Sanctions have been imposed against Iraq, the former Yugoslavia, Libya, Haiti, Liberia, Rwanda, Somalia, UNITA forces in Angola, Sudan, Sierra Leone, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (including Kosovo), Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The range of sanctions has included comprehensive economic and trade sanctions, or more specific measures such as arms embargoes, travel bans and financial or diplomatic restrictions (asdf, 2008).

The use of sanctions seeks to apply pressure on a state or entity to comply with the objectives set by the Security Council without resorting to the use of force. Sanctions thus offer the Council an important tool to enforce its decisions. The universal character of the UN makes it an especially appropriate body to establish and monitor sanctions. At the same time, many states and humanitarian organizations have expressed concerns at the possible adverse impact of sanctions on the most vulnerable segments of the civilian population, such as the elderly, the disabled, refugees or mothers with children. Concerns have also been expressed at the negative economic, social and even political impact sanctions can have on the economies of third or neighbouring countries, where trade and economic relations with the sanctioned state are interrupted (asdf, 2008).

It is increasingly accepted that the design and application of sanctions need to be improved. The negative effects of sanctions can be reduced either by incorporating humanitarian exceptions directly into Security Council resolutions, or by better targeting them. So-called "smart sanctions" — which seek to pressure those in power rather than the population at large, thus reducing humanitarian costs — have been gaining support. Smart sanctions may, for instance, involve freezing the financial assets and blocking the financial transactions of elites or entities whose illicit activities triggered sanctions in the first place.

Authorizing military action

When peacemaking efforts fail, stronger action by member states may be authorized under Chapter VII of the Charter. The Security Council has authorized coalitions of member states to use "all necessary means", including military action, to deal with a conflict — as it did to restore the sovereignty of Kuwait after its invasion by Iraq (1991); to establish a secure environment for humanitarian relief operations in Somalia (1992); to contribute to the protection of civilians at risk in Rwanda (1994); to restore the democratically elected government in Haiti (1994); to protect humanitarian operations in Albania (1997); and to restore peace and security in East Timor (1999 and 2006) (asdf, 2008).

These actions, though sanctioned by the Security Council, were entirely under the control of the participating states. They were not United Nations peacekeeping operations — which are established by the Security Council and directed by the Secretary-General.

Peace building

For the United Nations, peace building refers to efforts to assist countries and regions in their transitions from war to peace, including activities and programmes to support and strengthen these transitions. A peace building process normally begins with the signing of a peace agreement by former warring parties and a United Nations role in facilitating its implementation. This may include a continued diplomatic role for the UN, to ensure that difficulties are overcome through negotiation rather than resort to arms (asdf, 2008).

It may also include various types of assistance — such as the deployment of military forces as peacekeepers; the repatriation and reintegration of refugees; the holding of elections; and the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of soldiers. At the heart of peacebuilding is the attempt to build a new and legitimate state, one which will have the capacity to peacefully manage disputes, protect its civilians and ensure respect for basic human rights (asdf, 2008).

Peace building involves action by a wide array of organizations of the UN system, including the World Bank, regional economic and other organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local citizens' groups. Peace building has played a prominent role in United Nations operations in Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mozambique, Liberia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, as well as more recently in Afghanistan, Burundi, Iraq and Sierra Leone. An example of inter-state peace building has been the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (asdf, 2008).

Electoral assistance

The United Nations broke new ground in 1989, when it supervised the entire election process that led to the independence of Namibia. Since then, the UN, at the request of governments, has assisted with elections in countries such as Nicaragua (1990), Angola (1992), Cambodia (1993), El Salvador, South Africa and Mozambique (1994), Eastern Slavonia (Croatia) (1997), the Central African Republic (1998 and 1999), Afghanistan (2004 and 2005), Iraq and Liberia (2005), and Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2006). It also observed the 1993 referendum in Eritrea, and organized and conducted the 1999 popular consultation in East Timor and its 2001 and 2002 elections, which led to the independence of East Timor as Timor-Leste, as well as its elections in 2007 (asdf, 2008).

The degree and type of United Nations involvement depends upon such factors as the requests received from governments, provisions of peace agreements, or mandates from the General Assembly or the Security Council. The UN has played a variety of roles, ranging from technical assistance to the actual conduct of the electoral process. In some cases, the UN will coordinate the activities of international observers. Typically, such observers follow the registration of voters, the electoral campaign and the organization of the polls. Since 1992, the United Nations has provided various forms of electoral assistance to more than 107 countries — including advisory services, logistics, training, civic education, computer applications and short-term observation (asdf, 2008).

The Electoral Assistance Division in the Department of Political Affairs (www.un.org/Depts/dpa/ead) serves as the focal point for electoral assistance within the UN system.

 

Disarmament

Since the birth of the United Nations, the goals of multilateral disarmament and arms limitation have been central to its efforts to maintain international peace and security. The Organization has given highest priority to reducing and eventually eliminating nuclear weapons, destroying chemical weapons and strengthening the prohibition against biological weapons — all of which pose the greatest threat to humankind. While these objectives have remained constant over the years, the scope of deliberations and negotiations is changing as political realities and the international situation evolve.

The international community is now considering more closely the excessive and destabilizing proliferation of small arms and light weapons and has mobilized to combat the massive deployment of landmines — phenomena that threaten the economic and social fabric of societies and kill and maim civilians, too many of whom are women and children.

Consideration is also being given to the need for multilaterally negotiated norms against the spread of ballistic missile technology, the explosive remnants of war, and the impact of new information and telecommunications technologies on international security.

The tragic events of 11 September 2001 in the United States, and subsequent terrorist attacks in a number of countries, underlined the potential danger of weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of non-state actors. The attack could have had even more devastating consequences had the terrorists been able to acquire and use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. Reflecting these concerns, the General Assembly adopted at its fifty seventh session in 2002, for the first time, a resolution on measures to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery (asdf, 2008).

In 2004, the Security Council took its first formal decision on the danger of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, particularly to non-state actors. Acting under the enforcement provisions of the UN Charter, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 1540, obliging states to refrain from any support for non-state actors in the development, acquisition, manufacture, possession, transport, transfer or use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery. The resolution imposes far-reaching obligations on all states to establish domestic measures to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and their means of delivery, including the establishment of appropriate controls over related materials (asdf, 2008).

Subsequently, the General Assembly adopted the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, which was opened for signature in September 2005.

In addition to its role in the actual disarmament of weapons and in verifying compliance, the United Nations plays an essential role in multilateral disarmament by assisting member states in establishing new norms and in strengthening and consolidating existing agreements. One of the most effective means of deterring the use or threatened use of weapons of mass destruction by terrorists is to strengthen multilateral regimes already developed to ban those weapons and prevent their proliferation.

Disarmament machinery

The United Nations Charter gives the General Assembly the chief responsibility for considering "the general principles of cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament and the regulation of armaments" (Article 11). The Assembly has two subsidiary bodies dealing with disarmament issues: the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), which meets during the Assembly's regular session and deals with all disarmament issues on its agenda; and the Disarmament Commission, a specialized deliberative body that focuses on specific issues and meets for three weeks every year (asdf, 2008).

The Conference on Disarmament is the international community's sole multilateral negotiating forum for disarmament agreements. The Conference successfully negotiated both the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Since it addresses matters that touch upon the national security interests of states, it works strictly on the basis of consensus. It has a limited membership of 65 states and a unique relationship with the General Assembly. While the Conference defines its own rules and develops its own agenda, it takes into account the recommendations of the Assembly and reports to it annually. Since 1997, the Conference has been unable to agree on a substantive programme of work due to lack of consensus among its members on disarmament priorities (asdf, 2008).

In the UN Secretariat, the Office for Disarmament Affairs implements the decisions of the Assembly on disarmament matters. The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
(UNIDIR) undertakes independent research on disarmament and related problems, particularly international security issues. The Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters advises the Secretary- General on matters relating to arms limitation and disarmament, and serves as the Board of Trustees of UNIDIR. It also advises on implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations
Disarmament Information Programme.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Although most people associate the United Nations with the issues of peace and security, the vast majority of the Organization's resources are in fact devoted to advancing the Charter's pledge to "promote higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development". United Nations development efforts have profoundly affected the lives and well-being of millions of people throughout the world. Guiding the United Nations endeavours is the conviction that lasting international peace and security are possible only if the economic and social well-being of people everywhere is assured (asdf, 2008).

Many of the economic and social transformations that have taken place globally since 1945 have been significantly affected in their direction and shape by the work of the United Nations. As the global centre for consensus-building, the UN has set priorities and goals for international cooperation to assist countries in their development efforts and to foster a supportive global economic environment.

Since the 1990s, the UN has provided a platform for formulating and promoting key new developmental objectives on the international agenda, through a series of global conferences. It has articulated the need for incorporating issues such as the advancement of women, human rights, sustainable development, environmental protection and good governance into the development paradigm.

This global consensus was also expressed through a series of international development decades, the first beginning in 1961. These broad statements of policy and goals, while
emphasizing certain issues of particular concern in each decade, consistently stressed
the need for progress on all aspects of development, social as well as economic, and the
importance of narrowing the disparities between industrialized and developing countries.

As the twentieth century came to an end, the focus shifted to implementing these commitments in an integrated and coordinated manner. At their Millennium Summit in 2000, member states adopted a set of wide-ranging Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), supported by a series of specific, attainable targets.

Together, the goals and targets aim at: eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development. The international community recommitted itself to those goals during a World Summit in 2005, aimed at reviewing and moving ahead with the outcome of the Millennium Summit (asdf, 2008).

    By way of conclusion, The United Nations Organization plays a significant role in maintaining peace and harmony with the use of its various departments and machineries among member state and societies with weaker military strength. This scenario has resulted to the increasing number of nations that are members and have accepted to promote world peace and harmony on planet earth. The United Nations also encourage economic and social development, human right recognition and humanitarian action as their concern involves any phenomenon that could threaten a nation or nations as time pass by their roles are increasingly changing to stand the taste of time.

 

                    REFERENCES

Asdf    (2008)            The United Nations Today. United Nations

Department of Public Information: United Nations Headquarters New York,

NY 10017. ISBN 978-92-1-101160-9

            

The Role of IMF in Post Conflict Settlement

Abstract

This paper focuses on the efforts made to build a new financial system in post-conflictsettlement such as Afghanistan. It focuses on the role of IMF technical assistance rendered from October 2001 toMay 2003 when staff of the Monetary and Financial Systems Department and contracted expertsprovided comprehensive advice and support in restoring and transforming central bankingservices as well as setting up emergency payment systems. The paper outlines the role of IMF in reforming the payments and banking systems in post-conflicteconomies, drawing upon critical events and milestones in practical applications from previousIMF technical assistance to Kosovo and East Timor. It emphasizes that the sequencing of actionswithin a graduated approach is crucial, including early decisions on the choices of a legal tenderand exchange rate regime; operation of a rudimentary payment system on an emergency basis;preparation of financial legislation in line with international best practices as adapted to locallegal traditions; the licensing, regulation, and supervision of banks and nonbank financialinstitutions; and eventual restoration of central banking functions in a two-tier banking system.

INTRODUCTION

The objective of the IMF's technical assistance program is to contribute to the development of the productive resources of member countries by enhancing the effectiveness of economic policy and financial institutions and management. Providing technical assistance to member states has been one of many tasks assigned to the IMF by its Articles of Agreement (IMF, 1944).Support to member states from MFD is provided as direct technical assistance through MFD led missions, staff and expert visits, expert secondment and headquarters research (Lonnberg, 2001:2). These visitation are done to ensure that the best strategy is adopted in the course of intervening in post conflict settlement.

International Monetary Fund in Post-Conflict Settings

IMF deals with economies going through difficult times, which in some casesleads to crises and chaos. A post-conflict situation tends to differ from other troubledsituations in several respects, including the following:

(i) Social and military conflicts, internal or in combination with externalinterference, almost always have created emergency conditions.

(ii) Great social turmoil has killed or dislocated large sections of the population,thereby, severely impairing the effective efforts of human capital.

(iii) Central administrative, economic, and political functions have been destroyedor significantly disrupted.

(iv) Local capacity and capabilities have been so fundamentally reduced that theywould be unlikely to recover on their own.

(v) Broad consensus exists that the international community should becomeinvolved to reestablish peace, law and order and to take steps to rebuild theeconomy.

(vi) Existing needs for institution-building may well go beyond merely restoringthe previous order and call for new permanent institutions to be constructed insome important ways different from the old.

Together, these factors create a complex situation, characterized by inter-related weaknessesthat render the post-crisis economy incapable of handling its own problems. In such cases,the international community—sometime represented by a UN transitional administration—iscalled upon to intervene during a transitory period to cope with the immediate emergencyhumanitarian situation, and to act as interim government, laying the foundations for therestoration of civil society, for an economic revival, and for an eventual return to aconstitutional political system (Sundararajan and et. al, 1995:4).

In such post-conflict situations, traditional central authorities—including the central bank—would have, by and large, ceased to function. Public institutions as well as banks and manyprivate enterprises may have been physically destroyed and further incapacitated by largescaledesertion of management and trained staff. Institution-building is thus a key element ofreform in post-conflict economies, but the mix of recovery and reform is one of the criticalpolicy issues and judgments that must be made.

In one extreme form, the task may also involve assistance in nation-building, which is evenmore complex. In the other extreme form, the inclination would be to reestablish old—evenif inefficient—structures before moving on with much reform. Whatever the scope of work,it is typically neither possible, nor appropriate, to reestablish old structures in post-conflictsituations if the preconditions for those former structures have changed irreversibly. Giventhe inevitability of change, the opportunity should not be missed to form new structures thatare more effective, more transparent, and characterized by better governance to replace theprevious ones. In this task of transforming the old institutions, or establishing new ones, localparticipation and acceptance of the reforms are critical. Without local ownership, the reformprocess is unlikely to be implemented with any success (Sundararajan and et. al, 1995:4).

.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expands its scope of its policies on disaster management to post-conflict countries experiencing severe balance of payments difficulties, subject to the recipient government's capacity and commitment to plan and implement on an acceptable economic program. For instance, in October 1995 the IMF expanded the scope of its traditional emergency assistance program beyond provision for natural disasters to include carefully defined post-conflict situations. The requirements for use of emergency assistance include a statement of economic policies; a quantified macroeconomic framework; and a statement by the authorities of their intention to move as soon as possible to a PRGF financing (Lonnberg, 2001:6).

The IMF normally extends its assistance as part of an internationally coordinated effort, while focusing on re-establishment of macroeconomic stability. The components of this coordinated support may include: (i) Technical assistance – focused on rebuilding capacity (e.g. monetary and exchange institutions) to help restore payment, credit, and foreign exchange operations and ensure effective use of aid resources. The UNDP, bilaterals, and other multilaterals may jointly finance such assistance. (ii) Policy advice – covering the full range of macroeconomic policies, as well as needed structural measures. (iii) Financial assistance – by way of quick-disbursing financial assistance, and dependent on country-specific factors such as how quickly the political situation is clarified, capacity to formulate and implement an economic program, time needed to mobilize donor support, and where, relevant, the clearance of arrears to multilaterals(El Qorchi and et. al. , 2003:15).

In so doing, the IMF has developed Fund- and Staff-Monitored Programs to help countries in arrears establish a track record on policies and payments, leading to eventual clearance of arrears to the Fund. Fund-Monitored Programs contain targets and policy intentions and are reviewed and endorsed by the Board. On the other hand, Staff-Monitored Programs provide a basis for the Fund to engage in intensive policy dialogue with members in arrears that may not be able to adopt and implement programs. These approaches, supported by the provision of technical assistance, have been instrumental in assisting countries design and implement appropriate economic policies and progress toward the normalization of financial relations with external creditors, including the Fund (BIS, 1999: 4).

IMF and Technical Assistance Coordination

The rebuilding of an Afghan financial system has a strong bearing on the fiscal side to restorean operative Treasury function of the Ministry of Finance. The restorationof commercial banks and nonbank financial institutions, key legal issues must be addressed. The advice should, therefore, be closely coordinated with assistance also from experts in those areas. Moreover, close coordination is needed with several other international financial institutions and major technical assistance providers. (Lonnberg, 2001:3).

Another issue of importance for technical assistance coordination arises from the very possible limited capabilities of the authorities to formulate, prioritize, and handle technical assistance. This can also include limitations on the counterparts' physical capability. Even for this, external advice and assistance may be needed. On occasion, the authorities will request the IMF or another major technical assistance provider to take the lead in coordinating the assistance to avoid duplicating efforts (Lonnberg, 2001:23).

POLICY FRAMEWORK AND GUIDELINES FOR FUTURE SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF)

Guiding Principles

There is an emerging consensus within the international development community over the need to deal with the problems created by violent conflicts in a concerted manner. Peace building and conflict resolution are now seen as integral parts of the body of international public goods necessary for effective global governance. As a leading player in development, the IMF has to be a part of this international effort. Given its field knowledge of the post-conflict assistance its accumulated experience of involvement in post-conflict assistance will need to be visible and, when appropriate, play a lead role in post-conflict assistance in the continent (Maimbo, 2002: 6).

The IMF intervention in conflict and post-conflict countries emanates from the Bank's mandate and overarching objectives of poverty reduction. The primary mission of the IMF is to promote the social and economic development of its regional member states by mobilizing internal and external resources for investment in its regional member countries. This mission can only be discharged in a safe and secure environment -- war and conflict are inimical to the long-terms goals of social and economic development. By virtue of this mandate, the IMFhas a duty to engage in finding solutions to the problems of post-conflict countries. IMF recognizes that poverty remains the underlying cause of conflict and is exacerbated at the post-conflict stage. IMF involvement in post-conflict situations will therefore be in consonance with the Vision and will be a further contribution to the promotion and enhancement of the riches of local bank priorities.

Most regional member countries affected by conflict have built up substantial arrears in their repayment obligations to IMF. Such arrears not only affect the financial standing of local Banks with the international financial markets, but also prevent the possibility of continuing to do business with these countries. Arrears have made it increasingly difficult for such countries to access Bank lending. It is therefore critical for the Bank, in collaboration with the BWIs, to provide assistance to post-conflict countries to enable them regularize their relationship with the international community in the areas of resource mobilization, arrears clearance and debt relief, and program support. These policy guidelines above seeks to address these and other related concerns and provide meaningful assistance to post-conflict countries that are committed to the restoration of peace and the resumption of broad-based economic growth and poverty reduction. According to Maimbo(2002:16), the IMF post-conflict assistance will, therefore, be guided by the following six guiding principles:

Comparative Advantage and Selectivity: First, the needs of post-conflict countries are very diverse and IMF cannot intervene in all post-conflict situations. In view of its limited comparative advantage, Bank interventions will therefore be based on the principle of focus and selectivity. The IMF support will focus primarily on the provision of basic social and economic infrastructure; reconstruction and rehabilitation; institutional reform and capacity building; and the promotion of good governance. Poverty reduction and restoration of economic growth will provide the general framework within which Bank's post-conflict assistance will be provided. In other areas such as maintaining peace and political stability on the continent as well as in the provision of humanitarian emergency relief assistance, the Banks recognizes the lead role of the United Nations and its specialized agencies, and regional.

In areas where other agencies have comparative advantages, the IMF would, however, play a supportive role through policy analysis and dialogue and through designing and financing projects and programs that address the root causes of conflicts.

Partnership, Coordination and Participatory Approach: Second, the IMF is convinced that post-conflict recovery programs have greater chances of success when developed and managed in partnership with other stakeholders and through a participatory approach. The needs of post-conflict countries are beyond the capacity of any single institution, and the recovery of post-conflict societies, therefore, calls for a comprehensive and coordinated approach by both local and international actors. The IMF interventions will be based on open and transparent interactions with other actors so as to maximize synergies and avoid duplications. The IMF support to post-conflict countries will therefore be within a framework broadly endorsed and agreed upon by all donors based on national recovery needs assessments. In doing so, IMF will continue to promote the involvement of civil society and local communities in post-conflict recovery.

Country Ownership: Third, Every effort will be made to ensure that IMF supported post-conflict projects and programs will be under the ownership, responsibility and control of concerned countries. The IMF's role is to provide assistance, besides lending, of advisory services and actively participate in the design of national recovery reforms and plans, via policy dialogue, technical assistance, and other non-lending activities.

Early and Sustained Engagement: Fourth, the IMF recognizes the importance of early and sustained engagement for the quick resumption of normal economic and social activities. The IMF, together with other donors, will therefore act rapidly in post-conflict situations where conditions allow. Where possible, the IMF's post-conflict assistance should be maintained until normalcy is restored and the country becomes eligible for normal IMF assistance. However, the Bank will regularly review the situation, based on political and social developments on the ground. Such a review will be the basis for determining whether support should be continued or suspended as well as adjusting the nature and level of assistance to changing situations.

Regional Dimension: Fifth, the IMFis aware that conflicts in Afghanistan often take a regional dimension due to ethnic and religious links and in some cases affecting a whole sub-region. The IMF's post-conflict assistance will therefore take into account the regional dimension of conflicts, and will also promote political, economic, and social cohesion among neighbours through its regional integration and governance policies. This will be done, where possible, with the cooperation of regional and sub-regional organizations. Therefore, increased efforts will be made to promote greater regional and sub-regional cooperation, through financing multinational institutions that promote peace and economic development.

Flexibility and Case-by-Case Approach: Sixth, IMF views each post-conflict situation as complex, and the IMF post-conflict recovery support will be tailored to fit each country's unique requirements and environment. Bank interventions will be sensitive to the political and social contexts of each post-conflict situation. The specific circumstances will determine the priority areas suitable for IMF assistance.

In summary, the IMF recognizes the logical link between the immediate/short term, medium-term, and the longer-term recovery needs. It views the recovery effort as a continuous and coherent package. The IMF engagement under this policy will, therefore, be guided within a framework of a more multi-sectoral and integrated approach whereby the pressing needs and aspects of the different recovery phases will be addressed. IMF post-conflict interventions will, however, be selective and based on well-thought-out designs and preparatory work, which take into account the possibility of change in the initial commitments. Where possible, the IMF will engage at most stages/activities until the full normalization of the countries' relationship with the donor agencies has been restored. This however does not imply that the IMF will commit resources or execute projects at all areas of the recovery phases.

By way of conclusion, the role of IMF in post-conflict settlement have been more of humanitarian service rendered to rebuild economies or financial system of post-conflict settlement through the provision of traditional emergency in natural disaster, re-establishment of macroeconomic stability which include rebuilding capacity to help restore payment; credit and foreign exchange operations, policy advice covering macroeconomic policies as well as needed structural measures, financial assistance, clearance of arrears to multilaterals and restoration of commercial banks and nonfinancial institution. These roles are evident in Afghanistan which was used as a case study for this paper.

 

 

 

 

REFERENCE

 

Bank for International Settlements(1999)Core Principles for Systemically

 

ImportantPayment Systems, Basel.

 

Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (1997)The Core Principles Methodology (Basel:Bank for International Settlement).

El Qorchi, Mohammed, Samuel MunzeleMaimbo, John F. Wilson (2003) "Informal FundsTransfer: An Analysis of the Hawala System," (Washington: International MonetaryFund and World Bank).

International Monetary Fund (1944)Articles of Agreement of the International MonetaryFund, Washington., 2001, Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Reserve Management, Washington.

Lonnberg, Ake (2001) "Post-Conflict Economies: Lessons from Restoring and TransformingPayments and Banking Systems in Kosovo and East Timor," (unpublished;Washington: International Monetary Fund).

Maimbo, Samuel Munzele (2002) "The Money Exchange Dealers of Kabul—A Study of theHawala System in Afghanistan" (Washington: World Bank).

Sundararajan, V, W. Alexander, T. Baliño, W. Coats, R.B. Johnston, C.J. Lindgren,T. Nordman, J. Dalton, and A. Hook (1995) "The Design of a Minimal Monetary andExchange Structure for Countries in Post-Chaos/Post-Conflict Situations,"(unpublished; Washington: International Monetary Fund).

Nigeria Security Challenges are a Bane to Development

Question: Nigeria security challenges are a bane to development.

Introduction:

The widespread absence of human security in Nigeria demonstrates the fact that human security is the first and foremost requisite for development. Moreover it is concerned with the issues related to the quality of life. The goals of ''freedom from fear'' and ''freedom from want'' may well be attained only through the protection of empowerment framework of human security that promotes the highest freedom of how to live in dignity. It promotes a people oriented, integrated and comprehensive framework. Human security in Nigeria is often threatened by unjust political, social and economic structures. The fragmentation process of social groups, economic systems and political structures threatens human security at every step. Conflicts and civil unrest has made Nigeria insecure throughout the last five decades after independence in 1960 ( Philip, 2001). The security of people is endangered by poverty, hunger, unemployment, health hazards, discrimination and ecological degradation, therefore thwarting development. These sources of insecurity need to be addressed in a holistic manner so as to pave way for development. It is essential to focus on human security in order to focus on broader developmental agendas. It is clear that piecemeal policy and measures will not be sufficient and a fully comprehensive development strategy is required.

It is already noted that human security and human development are connected. They are closely linked like the Siamese twins. Without human security, it is impossible to initiate human development and without human development human security cannot be attained. In the present context, both the terms human security and human development have almost become synonymous. Human security and human development are not distinct and to attain one is to attain the other too. Development is the process, Human security is the condition. Human security is conducive to human development and both are mutually inclusive. The relationship that exists between the two is the cause and effect relationship. Human security is the cause that exists at the fundamental level. Human development is the effect of human security. Human security is the foundation base. The buildup of the action plan of total development will rest on the foundations of security. The implications of human security will bear positive outcomes if the human security indicators are in place. The present Nigerian scenario shows that the human security indicators bring out the insufficient and ineffective status and this threat to security has its negative implications on the prospects of growth and development (Philip, 2001).

Manifestations of Insecurity in Nigeria

The under listed are the various manifestations of conflict and insecurity in Nigeria:

Ethno-religious Conflict

Communal and societal conflicts according to Ibrahim and Igbuzor (2002) have emerged as a result of new and particularistic forms of political consciousness and identity often structured around ethno-religious identities. In all parts of Nigeria, ethno-religious conflicts have assumed alarming rates. It has occurred in places like Shagamu (Ogun State), Lagos, Abia, Kano, Bauchi, Nassarawa, Jos, Taraba, Ebonyi and Enugu State respectively.

Groups and communities who had over the years lived together in peace and harmony now take up arms against each other in gruesome "war". The claim over scarce resources, power, land, chieftaincy, local government, councils, control of markets, "Osu caste system" and sharia among other trivial issues have resulted in large scale killings and violence amongst groups in Nigeria. In these conflicts, new logics of social separation and dichotomy have evolved in many communities in Nigeria. According to Eme and Anthony (2011), asserts that, there is the classification of the "settler" and "indigene", "Christian" and "Moslem", and "osu" (slave) and "Nwadiala" (free born). These ethno-religious identities have become disintegrative and destructive social elements threatening the peace, stability and security in Nigeria.

 

 

Politically Based Violence

Politics in the current civil dispensation like the previous Republics have displayed politics of anxiety which has played down on dialogue, negotiation and consensus. The anxiety is as a result of perceived or real loss of power by an elite stratum. Put different the quest for political power is among those elites that won it before, those that lost it and those who want it back. Currently, politicians are already strategizing about the control and retention of power come 2011 elections. To this end, inter and intra-political party conflicts have become rife in which politicians are deploying large resources to out-do each other, changing the rules and legislations of the political game, distorting laws and employing violence and political assassination to settle political scores. Party meeting, campaigns and conventions have become war threats where small and light weapons like guns and cutlasses are freely displayed and used to rig elections, harass and intimidate electors. Also, a spate of politically motivated killing is rife. The most shocking of this killing is rife. The most shocking of these killings was the murder of Chief Bola Ige, Funsho Williams, Dikibo, Ogbonna Uche, and Marshall, among others Onyemaizu (2006:10) adds: A resort to violence, including armed militancy, assassination, kidnap, et cetera, have somewhat suddenly become attractive to certain individuals in seeking to resolve issues that could have ordinarily been settled through due process. The end-products of such misadventures have often

been catastrophic. They include the decimation of innocent lives, disruption of economic activities, and destruction of properties among others.

The predilection of most of the politicians is not for election but selection. This lack of party internal democracy is already being revealed in the party primaries, and "selection" of national executive officers of the parties. Even politicians themselves are afraid of what the forthcoming general elections between 2010 and 2011 portend. An atmosphere of political insecurity is fast engulfing Nigeria's nascent Fourth Republic (Eme and Anthony, 2011).

Economic-Based Violence

In a popular parlance, this thesis is also known as "political economy of violence". Recent writings in the mass media across the globe and across political divide have laid much emphasis on the role of resources in generating conflict which is a major cornerstone of economic-based violence. Cries of resource control and revenue sharing regularly rent the air between proponents and opponents. Although by no means limited to oil in the Niger Delta, the most prevalent campaign about the link between resources and conflict focuses on oil and the Delta region. Put differently, there is evidence to suggest that oil has given rise to vertical and horizontal conflicts between National, State and society or between dominant and subordinate geopolitical zones, classes and groups across Nigeria, given the pivotal role that oil plays in the restructuring power relations in Nigeria (Eme and Anthony, 2011). It is however true that other types of resource driven conflicts have received less attention in the debate. Assets such as grazing and farming and water resource, have tended to give rise to horizontal conflicts that involve communities across the geo-political zones.

The other thesis is that conflict in Nigeria is poverty induced. This explanation is closely related to relative deprivation, rather than absolute poverty. As a result of the above, the inability of the state to provide basic services for the populace, generate new conflict or renew old ones manifested through politicized agents who have used the conditions of the poor to address, the responses or non-responses of the state to the legitimate yearnings of the people.

Organized Violent Groups

Organized violent groups take varying dimension and forms. These include: ethnic militia, vigilantes, secret cults in tertiary institutions and political thugs. Various reasons and circumstances account for their emergence. The causes of the manifestations include the culture of militarism that has its antecedents in military rule, the failure of the state and its institutions, economic disempowerment, the structure of the state and Nigeria's federalism, non-separation of state and religion, politics of exclusion, culture of patriarchy and gerontocracy and ignorance and poor political consciousness (Ibrahim and Igbuzor, 2002:7).

Impact of Insecurity in Nigeria

The under listed are a checklist of the impact of conflicts and insecurity in a polity:

1. Social dislocation and population displacement.

2. Social tensions and new pattern of settlements which encourages Muslins/Christians or members of an ethnic group moving to Muslim/Christian dominated enclaves.

3. Heightens citizenship question and encourages hostility between "indigenes" and "settlers".

4. Dislocation and disruption of family and communal life.

5. General atmosphere of mistrust, fear, anxiety and frenzy

6. Dehumanization of women, children, and men especially in areas where rape, child abuse and neglect are used as instruments of war.

7. Deepening of hunger and poverty in the polity

8. Atmosphere of political insecurity and instability including declining confidence in the political leadership and apprehension about the system (Ibrahim and Igbuzor, 2002:13).

9. Governance deficit as a result of security agencies inefficiency and corruption.

    The above listed are the impact of insecurity on development as the discourage unity among the people and rather creating fear and tension in their daily lives.

Insecurity Challenges

Traditional rulers, vigilance groups and politicians are perpetrating heinous crimes in Nigeria. The Anambra Vigilante Service aka Bakassi Boys, for instance, has been blamed for some of the killings, although there is no evidence against them. But the theory that Bakassi and indeed the government in Anambra, may be involved in the killings evolved in the 2000.

Ifeanyi, Ibegbu then an All Peoples Party Leader in the State House of Assembly was abducted and tortured. Thus action seemed to open the gate for political assassination in the state which treated the peace of many and also lead to a slow down on the pace of development in Anambra . Edward Okeke, was next on the list. He was killed by people bearing a strong resemblance of Bakassi Boys in November 9, 2000 which meant that the people were not secured. Others that followed include: Ikechukwu Nwagbo, Rockefeller Okeke, Sunday Uzokwe, Barrister and Mrs. Barnabas Igwe. It was the killing of the Igwes that led to a federal government clampdown on the Bakassi Boys.

Godspower Agofure adds and believes that the insecurity of the nation is caused by politicians. According to him, life has been insecure in the country for quite some time and the politicians are directly responsible for it. He adds. They bought the weapons and armed the boys to help them secure electoral victory. And when they have used them to get where they are going, they dumped them. When they no longer have access to them and the boys no longer measure up to the life they were living when they were getting money from the politicians, they start to threaten innocent people which marked the emergence of youth's involvement in crime in the fourth republic.

What should have been the solution to the insecurity seems not be working: the introduction of vigilance groups in the states to be supervised by security personnel. The groups can comb their environment effectively. But unfortunately, these groups turn out in most cases to be more hardened criminals. Another major challenge is the urbanization process. This is because there is a strong and huge connection between security, environment and urbanization. General Secretary of

friend of Environment, Mr. Choke Chikwendu explains:

Our society has witnessed considerable urbanization but without commiserate security strength. We need to improve the security situation through a holistic approach. First, we need to provide jobs because when people are unemployed, they still survive somehow, devising dubious means and involving selves in nefarious activities like armed robbery, pick pocketing, car snatching among others; Secondly, the need to make our school system functional. Anyone that has spent four years in a school should be able to do something to help him/herself. Also, you will observe that the policemen are currently not doing much. They set up static checkpoints that even common thieves can elude. They need to be mobile so that they can rapidly respond to distress calls (Aliu, et al, 2010:23).

While I join concerned Nigerians to call for an overhaul of the country's security agencies, it is significant to stress that merely overhauling the police and other security agencies or equipping them cannot guarantee the security of lives and property of socio-economic insecurity is allowed to loom large, forcing many to seek existence even through fraudulent and violent means that endangers the wellbeing of others.

Related to the above is the challenge posed by poverty level in Nigeria. Governments at all levels are unable to address this because there is no realistic social security programme in Nigeria to meet the people's basic needs. As a result, the fear for the future and that of their children often provides the basis for the desperation exhibited in the pursuit of ill-gotten wealth.

Furthermore, the military has been under severe pressure from the opposition parties and the Civil Society to overthrow the government of Yar'Adua just like they did unlike former Obasanjo, which they feel is not accommodating the feelings, yearnings and all the interest of the stakeholders. Issues of electoral reforms, insecurity, high cost of living, unemployment, and infrastructural decay are part of the areas they feel the government has not been able to address.

Exactly ten years after the return of Nigeria to Civil rule, most Nigerians, especially the pro-democracy groups are disillusioned over the prospects of democracy, which they have fought and laboured to enthrone.

According to Chief Supo Shonibare, an Afenifere Chieftain, rather than peace, stability and unity, the last five years have only bred poverty, joblessness, political strife, insecurity and economic woes. The conclusion he said is that the country has gone back to exactly where it was six years ago (Thamas, 2004:10).

However, that has necessitated the regrouping of the pro-democracy activists, which are ready to battle this government to a standstill. Though the associations differ from Arewa Consultative Forum, Citizen Forum, Committee of Nigerian Political Parties and Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform (CODER), among others, the time around tends to be the same – convene a sovereign national conference or quit. This is an option which the presidency has vowed not to yield to. Electoral fraud poses a challenge to democracy in Nigeria and by implication threatens the security fabrics of the polity and thwarts development rather than paving way for development. Sham elections desecrate the sanctity of democracy and weaken its capacity as an instrument for social mobilization of natural and human resources for the development of the polity. In an environment where development of the populace is security and security is development, the consequences of such acts catch up very quickly with the system. Electoral fraud undermines the credibility and integrity of the democratic process and makes governance much more difficult. Concerned citizens, ladened with anger and frustration can resort to violence. Thus, Nigeria has eroded her democracy and the mind of the people cannot be considered during elections.

The poor management of the national economy cannot be excluded as far as insecurity of lives and property of Nigerians is concerned. Our avaricious leaders have virtually converted our national coffers into private establishments. Former governors and sacked bank executives are living examples. Nigeria is rich in black gold but suffers scarcity (Eme and Anthony, 2011).

But the criminals are not the only ones causing havoc to Nigerians. The state of the country's roads, especially the highways, where portholes have remained a common feature, is adding to the ever increasing insecurity across the land. About a month ago, the nation woke up to the horrible incident of road accident that claimed the lives of 42 pupils on excursion.

It was a moment of horror for the Aricent Nursery and Primary School Ore, in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, as its little souls met their death about 8.15 pm while returning from Idanre Hill tourist site when the crash occurred. As if to confirm the fears of Nigerians on the insecurity on the country's roads, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) source put a disturbing statistics out recently. It said that auto crashes claimed 128 lives in first three weeks in various highways (Madike, 2010:16). However, the oil-rich Niger Delta, which incubated some militants due to prolonged neglect, is also not helping matters. Though, there is a concerted effort by the authorities to address the issue, not much, according to opinions is expected because of unnecessary politics and government's bureaucratic bottlenecks.

With a long unbroken history of underperformance, the law enforcement and criminal justice systems in the polity are gradually receding from public reckoning as viable mechanism for social control. In helplessness, citizens have watched human lives brutally terminated and laws of the land violated without relevant institutions ever able to initiate the appropriate investigative and prosecutorial processes as to secure a conviction leads to underdevelopment as people are scared to invest or to develop the area (Eme and Anthony, 2011).

The fallouts, according to government critics, is the criminal-minded individuals now view the weakness in the said mechanisms as incentives for further anti-social behaviours that rob the society of public order and security significant for socio-economic and political stability and productive living.

The Boko Haram and Jos Crises added to the already ugly dimension of insecurity in Nigeria. The criminal activities of these crises left countless numbers of lives in ruins and destroyed property worth billions of naira and death roll running into hundreds of thousands which has led to massive relocation of victims and has left the affected areas undeveloped.

Insecurity Challenges: The Way Forward

The cost of insecurity is quite high both for individual Nigerians as well as the nation. For the former, it stunts personal development and interfere with his or her ability to develop his or her full potentials. The mind and energy of the average Nigerian is consumed with issues of safety and security that he or she has little energy left to contribute to Nigerian's development. The message should be clear to our government. Nigerians need a polity that is stable, peaceful, and safe enough from criminal assaults, murder, chaos, tyranny and breakdown of authority so that the populace can face issues of development with vigor and courage. To attain such heights, the under listed recommendations are suggested:

Governments at all levels should ensure that rising poverty indices should be reversed and a realistic social security programme should be pursued and systematically implemented to ensure that the populace meet their basic needs. Though there is a statutory limitation to what state government can do in the area of security, the states have something to contribute. The constitution places security on the exclusive federal list. The police and the Armed forces are all federal institutions, not legally accountable to state governments. Secondly, as a complement to the services of the conventional security agencies, states should sponsor community-based vigilantes.

Local contractors should equally be used to execute government projects. The aim is to boost the local economy, create jobs and ultimately, social harmony.

People should be more security conscious, share information with the police and other security agencies. The populace should not leave security matters to security personnel only. All and sundry should be involved in security information and data gathering. Moreover, efforts should be put in crime prevention than control so as to mark a new phase or record of development in the country.

Furthermore, the government should increase the size of Nigeria's security agencies, empower and motivate them very well and strengthen neighborhood watch. Governments should equally fix social infrastructures – roads, street lights, schools and skill acquisition centers.

Apart from the above, there is no gain saying that lack of youth empowerment programmes contribute immensely to social insecurity in the polity. The government should create programmes that would empower our youths technically. This will enable them to be self-reliant and avert their minds from criminal tendencies.

Finally, the practice of the rule of law, constitutionalism, avoidance of undue retrenchment of workers, payment of salary and allowances as and when due and payment of compensation for property destroyed are other means by which the question of insecurity could be avoided.

Conclusion

Any environment inundated with crime and insecurity is always accompanied with tensions and anxiety. The elimination of these threats and enemies of man should be the number one programme of the governments in Nigeria. This will give rise to human development and a habitable environment for us all. Apart from the governments' own role, all hands should also be on deck to eliminate this monster of insecurity in Nigeria.

 

References

 

Akintunde, K. (2002), "Do or Die", The Week, November 4, pp. 14-19.

Aliu, A., et al, (2010), "Reign of Armed Gangs on the roads, homes, dims Nigeria's Security Bar", The Guardian, Friday, April 9, pp. 21-23.

Ibrahim, J. and Igbuzor, O. (2002) "Memorandum submitted to the Presidential Committee on National Security in Nigeria."

Madike, I. (2010)", Living on the Edge of Insecurity", Sunday Independent, April 11, pp. 15-17.

Onyemaizu, C. (2006) "In the Maze of Violence," The Source, September 4, Vol. 19, No. 22,pp. 10 – 21.

Philip Ogo Ujomu (2001), ''National Security, Social Order and the Quest for Human Dignity in Nigeria: Some Ethical Considerations'', Op.Cit, pp.254-258

Thomas, O. (2004), "Swim or Sink", The Week, June 21, Pp. 8-11.

The Post- Conflict Settlements in the World with Particular Reference to Eastern Europe.

The Post- Conflict Settlements in the World with Particular Reference to Eastern Europe.

Introduction:

    Intrastate ethnic conflicts and civil wars are still the prevalent contemporary forms of violent social disruptions and the main causes of the spread of weakened, undermined and/or dysfunctional states. Chances for the termination of violence and the elaboration of some framework for the settlement of grievances and rival claims between the adversaries tend to emerge only with the support, assistance and guarantees of external parties: third states, regional arrangements or universal organisations. The active involvement and the central role of international agencies and third countries may often characterise the process of conflict settlement at any stage from the containment of violence to the formation of agreements: negotiations, mediation, inducement, proposals, compromises with intense pressure and persuasion by external parties. Third party contribution to conflict resolution and peace implementation conveys international status on these intrastate accords (Stern, 2003: 489).

The legal status of "internal agreements" do not constitute an international treaty in the conventional sense between states but accords achieved by a state authority – normally the central government - and political entity(ies)/community(ies) within that state or between various warring communities within a given territory.

Non-state or sub-state entities such as belligerent communities are generally regarded capable of possessing a limited international personality sufficient to enter into binding international agreements or agreements considered binding under international law. Repeated UN Security Council resolutions calling for the full compliance of obligations in a variety of contemporary conflicts also confirm the assumption that these accords of settlement should be treated as matters of international relevance and reasons for international concerns (Csaba, 1988:49).

The endorsement of internal agreements by external – individual states or regional arrangements - actors (as enforcers in Bosnia-Herzegovina or observers and their protectors as in Macedonia) and the participation of regional arrangements in Europe (NATO, EU and OSCE) in the implementation of these peace settlements signal the recognition of these accords as treaties governed by international law (Csaba, 1988:49).

The recognition of internal peace agreements as international accords ascribes internationally accepted and legitimate status to the interests of the parties (ethnic/national communities and/or political factions, movements) to the conflict. The internationalisation of conflict settlement is expected to sustain external commitment, provide guarantees and possible enforcement instruments for the implementation of the indispensable agreed arrangements such as institutionalised protection through constitutional changes, legislative acts and administrative reorganisation. Implementation has proven satisfactory and consistent through the requested assistance and
forceful guarantees of regional arrangements as the crucial source of reassurance and inducement for the parties to fulfil their share of obligations (Csaba, 1988:50).

These immediate and visible guarantees have taken the form of multinational military and police presence on the ground: enforcement potential (mobilised only when necessary as in Bosnia) or the maintenance of international security assistance (protection and extraction if inevitable like in Macedonia) as a token of commitment and supportive means of confidence building measures (safety of observers and monitoring missions) (Csaba, 1988:48).

For reasons of implementation and maintenance, internal peace agreements as settled but often not easily accepted – compromise and predominantly imposed - solutions rely on the supervision, guidance and control of international

• "guardians": multinational forces to protect interim governments (Afghanistan) or international monitors (Macedonia)
  
• "managers": high or special representatives of universal (UN) and regional (EU) organisations and their advisory bodies (Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo)
  
• "auditors": international observers and monitors (EU Monitoring Mission).
  

The full implementation of the rights belonging to various political and/or ethnic communities, most significantly the rights and liberties of ethnic and cultural minorities are generally considered to be the pivotal aspect of the termination and the avoidance of return to violence. The delicate issues related to the claims and concerns of these minorities need careful deliberations and fine balancing acts (Stern, 2003: 485).

The adaptation of one of the central concepts - the balance of power - of international peace treaties to formally non-international conflict settlements in Bosnia and Macedonia became manifest in the form of balanced and protected interests through the imposition of constitutional arrangements intended to establish some equilibrium between the claims to identity and security of different ethnic/national communities.

 

 

Compliance and implementation

Some mechanistic concept and construction of a perceived domestic balance do not suffice automatically and at once. Initially the demonstrated and sustained will - as political condition - and capabilities – as instrumental prerequisite – of an international actor – as an external counterbalance – proved vital in order to exert the necessary enforcement in support of the full implementation of the crucial provisions of the agreed conflict settlement framework (Stern, 2003: 484).

The issue of compliance deserves particular examination in the specific context of obligations under internal peace agreements. The implementation of duties and the exercise of rights prescribed or provided by these accords remain precarious even after the adoption and signature of the formal acts of settlement.

The possibility of enforcement – as latent or implicit deterrent against sabotage and obstruction by any of the parties – can complement and bolster the voluntary steps and measures of implementation by the parties. In the wake of violent conflicts the former adversaries regularly prove to be reluctant to fully or partly comply with their obligations without external incentives or inducement (Stern, 2003: 484).

At a later stage of the progress from peace implementation to state-building, the instalment or restoration of fundamental sovereign functions of state authority (the monopoly of legitimate violence as of primary importance) yields meaningful and sustainable solutions only in accordance with the reallocation of sovereign competencies between the constitutional levels and constituent national communities (minority/majority).

    The satisfactory implementation of framework arrangements if not treated as static, but rather flexible in their adaptation is likely to lead to the consolidation of peace (elimination of violence as negative peace) and create security assurances (positive peace) through the introduction of constitutional adjustments and reorganised order introducing the conditions of avoidance and pacific resolution of conflicts.

Protective institutional changes as legitimate and potentially effective remedy for minority grievances

Gradual implementation of peace settlements through constitutional (re)construction and profound political changes characteristically mark the completion of the transformative process conceived to establish a more peaceful society and its institutions. The depth of changes can be best measured by the possibilities of effective and institutional protection of the rights of ethnic minorities as well as their participation as means of reconciliation and representation (Stern, 2003: 487).

The durability and viability of framework agreements on the settlement of ethnic conflicts are undeniably the most precarious and uncharted aspects of the adopted general recipe. The consociation model as applied to the conditions left behind by armed confrontations and violent hostilities in deeply divided societies may legitimately be seen as an experimental product of "international social engineering" by the proponents of supposedly benevolent concepts (Stern, 2003: 486).

One salient issue stands out in this context: the international authority and legitimacy of these solutions beyond the mere capacity and power to infuse constitutional arrangements and impose institutional edifice. In both cases – in Bosnia and in Macedonia as well – the constitutional solutions favoured by Western governments and moulded in the framework agreements forged at Dayton (1995) and at Ohrid (2001) respectively represented the priorities and expectations of the Atlantic community – the European Union and non-European NATO members alike – towards local political communities. Persuasion, pressure and imposition all gained legitimacy through the agreements of the conflicting parties and the invitation by the internationally recognised governments to regional arrangements endowed with the capacity to furnish the necessary security instruments of implementation and pacification(Stern, 2003).

The extended concept of the EU as a "normative power" ("Europeanisation of conflict resolution")

According to Stern (2003: 486) the EU as a peculiar regional arrangement with its evolving full-spectrum security arsenal – political and economic, civil and military means – in co-operation with the Transatlantic defence alliance (NATO) has embarked on the assisted implementation and enforced maintenance of two constituent elements (the Dayton Agreement for Bosnia and the Ohrid Framework Agreement in Macedonia) of the security arrangement for the Western Balkans. The normative influence of the EU can be properly assessed through the examination of the shape, content and viability of peace agreements as essential components of a regional security regime.

Constitutional corrections or redefinition of legitimate policies for political communities in the conflicts of Bosnia and Macedonia by means of peace agreements with the supervision of external organisations (UN, NATO, EU) sought to introduce some equitable ethnic/national minority representation, educational and administrative rights and self-governance, integration into the security forces (participation in control and exercise of the monopoly of the use of legitimate violence as guarantee against its abuse).

The ambitious normative agenda of EU CFSP aspires to transform international as well as internal/domestic relations of states prone to violent clash of contending ethnic and political narratives primarily in the regions adjacent to the frontiers of the European Union or in some more distant areas, but adversely affecting strategic interests of the EU as a whole. The driving principle of these endeavours corresponds to the defining rationale of interstate relations within the EU: the substitution of right for might, the exercise of power by the rule of law and within an agreed institutional framework instead of crude power struggles (Stern, 2003: 486).

Besides the most important EU mission, the "domestication and assimilation" of additional zones of Europe through the enlargement of the Union, the promotion of complex conflict resolution and state consolidation as "mission civilisatrice" emerged to complete the original "normative international agenda" of the European Union (Stern, 2003: 486).

    The prospect of partnership and eventually perhaps membership has remained the eminent and most powerful incentive in the Balkans to induce political compromises, cohesion and co-operation primarily within multiethnic states, but also between the countries of the region. No stabilisation and association agreement was conceivable as long as countries remain engulfed in division, potential return to violent conflict and ethnic hostilities. The journeys towards co-operation and partnership through peace implementation and political consolidation in Bosnia and Macedonia testified to the benefits of commitments to agreed settlements and external assistance (Stern, 2003: 488).

In case of the unsettled conflicts in the "European neighbourhood" east of the Union, the European method - established and repeatedly applied during the second half of the 20^th century – to pacify former antagonists and eliminate conditions of potential destabilisation through absorption and transformation cannot be utilised in the absence of prospect for candidacy and ultimately membership in the EU (Stern, 2003: 490).

Unlike the process of enlargement, in the course of regional peacemaking and peace-building the crucial normative influence of the European Union is not exercised by the projection and transfer of its own legal order (acquis communutaire), but through the establishment of new internal constitutional structures and the redistribution of rights as well as duties among conflicting communities within the preserved territorial unity of one state.

The promotion/imposition of these social designs and patterns of ethnic coexistence has so far resulted in two complex and ongoing experiments in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Macedonia. Member States of the European Union support EU engagements and operational involvement in the Balkans in hope of transforming the entire region into a more balanced and predictable neighbourhood in line with the aspirations stated in the European Security Strategy. "Resolving other people's conflicts and promoting democracy" motivated EU decisions to assume political and military responsibility for security operations in Macedonia and Bosnia. The actions pursued and the instruments deployed by the EU in the Balkans during the last few years revealed that the Union has not only moved from "providing relief and aid" to "promoting democracy" but (practically since 2003) shifted to "prevention and rehabilitation efforts" by all means in support of conflict management operations as instruments of state- and peace-building intentions (Stern, 2003: 489).

Legal precedent and political prescription for conflict settlement and lasting prevention beyond the Balkans

Since the risks and security implications of weakened, fragile or, at least partially, incapacitated states on the European security perimeter represent a shared security concern, the search for applicable models and patterns of solution could greatly benefit from positive examples drawn from different regions, but with very similar underlying issues at the sources of instability and insecurity.

Although the developments in the Balkans have been shaped by particular and characteristic conditions, the experiences and lessons learned in the course of crisis management could be of broader utility particularly in the European neighbourhood. These lessons extend to the issues of self-determination and ethnic conflict, their mediated and designed settlements, as well as their implementation with international guarantees and peace support operations (security assistance and enforcement).

If one recipe (negotiations with mediation, constitutional rearrangement, guarantees and rewards, external participation in the implementation) for conflict resolution has already proved its utility in promoting security and more stable governance in multiethnic political communities in one troubled region (in our case in the Western Balkans), the essential elements of the solution might be adaptable to the conditions of conflicts in other areas (in the South Caucasus and on the eastern littoral of the Dnester river) with commensurate issues fuelling unsettled adversities. The legitimacy and feasibility of previous instances of the dissolution of tensions and the reconciliation of conflicting demands relies on the essential support, participation and active contribution of the institutions of the Western security community (Stern, 2003: 488).

The resolutions promoted by the European Union and NATO has represented the Western aspirations to introduce and consolidate those conditions and institutions that would bring about the emergence of "positive-sum" situations with gains for the all the former belligerent parties. The resulting "positive peace" surpassing by far the conventional (realist) purpose of settlements - the elimination of the immediate threat or use of violence from a conflict – pursues the ambitious agenda of state transformation and constitutional redefinition/rearrangement in order to consolidate and cement the achievements of an internationally assured resolution.

The "frozen" separatist and ethnic conflicts on the western and southern perimeter of the former Soviet empire - in Moldova (Transdnistria), in Georgia (Akhbazia and South-Ossetia) and also in Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabah) – as still unsettled challenges may offer opportunities for another application of the recipe – the procedural solution and substantial components as well – elaborated and put to the test in the former Yugoslavia.

The same prescription of constitutional recognition and representation of minority rights coupled with territorial autonomy may well also serve to prevent the deterioration in other vestiges of ethnic resentment/tension, preserve and promote the rights of historic ethnic minorities (Stern, 2003: 487).

The political, military and policing experience accumulated during the phased and sustained engagements in the Balkans may serve as the eminent source of lessons and conclusions for other potential involvements in very real areas of conflict. For the coming years the Black Sea basin ought to be the most pressing focus of attention, efforts and means of crisis settlement and post-conflict reconstruction by the EU in concert with NATO. On the opposite shores of the Black Sea, "dormant" or "frozen conflicts – in Transdnistria, Akhbazia, South-Ossetia and Karabah - await constructive and complex international engagements and arrangements in order to close these "black holes" in international security on the Eastern perimeter of the pursued "European zone of peace and stability".

 

    
 

    
 

 

References

Csaba, T.    (1988)        The extension of the normative influence of the European

Union through pacification and state-building in the Balkans and possibly

beyond. New York. St Martins. P 49-50.

Stern, R.    (2003)        The European Union: towards a strategic culture? Security

Dialogue, Vol. 34 No 483-490.

 

Nigeria Women in Conflict. A Case Study of Nigeria Women in the Niger-Delta Crisis (1997-2010)

 

 

INTRODUCTION

    Women suffer great hardships in times of conflict. The women of the Niger Delta are no exception. During the conflicts with oil companies and the Nigerian government, women are subjected to all kinds of violent-sexual such as rape, physical violence such as bearings, maiming…murder and destruction of properties. Niger Delta women suffer unimaginable human rights abuses for which redress is unattainable because the agents of government who perpetrate the abuses cannot be subjected to the rule of law. Husband, fathers and sons have been killed or maimed in the conflict and women have had to assume burdens of home responsibilities as heads of households.

    The purpose of this work therefore, is to give a critical analysis of conflict in the Niger-Delta area and the effects it has on women. This will go a long way in proffering possible solutions to these effects.

    Looking at the chaotic situation like the one existing in the Niger-Delta areas, rape and prostitution are common. First of all, the angry and hungry young men who are fighting for their rights will do with any woman around. Secondly, the soldiers usually sent by the federal government to calm the rioting villagers use the women in the area as the resting place. At night they invade private homes, terrorizing residents with beatings and raping women and girls. Also, girls and young women who are looking for economic survival hang around the oil companies and keep them selves at the service of both the national international oil workers who are believed to be "guys in money". These women are given few naira or at least few dollars at the end of every sexual meeting.

    Furthermore, the staff of the multinationals are not only enjoying cheap labour but they also have cheap sex at their disposal. Worse still, most of these relationships end up with children and the women are left alone to carry the burden of bringing up these 'fatherless babies.' By so doing, the association of Niger Delta women for justice (NDWJ) has been fighting for a law, making it mandatory for the oil workers especially foreigners to claim their offspring and if possible the mothers of such children born out of any of the company's staff's promiscuous activities.

    In addition, the mass community protests against multi-nationals began with the Ogharefe women's protest in 1984 against US Pan Ocean. In each of the protest, the women's objectives were simple and their demands clear and right: oil companies and their god fathers must concrete efforts to improve the economic, environmental and social conditions of the rural communities – the hosts. In effect, they demanded that their youths and husbands be employed as a way of giving them some sense of belonging. They also requested the provisions of social amenities such as good roads, water, health care facilities and electricity supply to enhance their standard of living.

    In 1998, women in Warri mobilized and protested against oil companies, they demanded for compensation over land seized and pollution damage. When Pan Ocean refused to compensate the people, groups of women rose against this company and laid siege to it. They halted production through dance, songs and the threat of nakedness in an effort to restore their community's economic, environmental and social security. After this protest, community action against the state and multinationals increased with a series of mass protests demanding economic, political and social justice.

    The same scene repeated itself in 2006, but this time against shell. During this time, the Niger-Delta women and their allies stages simultaneous protests in Nigeria and London against dangerous burning of natural gas by the oil companies. In Nigeria the women and allied men blocked the shell oil stations, while in London, thirteen activist occupied shell headquarters. They barricaded themselves in the managing director's offices and broadcasted to the outside via digital cameras, laptop computers and mobile phones (Oduniyi, 2009).

    In 2008, attention was shifted to chevron. This was the most serious of all women uprising in the region because of the amount of international media attention received. During this period the women threatened to strip, the uprising was led by the women of Ijaw and Itsekiri communities, they were angry at the unemployment of their children and husbands, lack of infrastructure and economic empowerment by the federal government and multinational oil companies, the women also occupied chevron's exploration site. At the same time they paralyzed the activities at the operational headquarters of Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC), the women asked that the multinationals should see to the electrification, foreshore walls and housing projects in the host communities to improve the environmental and living conditions there.

Conclusively, the study tried to go through the history of oil crisis in the Niger Delta and saw how women are the innocent victims of this malady. The study touched different ways they are victimized – poor condition of life, unemployment, exploitation of various forms. In order to resist this situation, mass protests – women's uprising in order to change the status quo. This study therefore, tend to unravel the challenges women faced during conflict with particular attention to Niger-Delta women.

 

References

Ake Claude (1981). The Political Economy of Nigeria. London, Longman.

 

Federal Government of Nigeria, Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan pp 9-10.

 

Kingsley Osadoror (2008). "The rise of the women of the Niger Delta". World press review, New York, P. 47.

 

Mike Oduniyi (2009). Women Fight the Oil Company; Ijaw VS Chevron.

 

Usha Jesudasan (2003). "Working together: The Hindu, Chennai,

June 14 P.1, pp1-2.

 

 

 

Crime against humanity with women as victims. The Akwa Ibom women states experience (1980-2009).

INTRODUCTION

    Crime is an ever-present phenomenon in the society, the issue of crime is very much inevitable in the human society, it affects everybody and that of socio-economic development. Crime against humanity affects majority of the masses with women as the major victims. This is because women are the weaker sex.

    The thrust of this work therefore, is to throw light on the crime against women in the Nigerian set up, using the Akwa Ibom State women experience in (1980-2009). The study is also meant to draw the attention of NGO(s) to the problems imposed by crime on women and these outdated practices in the name of culture and implore them (women) to rise to the challenge that the main hope for women is they (women) themselves must come together and collectively work to gain their rights.

    Many women in the world, most especially the Akwa Ibom women face extreme poverty, discrimination and in human treatment most especially the widows. Armed conflict in the recent past has increased the member of widows and has made their plight even worse. The widows were impoverished as they were miserably deprived of their social security and family support. The tragedy about the whole scenario is that, many widows are denied access to essential resources such as shelter, food and clothing in addition, a common feature of widowhood is the violence perpetrated against them at the hands of relatives.

    Women suffer a range of social, economic, legal and cultural problems depending on the traditions, customary law and prevailing social attitudes of the societies they belong to.

    Christie Fernando (2002) asserts that;

Women, especially widows are victims of patriarchal and discriminatory practices and prejudice. They are marginalized and exploited by their societies and they suffer from reduced social status. They become the property of their in-laws. They are sometimes prevented from remarrying according to their own free will and can be forced into marriage with one member of the family. (They can be inherited like properties). They are prohibited from remarrying or even disempowered in child bearing. They are often victims of violence especially of sexual violence.

They (women) are victims of patriarchal and discriminatory practice and prejudice. This refers to the male dominance over women. All known societies are patriarchal although the degree or character of inequalities between sexes varies considerably across and between cultures.

In Akwa Ibom over the years, women are victims of violence especially of sexual violence. The AIDS epidemic in the country and also in other parts of the world exists within world violence against women and girls. The governments have not perhaps paid attention to the many cases of sexual violence and that, it is AIDS that will force us all to look at the reality of sexual violence not only in Akwa Ibom but in other parts of the world.

One of the major crime against women is sexual violence. This refers to rape and sexual assault driven by money called sex trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse. Again, Nigeria does not have official records showing the number of sexually abused women but a survey in South Africa showed that out of 78% of HIV positive women, 78% reported they had been forced to have sex and that most sub-saharan African countries including Nigeria show that between 25% and 40% of women and girls report that their first sexual encounter was forced. Hundred of thousands of girls are sold into prostitution.

Therefore, crime against women can never be over-emphasized. This is because, women suffers series of marginalization and exploitation by men, this ranges from social, economic, legal, educational and cultural challenges which reduced the social status of women in the society. This is the exact situation in Akwa Ibom from time immemorial.

By way of recommendation, there is every need for the women to form an organization like the NGOs with the sole purpose of speaking up for them especially those who can't speak for themselves and with a lawyer and human right activist, at least to educate women on their rights.

Also, legal reforms in inheritance and land ownership rights should be enacted and enforced. Cruel, dehumanizing, repugnant and discriminatory customary laws should be abolished, women should be protected from these violations and perpetrators should be punished and that women's rights are integrated in all aspects of government policy-making agendas.

Conclusion

    Fundamentally, no government has come forward to adequately address the plight of women and to see their sustenance and livelihood. It is quite apparent that due to abject poverty and misery, they have no status and societal understanding. Neglected by social policy, researchers, International Human Rights activities and women movements (themselves), the status of women in general and the Akwa Ibom women in particular to legal, social, cultural and economic setting is an urgent issue given the extent and severity of the discrimination meted out against them. The main hope for women therefore is that, they must come together and collectively work to gain their rights.

References

Bolaji .O and Babatunde .A (1997). Challenges of women in Nigeria; Issues and prospects, printed by OVC Nig. Ltd. Lagos.

 

Christie Fernando "Plights of Widows" online edition of daily news 26^th March 2002 (lake house associated newspaper of Ceylon Ltd).

 

Okoye Pat. U (1995). Widowhood: a natural or cultural tragedy. Wucik publishers Enugu pp: 52-101.