It has become clear that preventive diplomacy is only one of a class of actions that can be taken to prevent disputes from turning into armed conflict. Others in this class are preventive deployment of military and/or police personnel; preventive humanitarian action, for example, to manage and resolve a refugee situation in a sensitive frontier area; and preventive peace-building, which itself comprises an extensive menu of possible actions in the political, economic and social fields, applicable especially to possible internal conflicts.
All these preventive actions share the following characteristics: they all depend on early warning that the risk of conflict exists; they require information about the causes and likely nature of the potential conflict so that the appropriate preventive action can be identified; and they require the consent of the party or parties within whose jurisdiction the preventive action is to take place.
The element of timing is crucial. The potential conflict should be ripe for the preventive action proposed. Timing is also an important consideration in peacemaking and peace-keeping. The prevention, control and resolution of a conflict is like the prevention, control and cure of disease. If treatment is prescribed at the wrong moment in the evolution of a disease, the patient does not improve, and the credibility of both the treatment and the physician who prescribed it is compromised.
The term "peacemaking", as used by the United Nations, refers to the use of diplomatic means to persuade parties in conflict to cease hostilities and negotiate a peaceful settlement of their dispute. All the types of action that can be used for preventive purposes, such as diplomatic peace-keeping, humanitarian aid and peace-building, have their role in creating conditions for successful peacemaking, and implementing and consolidating the negotiated settlement for peace.
The primary responsibility for preventive action and peacemaking rests with the Department of Political Affairs, headed by Under-Secretary-General Marrack Goulding. The Department was created in 1992 to consolidate the political work of the Secretariat in a single department. There is, however, a distinction to be made between the Department's roles in these two fields. In the preventive field, its role is to identify the action required, with execution being entrusted to the specialist department or other agency concerned. In the peacemaking field, its role generally includes execution as well.
The Department of Political Affairs has five main responsibilities in support of preventive action and peacemaking. First, it must monitor, analyse and assess political developments throughout the world. Next, the Department identifies potential or actual conflicts in whose control and resolution the United Nations can play a useful role. It then prepares recommendations to the Secretary-General about appropriate actions in such cases. Fourth, the Department executes the approved policy when it is of a diplomatic nature. Finally, it assists the Secretary-General in carrying out political activities decided by him and/or mandated by the General Assembly and the Security Council in the areas of preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, peace-keeping and peace-building, including arms control and disarmament.
The Centre for Disarmament Affairs, an integral part of the Department of Political Affairs, provides advice, analysis and assessment on all disarmament matters and carries out the responsibilities entrusted to the Secretariat in this field. The Electoral Assistance Division, another integral part of the Department, provides services requested by Member States in the electoral field. The Department also provides secretariat services to the General Assembly, the Security Council and their various subsidiary organs.
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