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From Africa Recovery, Vol.14#3 (October 2000), page 1

Millennium Summit of the United Nations

Reform plans dominate Security Council debate on peacekeeping in Africa

By Michael Fleshman

With criticism of its competence mounting as rapidly as its troop commitments in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, the Security Council held a rare summit meeting on 7 September to consider proposals to overhaul the UN peacekeeping machinery. The failures of the past decade, a grim Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, have created "a crisis of credibility facing this Council -- and this organization -- in discharging its gravest responsibility: the maintenance of peace and security." Restoring that credibility, African leaders asserted, will require faster deployments, stronger mandates and a more representative Security Council. Disagreement over "sovereignty" and "humanitarian intervention," however, suggest that peacekeeping reform, like peacekeeping itself, will be complex and difficult.

The meeting, attended by nine presidents, five prime ministers and one foreign minister, was held during the 6-8 September Millennium Summit in the UN General Assembly (see UN Millennium Summit). It marked the beginning of a watershed debate on recommendations developed by a panel of experts chaired by former Algerian Prime Minister Lakhtar Brahimi (see "Brahimi panel proposls for peacekeeping reform") for far-reaching changes in the planning and implementation of UN peacekeeping missions, particularly in Africa. Controversy immediately broke out over proposals to give peacekeeping troops more authority to intervene in internal conflicts. The measures, which would alter fundamental tenets of peacekeeping -- strict non-interference in the internal affairs of states, absolute impartiality, and intervention only with the consent of all parties -- were interpreted by many developing countries as a means of establishing a long-opposed international "right of humanitarian intervention" in the internal affairs of sovereign states.

African governments generally supported the Brahimi panel's call for greater flexibility in the use of force on the ground by peacekeeping troops, but insisted that decisions on the deployment of such forces be consistent with respect for the national sovereignty of the host country. Togolese President Gnassingbé Eyadema, who is also the current president of the Organization of African Unity, told the General Assembly on 12 September, "We support the valid recommendations" of the Brahimi report that "mandates should be clear, credible and attainable ... missions properly financed and rapidly deployed ... and [peacekeepers] capable of accomplishing their mandates and defending themselves." But compared to other regions, he noted, "the attention that our continent receives from the international community is rather weak."

The recommendations, 56 in all, would greatly enhance the military capabilities of UN peacekeeping operations -- allowing faster deployment of well-armed and trained troops, better support by the Department for Peacekeeping Operations for personnel in the field and greater integration of peacekeeping, peacebuilding, human rights and humanitarian programmes. Deficiencies in these areas, analysts believe, have contributed to the failure of some peacekeeping operations in recent years.

Opposition to the proposals on intervention held up adoption of a Security Council resolution on the report. Council members were able to agree only to "consider the recommendations expeditiously." In the meantime Mr. Annan and the Council have already begun to implement other aspects of the report. In mid-September, the Council delayed at Mr. Annan's request a resolution authorizing an increase of peacekeeping troops in Sierra Leone until commitments of the necessary personnel and equipment were obtained from member states. The move is in line with the Brahimi proposals. Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette has been asked to develop an implementation programme for consideration by the General Assembly in the coming months.

Sovereignty or intervention?

Strengthening the UN's peacekeeping mechanism has become more urgent as the number of operations has soared. Forty of the 53 peacekeeping missions undertaken by the UN since 1948 have begun in the last 12 years, and major new deployments in Africa are expected before the end of the year. Many missions have been deployed in civil conflicts, which are often more difficult to resolve than conflicts between states.

Nowhere is the need for change in UN peacekeeping operations more apparent than in Africa, where one in five Africans live in countries disrupted by war and the UN has authorized deployment of over 25,000 peacekeeping troops. In a number of African missions, UN forces face a complex array of local armed groups with unclear objectives and shifting alliances.

As a result, said UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in his address to the Council meeting, "peacekeeping is a lot tougher and more difficult than before. We are putting our people into situations of far greater difficulty ... where the hazards from local militias or other people are far greater than before." Mr. Blair's dispatch of a battalion of British troops to Sierra Leone after rebel forces seized 500 UN peacekeepers in May is widely credited with stabilizing a deteriorating security situation. He told the Council that despite the increased political and military risks, "the need for peacekeeping has never been greater. The Brahimi reforms are absolutely essential."

African support for stronger UN forces with a more robust mandate has grown in recent years, fueled by outrage at the failure of the international community to prevent genocide in Rwanda in 1994, and widespread consternation over the collapse of peace agreements in Angola and Sierra Leone and the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But the question of how and when to intervene in sovereign states has been a controversial one.

In his report to the Millennium Assembly on the future of the UN, Mr. Annan acknowledged the complexity of the issue but argued that circumstances sometimes demand external intervention. "Surely no legal principle -- not even sovereignty -- can ever shield crimes against humanity. Where such crimes occur and peaceful attempts to halt them have been exhausted, the Security Council has a moral duty to act on behalf of the international community."

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Crétien agreed. "In the 21st century, peace no longer depends only on securing states but also on securing people," he told the Council. "In recent years the security of a given state, in the name of ethnic nationalism, has been used as a justification for the worst kind of atrocities." Canada believed human rights and humanitarian principles should be a factor in Security Council decisions, he noted. "If the Security Council is unable to adapt, it will seriously undermine its credibility as a guarantor of peace, credibility that is essential to maintaining the moral authority of the UN as a whole."

Chinese President Ziang Zemin differed. "The success of UN peacekeeping operations," he asserted, "depends on observance of the purposes and principles of the UN charter, particularly the principles of respect for state sovereignty, non-interference in the internal affairs of the recipient countries, seeking prior consent of the parties concerned, neutrality, and non-use of force except in self-defence.... Willful use of force and interference in the internal affairs of other countries in the name of 'humanitarianism' not only run counter to the purposes and principles of the UN charter but also will cause severe negative consequences."

Opposition to an expanded UN role in internal conflicts also came from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said that under no circumstances should the Council weaken principles that "have passed more than one test for durability." He called for the abandonment of "unilateral approaches" to global conflict situations. Africa's multiplying conflicts, he said, posed a major threat to its future. "If in the 20th century Africa became free from colonialism, then let the 21st century see it rid of poverty and military confrontation." This could best be achieved through greater support for African peacemaking efforts and scrupulous adherence to the UN charter. The Brahimi report, he said, was a "useful" but not definitive effort to improve the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations.

In their opposition to the creation of a broad right of intervention on humanitarian and human rights grounds, African and other developing countries have cited possible opportunities for infringements on sovereignty and possible pretexts for interference by former colonial powers or neighbouring states. The heads of state and government of the 133-member Group of 77 specifically rejected the concept at the South Summit in Havana in April.

'A kind of apartheid'

Namibian President Sam Nujoma, representing one of only two sub-Saharan African governments currently in the Security Council, also called for strict respect of sovereignty, and chided the Council for doing too little too late in addressing conflicts in Africa. The Council "should ensure equal importance to, and undertake swift response to, breaches of international peace and security in all regions of the world and not treat Africa only as an afterthought." The Council must be enlarged, democratized and made more transparent, he concluded, if it is to successfully meet its peacekeeping obligations. South African President Thabo Mbeki was even blunter, telling reporters on the final day of the summit that the council's hesitancy in responding to African conflicts was "a kind of apartheid" and calling for the issue to be taken up with the Brahimi proposals (see "Brahimi panel proposls for peacekeeping reform").

Expansion of the Security Council to achieve greater geographic representation, an issue outside the scope of the Brahimi report, nevertheless emerged as a sub-theme of the peacekeeping reform debate at the Millennium Summit. Angolan Foreign Minister João Bernardo de Miranda spoke for numerous African leaders when he underscored Angola's "strong support" for Africa's demand for two permanent and five non-permanent seats on an expanded Security Council (Africa currently has three non-permanent seats). Addressing the Millennium Summit on 8 September, Mr. de Miranda, whose country has endured almost four decades of anti-colonial and civil war, described democratization of the Council as "especially important" for the future of the UN.

Addressing root causes

Greater international financial, political and military support for African peacemaking and peacekeeping efforts was strongly endorsed in the Security Council debate. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the only woman among the 15 Council representatives, joined the refrain for stronger UN partnerships with regional and sub-regional organizations, both governmental and non-governmental. But, she cautioned, "the Security Council cannot shy away from its primary responsibility" for the maintenance of peace in Africa by declaring its support of "African solutions to African problems," a point also made by Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings, Mr. Mbeki and other African heads of state.

Ms. Hasina called on the Security Council to address the root causes of African conflicts as well as their military and security aspects. "This summit should express strong support for poverty eradication, sustainable development, democracy, good governance, rule of law and human rights as foundations of durable peace." During World War I, she observed, 95 per cent of the casualties were soldiers. In today's wars, 95 per cent of the casualties are civilians. "If the nature of conflict has changed, so too has its victims."

Contributing to conflict in Africa, Malian President Alpha Oumar Konaré told the Council, is the easy availability of arms. "For Africa, weapons of mass destruction are light arms.... They are sold for cash, sold on credit against our raw materials, even offered for free." Mr. Konaré, who chaired the Security Council meeting, called for international measures to curb the supply of small arms to conflict zones and for greater cooperation between the UN and regional organizations in resolving conflicts. "In renewing our commitment to peace and security, we need to provide the United Nations with the means to ensure peace."

Rwandan President Paul Kagame was not in the Security Council that day. But in his address to the Millennium Summit he described the refusal of the international community to intervene to save the 800,000 victims of genocide in Rwanda "as one of the darkest hours in the over 50-year history of the United Nations." Many reasons have been put forward for past failures, he noted. "I want to add one more. Each conflict is unique in its history and in its sociology. Nothing short of objective understanding of each conflict and its nature will contribute to its management and eventual resolution."

Peacekeeping reforms will come too late for Rwanda, but there is still time to aid the survivors, he said. Unfortunately "international agencies react to humanitarian crises but are wholly inadequate in assisting affected countries in the aftermath of conflicts. Equally difficult challenges lie in the post-crisis phase, particularly economic and social reconstruction to permit sustainable development and prevent further cycles of violence."

The root causes of African conflicts also dominated US President Bill Clinton's address at the Security Council. He urged the Council to take up issues like HIV/AIDS as part of a wider definition of threats to security, arguing, "War kills massively, crosses borders, destabilizes whole regions. Today we face other problems that kill massively, cross borders and destabilize regions. Until we confront the iron link between deprivation, disease and war, we will never be able to create the peace that the founders of the United Nations dreamed of.... We must do more to equip the United Nations to do what we ask it to do."

Financing reform

The US and other wealthy member states will indeed be asked to do more as the final shape -- and price tag -- of peacekeeping reform emerges in the months ahead. With press estimates running as high as $100 mn annually just for the expanded headquarters staff, additional training and equipment envisaged in the Brahimi report, the debate over financing may be as lively as the debate over the reforms themselves.

The report calls for core peacekeeping functions, such as the expanded headquarters support unit, to be funded from the regular budget. The report is silent, however, on whether the budget should be increased to finance the reforms, or funded by cuts in other programmes. Mr. Brahimi argued for an increase at a 23 August press conference. Asked by a reporter about funding for the recommendations, he suggested an end to the era of no-growth UN budgets. "No organization's budget stays frozen forever," he noted.

US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, however, told reporters later that day that "some of this [peacekeeping reform] will cost money and we are going to look for savings elsewhere in the [UN] system." As of 15 August, total US arrears to the UN stood at $1.87 bn, including almost $1.4 bn for peacekeeping.

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BOX 1:

Right to intervene or responsibility to protect?

Proposals for reforming UN peacekeeping have rekindled an old debate over whether the international community should intervene in countries' domestic affairs to save lives or protect human rights. Developing countries generally oppose "humanitarian intervention," fearing that it could be used as a pretext for aggression, while some industrialized countries favour intervention to counter "crimes against humanity."

In an effort to help reconcile these views, Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy announced on 14 September the creation of an International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. The panel, chaired by former Australian Prime Minister Gareth Evans and Mr. Mohamad Sahnoun, special envoy of the UN Secretary-General in Africa, will open a global dialogue on the issues and develop recommendations for Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The project, Mr. Axworthy said, is modeled after the Brundtland commission on environment and development, which took two seemingly irreconcilable issues and forged a consensus around the concept of sustainable development. Mr. Evans said he preferred to think that the challenge now is to seek agreement on a new international "responsibility to protect" vulnerable people.

"The moral, legal, operational and political problems are indeed complex," said Mr. Sahnoun, who has been involved in several UN mediation and peacekeeping efforts in Africa. "I look forward to working with the other members of the Commission to try to bring a greater effectiveness to these types of operations, which have tended to be carried out on an ad-hoc basis."

Over the next year, the panel will solicit a wide range of views, and has scheduled consultations in North America, Southern Africa, Latin America, East Asia and Europe with academics, government officials and non-governmental organizations. It will produce a three-volume report with findings and recommendations and a compilation of past research and debate. The commission's activities can be followed on its Web site: <www.iciss.gc.ca>.

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