Progress and Pitfalls of “Peace-Building”

in Afghanistan continues.....

The re-creation of political institutions is a crucial task for maintaining stability in failing states where wars have destroyed the foundations of both governmental and civic institutions. A sustainable economy and self-governance will enhance the prospects for empowerment and trust building.

Thus, according to Ho-Wong Jeong, the goals of peace-building will ultimately be achieved by reconstruction and reconciliation that are geared not only towards changing behaviour and perceptions but also towards social and institutional structures that can be mobilized to prevent future conflict.

The UN is committed to peace-building in the world because of a conviction to achieve the great objective of the charter i.e. to maintain international peace and security, of securing justice and human rights and of promoting, in the words of the Charter, “social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.” Since the creation of the United Nations in 1945, over 100 major conflicts around the world have left some 20 million dead.

The United Nations was rendered powerless to deal with many of these crises because of the vetoes - 279 of them - cast in the Security Council, which were a vivid expression of the divisions of the Cold War period. With the end of the Cold War, there have been no such vetoes since 31 May 1990, and demands on the United Nations have surged. Its security arm, once disabled by circumstances it was not created or equipped to control, has emerged as a central instrument for the prevention and resolution of conflicts and for the preservation of peace.

To be continued.....