UNITED NATIONS (PTI): High “hopes about the role the United Nations could play in bringing about peace in the post-cold war came crashing in 1993.
A UN official summed it up all Euphoria’s over realities are harsh.
As the year ended the ethnic conflict was still in high gear in Bosnia despite the world body’s interventions. Its efforts to replace the military government with democratically elected one in Haiti lay shattered and it was licking its wounds in Somalia.
In Western Sahara the referendum promised by it was nowhere in sight. Solution still eluded Angola and in Cyprus one of the oldest peace keeping operations was in deep trouble with troop contributing countries threatening to withdraw their personnel.
In middle cast, it was excluded from the, peace process despite having supported the Palestinian liberation movement over the years.
Its resources, both men and mate all were stretched to the limit and it “was being asked to take on more and more Operations even though the future of existing one remained uncertain. Large arrears run up by the members on peace keeping accounts and demands by troops contributing nations for payments they were promised made its position unenviable,
Secretary general Boutros Ghalis agenda for peace” a blue print on how the world body should act to prevent fledging conflicts and solve existing ones was pushed to background as members states feared that it could come in the way of their freedom of action and infringe on their sovereignty.
The preventive diplomacy proposed by him was effectively prevented from taking off and his proposal for a standing army for the United Nations which could be called immediately at the time of crisis appeared still born.
Besides the acrimonious issue over command of the U N peace keeping forces made matters worse with major contributors insisting on keeping their personnel under their own command oven though split command did not make any sense militarily speaking.
With its agenda for peace in trouble the Secretary General is now preparing an agenda for development which is expected to be out sometime next year
The Europeans were dictating terms in Bosnia while USA elsewhere Indeed when operations in Somalia got into trouble America cooly blamed the world body for all the problems though U S had voted for all resolutions and actively sought support for some But for American support resolutions including one which called for the arrest of warlord Mohammad Farah aided would never have been carried out.
When 18 Marines were killed in Somalia USA held the U N responsible for going after Aideed instead of opting for reconciliation The world body was forced to change its position under US pressure.
India and Pakistan as usual clashed repeatedly in the committees over Kashmir Taking a cue from Ghalis report and US president Bill Clintons speech in the general assembly in which he mentioned Kashmir and pressed by domestic compulsions Pakistan raised the Kashmir issue regularly with India effectively rebut ting the allegations
Pakistani sources admitted towards the end of the session that Pakistan had overplayed the Kashmir issue $0 much that no one now seems to take it seriously
The 184-member assembly also heard sermons and ringing statements demanding mort powers Reformation in the decision making mechanism and expansion of the Security Council. However even the mast optimistic diplomats said any change was years away.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 7, 1994
