A Security Expert says the role of the United Nations in peacekeeping remained relevant, but should do more to end sexual exploitation by some peacekeepers.
He suggested that peacekeeping should be reduced to four months rather than one year.
Mr Irbard Ibrahim, Executive Director of IRBARD Consult told the Ghana News Agency that armed conflicts continued to flare up, generated by a variety of causes.
He blamed the explosion of armed conflicts around the globe on inadequate political structures within countries, failure to provide for the orderly transfer of power, dissatisfied populations identified with ever-smaller groups, ethnicity, disrespect for national boundaries, competition for scarce resources among others.
He said: “These elements provide fertile soil for violence within or between States. The violence is fed by massive numbers of virtually all kinds of weapons, readily available worldwide.
“The results are human suffering – often on a massive scale, threats to wider international peace and security, and the destruction of the economic and social life of entire populations.
“Many of today’s conflicts may seem remote to those not immediately in the line of fire. But the world’s nations must weigh the risks of action against the proven dangers of inaction.
He said failure by the international community to try to control conflicts and to resolve them peacefully may result in wider conflicts, involving more actors.
“Recent history has shown how quickly civil wars between parties in one country can destabilize neighbouring countries and spread throughout entire regions.”
He said few modern conflicts could be considered truly “local” and often generated a host of problems, such as illegal traffic in arms, terrorism, drug trafficking, refugee flows, and damage to the environment, whose repercussions are felt far from the immediate conflict zone.
“International cooperation is needed to deal with these and other global problems. UN peacekeeping, built on a half-century of experience in the field, is an indispensable tool.”
He said its legitimacy and universality were unique, derived from its character as an action taken on behalf of a global organization with 185 Member States.
“UN peacekeeping operations can open doors, which might otherwise remain closed to efforts in peace-making and peace-building, to secure lasting peace.”
Source: GNA
