Security Council discusses Supplement to 'Agenda for Peace.'

UN Chronicle, June, 1995

Endorsing the crucial importance of economic and social development as a secure basis for lasting peace, the Security Council on 22 February urged States to support UN efforts in preventive and post-conflict peace-building activities by providing the necessary assistance for the economic and social development of countries.

The action followed an intense review of Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's position paper, "Supplement to An Agenda for Peace" (A/50/60S/1995/1) which was issued on 225 January.

"The times call for thinking afresh, for striving together and for creating new ways to overcome crises", the Secretary-General stated.

"This is because the different world that emerged when the cold war ceased is still a world not fully understood. The changed face of conflict today requires us to be perceptive, adaptive, creative and courageous, and to address simultaneously the immediate as well as the root causes of conflict, which all too often lie in the absence of economic opportunities and social inequities. Perhaps above all it requires a deeper commitment to cooperation and true multilateralism than humanity has ever achieved before".

In a statement by its President, Legwaila J. Legwaila of Botswana, the Council recognized the crucial importance of the availability of resources for activities to sustain international peace and security, and urged Member States to honour their financial obligations to the UN.

Discussions took place over three Council meetings held on 18 and 19 January, constituting the first stage of consideration of the position paper.

The Supplement details a wide range of issues, among them: the dramatic changes in the quantity and nature of activities in the field of peace and security since the Security Council Summit held on 31 January 1992, which had resulted in the Secretary-General's "An Agenda for Peace".

Other areas discussed were: UN instruments for conflict control and resolution, including preventive diplomacy and peacemaking; peace-keeping; post-conflict peace-building; sanctions; enforcement; disarmament; and the need for financial resources.

The failure of Member States to pay their assessed contributions for activities that they themselves had voted into being, the Secretary-General stressed, made it impossible to carry out those activities to the standard expected.

In its 22 February statement, the Council welcomed the Secretary-General's analysis of peace-keeping operations. It also urged him to strengthen Secretariat units dealing directly with sanctions, so that matters were addressed in an "effective, consistent and timely" manner.

The Council wanted appropriate measures taken to ensure that humanitarian supplies reached affected populations, and appropriate consideration given to submissions by third party States affected by special economic problems as a result of imposition of sanctions.

The Council encouraged continued study of options to improve UN capacity for rapid deployment and reinforcement of peace-keeping operations, including establishment of a comprehensive database to cover civilian and military resources. It strongly supported the Secretary-General's conclusion that such operations needed an effective information rapacity.

Addressing the issue of "microdisarmament", the Council shared concern over the negative consequences for international peace and security arising from the illicit traffic in conventional weapons, including small arms. The search for effective solutions to that problem should begin now, it was stated.

The vital importance of strict implementation of existing arms embargo regimes was stressed. Deep concern was expressed over the tremendous humanitarian problems caused by mines and other unexploded devices to populations of mine-infested countries.

A new breed of conflict

In his paper, the Secretary-General said that the fiftieth anniversary of the UN presented an opportunity to assess the successes and failures of its peace-keeping operations and new ways to overcome crises.

Most current conflicts were within States, fought by armies and irregular forces, with civilians as the main victims and many state institutions destroyed, he said. There were 5 operations in early 1988, only 1 of which concerned intra-State conflict. Since then, 21 had been established, 13 of them involving intra-State conflicts.

Those efforts had called for increasingly complex and expensive interventions, which went far beyond the more traditional cease-fire and buffer zone monitoring and control, he said.

The "new breed" of intra-State conflicts often involved humanitarian emergencies, which combatant authorities often lacked the capacity to address, the Secretary-General stated. For example, the number of refugees had increased from 13 million in 1987 to 26 million in 1994, with an even greater increase in the number of internally displaced persons.

With the complete collapse of state institutions, the UN was being called upon to promote national reconciliation and re-establish effective government, in addition to carrying out its humanitarian and military tasks.