A little more on the Ugandan Genocide

A short video I found on YouTube about the Ugandan Genocide. I will not tell you to enjoy it for obvious reasons, but I hope this will make you think that there are no boundaries for human suffering.

My Humble Proposal

It is important to consider certain patterns international conflicts usually tend to follow in order to make out a solution to the problem of the Security Council’s inequalities and the serious consequences this entails. It is noteworthy to say that an absolute majority of the conflicts since 1945 – and the casualties provoked by them –have occurred in the developing countries. Also, most confrontations have taken place in Asia and Africa. These two points are a clear evidence of the nature of these conflicts, which reveal that most are a result of the process of decolonization in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Political instability, economic backwardness, unsolved ethnic issues and poverty are common elements of the regions in which armed confrontations outbreak.

This may seem a very obvious observation at first sight. However, I believe that the problem with the way conflicts have been dealt until now is that most efforts have been put on solving highly volatile situations and minimizing the harm conflicts provoke. Instead, I consider these efforts must be focused on eliminating the underlying causes of conflicts: poverty, inadequate infrastructures, booty economies and political corruption, among others. I think what has been done until now is like treating a patient when is really sick: I believe it would be more effective to help him to be as healthy as possible.

The improvement in the condition of life in the countries of the developing world does not sound as a task for the Security Council. That is exactly the point. I believe that if the member states of the United Nations put more emphasis on organizations like the Economic and Social Council and its commissions and some of its specialized agencies, like the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Development Programme, among others, much of the problems that lead countries to war would be solved. At the same time, I consider that if this kind of organization had more influence the Security Council would not be an “obstacle” for the promotion of democracy at the world level. Sometimes people just remember that peace is the antonym of war, but they forget that peace is also a synonym for prosperity.

The humanitarian tragedy of Uganda

“It is a genocide that has been committed! More than 200,000 have been killed – and the international community is still deciding what ought to be done! I begged them [the Security Council] to send troops…Unfortunately, let me say with great humility, I failed. It is a scandal! I am the first one to say it, and I am ready to repeat it. It is a failure not only for the United Nations, it is a failure for the entire international community!”

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary General of the UN

Regrettable events, like genocides and mass killings of innocent people are the outcome of the structure of the Security Council. An eloquent example is what in happened in Rwanda between 1993 and 1994. In late 1993 the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) noticed that an extremist group of Hutus, one of the country’s main tribes, was preparing itself to attack the Tutsis, another ethnic group. In spite of these warnings, the Security Council did nothing to prevent the Hutus’ preparations for a general offensive. The members of the Security Council considered the country’s situation a minor affair. The genocide began on April 6, 1994. The first reaction of countries like Belgium was to evacuate its troops that were part from the UNAMIR from the country. After that the Security Council itself ordered the departure of most of the UNAMIR, leaving Rwanda helpless and lawless. Before the genocide started, there were 2,500 UNAMIR troops in Uganda; The number of troops after the bloodshed had ended was of 500.

The Security Council

As I studied International conflicts I began to find certain patterns. In most of the articles I read there was a point where the UN official stance was commented. Then I realized that in many cases the United Nations Security Council reaction to the conflicts was indeed part of the problem.

The United Nations Security Council is defined by the United Nations Charter, Chap. V, Art. 24 as the organism that has the “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.” This reveals the essential role of the Security Council inside the UN as the entity responsible of achieving one of the UN’s most important goals – after all, the United Nation’s first purpose, according the Chap. I, Art 1 of the Charter, is “To maintain international peace and security.” Thus, at the internal level, from the dozens of organization that comprise the UN, the Security is the only one directly responsible to undertake the tasks that give the UN a purpose. At the international level this means that from the 192 states members of the UN, only fifteen have a voice and a vote when it comes to face a conflicts. As we will see, from these fifteen states only five can make a real difference.

In order to understand the latter statement, we must look at the structure and composition of the United Nations Security Council:

Permanent Members (same since 1945)	Non Permanent Members (elected for 2 year terms)
People’s Republic of China	3 from Africa*
French Republic	2 from Latin America and the Caribbean
Russian Federation	2 from Asia*
United States of America	2 From Europe and other regions
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	* 1 Arab country must be included in the seats of one these regions

Table 1. Source: “UN Security Council”. United Nations. United Nations. 27 Oct. 2007. [http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/unsc_background.html].

The resolutions of the Security Council are decided by voting. Each member has one vote. When a procedural matter is being decided, at least nine of the fifteen members have to vote in favor. However, when it comes to important matters – the ones for which the Security Council was created for, such as the resolution of the United Nations in reaction to an international conflict – the system is quite different: these decisions are made by nine votes, which must include the votes of all the five permanent members. The Security Council itself calls this situation the rule of “great Power unanimity” (Security Council). This is what is usually known as the veto power of the permanent members – if just one of these countries does not vote affirmatively no important resolution can be made.

Thus, as its structure, functions and composition reveals, the UN is a rather undemocratic organization. The task to accomplish its most important goal and purpose (the prevention and resolution of conflicts among nations) is basically reserved to a single organization composed by a handful of states. At the same time, inside this organization even a more reduced group of states has a privileged position. Therefore, the interference of individual interests of these countries with the general purpose for which both the Security Council and the United Nations were created is inevitable.

Preface

I have always been interested in the events that for some reason affect my own life. This interest has never been reserved to the things that occur in my immediate surroundings, but also to the events that sometimes happen in distant places that have an impact on my personal reality. That is why a couple of years ago I decided that I would study something that had to do with International Relations.

For a Composition class this semester I had the great opportunity to select my own research topic. I chose as the subject of my analysis what the media had to say about International Conflicts. From that starting point I ended up creating this blog on the subject of the Reform of the United Nations Security Council. How - and why - did I pass from the very broad analysis of International Conflicts to supporting the very specific issue of the reform of the UNSC?

I will try to answer that and some other questions on this blog. I believe this is a very important, yet unknown cause that everyone should know about to some extent