If
War Is Not the Answer, What Is?: Policies for a More Secure
World
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To effectively address current
and future threats to peace and security, the U.S. needs
a new security strategy for the peaceful prevention
of deadly conflict. Such a strategy would reduce reliance
on 11th hour military responses to conflict and invest in
the development and early application of peaceful alternatives
to war. These alternatives include: |
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I.
International Cooperation and the Rule of Law
II.
Preventive Diplomacy and Peace Operations
III.
Arms Control and Disarmament
IV.
Human Rights and Good Governance
V.
Sustainable Development and Human Security
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I.
International Cooperation and the Rule of Law
Goal: Strengthen international law and multilateral
cooperation to address global threats to peace and security.
- Revoke the policy of "preemptive"
war;
- Support and strengthen the United Nations and other international
institutions working for the peaceful prevention and settlement
of conflicts;
- Work with the UN Security Council to address emerging conflicts
and threats to peace and security before they reach crisis
levels;
- Ratify the Rome Statute and support the International Criminal
Court in bringing human rights abusers and perpetrators of
crimes against humanity to justice, and
- Fulfill U.S. commitments under international treaties and
work cooperatively for the strengthening of international
law on arms control, human rights, the environment, and trade.
II.
Preventive Diplomacy and Peace Operations
Goal: Enhance the international community's
capacity to prevent the escalation of conflict, effectively
respond to emerging crises, and rebuild societies shattered
by war and conflict.
- Contribute annually to the UN's Trust Fund
for Preventive Action;
- Invest in research and training for national,
regional, and international early warning systems and early
response mechanisms;
- Support the use of preventive diplomacy, including
the use of mediation, arbitration, and confidence-building
measures to de-escalate tensions and resolve conflicts;
- Support the creation of new international
capacities for preventing and responding to conflict, including
a stand-by corps of conflict resolution and prevention experts,
as well as an international civilian police corps;
- Support and fund more effective civilian post-conflict
reconstruction initiatives, including reconciliation and restorative
justice programs.
III.
Arms Control and Disarmament
Goal: Reduce the threat of weapons of mass
destruction and the escalation of conflict by enhancing international
arms control and disarmament regimes.
- Renounce the first use of nuclear weapons,
prohibit the development of new nuclear weapons, and stop
the push for new nuclear testing in the U.S.;
- Ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty,
fulfill U.S. obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty,
and support the expansion of the Nunn-Lugar cooperative threat
reduction program;
- Strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention
and the Chemical Weapons Convention through enhanced monitoring
and inspections;
- Work to create zones free of weapons of mass
destruction in the Middle East and other regions;
- Support multilateral efforts, including the
UN small arms process, to limit the spread of weapons;
- Enhance U.S. and international arms export
controls, end U.S. military assistance to repressive regimes,
and work internationally to end weapons flows to regions of
conflict and abusive regimes.
IV.
Human Rights and Good Governance
Goal: Strengthen human rights and promote good
governance as foundations for stable, secure societies.
- Support active cooperation between the UN Office for the
High Commissioner on Human Rights and the Security Council's
Counter Terrorism Committee;
- Support the deployment of international human rights monitors
in situations of conflict and emerging crises;
- Uphold U.S. commitments under international humanitarian
law, including the protection of civilians in situations of
conflict;
- Ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child and work
to end the use of child soldiers;
- Ratify the Convention to End Discrimination Against Women
and support an increased role for women in conflict management
and peacebuilding, economic life, and the political arena;
- Support programs to strengthen civil society and promote
human rights awareness, democracy, transparency, accountability,
and peacebuilding, particularly in pre- and post-conflict
situations.
V.
Sustainable Development and Human Security
Goal: Address the root causes of violent conflict
by meeting basic human needs and promoting more equitable
use of world resources.
- Increase funding for programs to integrate conflict
prevention and peacebuilding within traditional development
assistance;
- Increase U.S. development assistance to the world's
poorest countries and work to ensure transparency and
accountability in aid distribution;
- Actively work to implement the UN Millennium Development
Goals, including halving global poverty by 2015, promoting
environmental sustainability, and creating a global
partnership for development to address issues of aid,
trade, and debt;
- Provide generous and effective U.S. funding--bilaterally
and through the UN--for the prevention and treatment
of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis in Africa and
other highly infected regions;
- Reduce U.S. dependence on oil by lowering consumption,
developing renewable sources of energy, and promoting
alternative modes of transportation;
- Work with the international community to make clean
water accessible and affordable for all.
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If War Is Not the Answer, What Is?
UN
Peace Operations & Inter-ethnic Community Building
Macedonia 1991-1999
"Conflict, including ethnic conflict, is not unavoidable
but can indeed be prevented. This requires, however, that
the necessary efforts be made."
-
Max van der Stoel, OSCE High Commissioner on National
Minorities, 1994
When
Macedonia declared its independence from the former Yugoslavia
in September 1991, the new republic faced steep challenges
in its efforts to establish autonomy and legitimacy. In
addition, the internal pressure of inter-ethnic tension
and the external pressure of war in neighboring Balkan
states provided clear warning signs of potential armed
conflict. Although in the past the UN had only deployed
peacekeeping missions to maintain cease-fires in post-conflict
situations, in December of 1992 the UN Security Council
voted to send peacekeeping troops to monitor the Serbian-Macedonian
border in an effort to prevent conflict from erupting.
International nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such
as Catholic Relief Services and Search for Common Ground
worked with local groups on inter-cultural communication
and sensitivity training. The Conference on Security and
Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) provided clear channels for
communication and transparency between the Macedonian
government and other government parties. Despite continued
tensions, sustained and multi-faceted efforts helped prevent
the spread of regional conflict in Macedonia for close
to a decade. Unfortunately, in 1999 the UN peacekeeping
mission was not renewed, and tensions reignited. |
Reviewed
09/07/2005
More on the Peaceful Prevention of Deadly Conflict
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