Political will needed to bring lasting peace: UN
Wednesday, 30 Jul 2008 12:18
Genuine political will is required to achieve lasting peace the UN claims
Lasting peace after armed conflicts can only be achieved when there is genuine political will applied by the parties involved, the chief of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations has said.
Jean-Marie Guehenno told reporters in New York that peace can not be achieved by simply sending in UN forces.
"The notion that you can enforce a peace is wrong," he said.
"What you can do is deter spoilers on the margin of a conflict, but peace has to be made by those who made war," he said.
"You can help them – you can provide a measure of trust in that transition where they're tired of war but not yet convinced of the good intentions of the other side, and that's where a robust peacekeeping force can make a real difference – but you’re not going to impose peace with a UN force."
International peace keeping is fundamentally a political process, the outgoing peacekeeping chief said but called on countries not to stop their financial support for the UN missions.
"To the financial contributors, to those countries that pay the overwhelming percentage of our budget, I say don't cut on the missions – you'll make them more fragile and you can lose the whole investment," Mr Guehenno said.
"I have seen in a number of places, from Liberia to Haiti to Sierra Leone, that a difference was made – insufficient, imperfect – but a difference was made and I think it's important for the UN to be able to continue to make that difference… because for many people it’s their only hope and the UN is the institution of last resort."
Mr Guehenno is due to replaced as under-secretary of peacekeeping operations for the UN by Alain Le Roy after eight years in the role.