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<text>
<title>
U.N. Efforts to Promote Russian Security and Stability
</title>
<article>
<hdr>
Foreign Policy Bulletin, May/June 1992
U.N. Peacekeeping And Aid To Russia. U.N. Peacekeeping Efforts
to Promote Security and Stability
</hdr>
<body>
<p>John R. Bolton--Assistant Secretary of State for International
Organization Affairs. Excerpts from Mr. Bolton's statement to
the Subcommittees on International Operations and on Human
Rights and International Organizations, House Foreign Affairs
Committee, March 25, 1992.
</p>
<p>Expansion of U.N. Peacekeeping
</p>
<p> The last two years have seen an explosion in U.N.
peacekeeping and peacemaking activities. Since last April alone,
the Security Council has created new peacekeeping missions in
the Persian Gulf, the Western Sahara, El Salvador, Cambodia, and
Yugoslavia. Indeed, the last four years have seen the creation
of more new U.N. peacekeeping operations than had been
undertaken in the previous forty-three years of the
organization's history.
</p>
<p> Why has U.N. involvement in peacekeeping expanded so
rapidly? The simplest answer is because the world has changed
so much. The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and in the
former Soviet Union has led to breathtaking changes in the
relations among countries and among peoples, most of which have
been for the good. They have not only brought freedom to
millions of individuals who lived under the yoke of tyranny but
will also lead to greater global prosperity and stability. Some
changes have, however, been pernicious and have led to the open
expression of long pent-up hatreds. In varying degrees, these
regional conflicts damage U.S. interests and impact on our
national security.
</p>
<p> Overall, these changes in the world order have tremendously
increased the importance of the U.N.'s peacekeeping role. With
the end of the Cold War, the Security Council is finally able
to carry out the chief duty entrusted to it by the founders of
the United Nations--the preservation of international peace
and security. No longer do animosities between the Soviet Union
and the Western members prevent the council from taking action
to resolve threats to the global peace.
</p>
<p> Now, the members of the council work together effectively to
address international problems which would have been allowed to
fester a few short years ago. In case after case, the Security
Council finds solutions to problems which once seemed
intractable. Those solutions are frequently imperfect, and they
always cost money. They do, however, usually prevent the
expansion of conflict, have saved countless thousands of lives,
and cost much less than direct U.S. involvement.
</p>
<p> The end of the Cold War has not only made the Security
Council a more effective institution for addressing threats to
international peace, it has also meant that regional conflicts
which were fueled by superpower rivalry are now ripe for
resolution. In countries as diverse as Angola, El Salvador, and
Cambodia, communist governments and guerrilla movements have
realized that they can no longer count on outside support and
must make peace. Given the long history of animosity, people in
such countries naturally look for an impartial arbiter as they
try to make the transition to a system incorporating all
sectors of society. In many cases, the United Nations becomes
that arbiter.
</p>
<p> As I have mentioned above, the collapse of communism in
Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union, coupled with rapid
democratization throughout the Third World, has had some
undesirable side effects. Religious and ethnic animosities long
crushed under the dictator's boot heel are now coming to the
fore. Yugoslavia has already fallen apart because of such
tensions; unrest is also palpable in various portions of the
former Soviet Union. In some cases, the world community will be
forced to turn to the United Nations to try to help cool things
down.
</p>
<p> New U.N. peacekeeping activities confront daunting obstacles
to fulfilling their mandates. Each individual case presents
unique logistical, financial, and underlying political
problems. For example:
</p>
<p> Cambodia. In Cambodia, the United Nations is beginning to
implement its most ambitious peacekeeping effort to date--UNTAC [U.N. Transitional Authority in Cambodia]. Issues of
immediate importance include establishing as soon as possible
a viable, nationwide U.N. presence, initiating priority
de-mining and infrastructural improvements essential for timely
repatriation; preparing to demobilize as many of the factional
forces [as] possible (at least 70 percent); and, finally,
creating the conditions for free and fair elections. No less
important is identifying sources to fund U.N. activities,
especially an urgent need for accommodation, transportation,
communication, and other support equipment and services.
</p>
<p> Yugoslavia. On February 21, 1992, the Security Council
established a U.N. Protection Force for Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR).
U.N. estimates project a force of around 14,000 at a cost of
close to $640 million the first year. Security Council members
have expressed concern over the high costs on UNPROFOR and
authorized the dispatch to Yugoslavia of an advance mission to,
inter alia, look at ways of reducing costs and creating the
conditions necessary for UNPROFOR's full deployment. UNPROFOR
will be charged with demilitarizing the three UN-protected
areas within Croatia and overseeing the civil and police
administration of those areas.
</p>
<p> El Salvador. The UN Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL)
was created May 20, 1991. ONUSAL's original mandate was to
verify compliance with the San Jose agreement on human rights.
The Security Council expanded ONUSAL January 14, 1992, to
include separate peacekeeping (military) and police contingents.
There have been accusations on the part of the Government of El
Salvador that the FMLN [Farabundo Marti Liberation Front] has
violated provisions of the peace agreement on declaring its
arms inventories, land seizures, and prompt entry into the zones
of concentration. On the other hand, FMLN charges the
government with trying to retain former paramilitary police
units that it promised to disband. We are looking into
allegations by both parties and are working closely with ONUSAL
to ensure that the process not lose momentum.
</p>
<p> ONUSAL was able to deploy rapidly because its human rights
unit had been in El Salvador since mid-1991 and because it
inherited all resources, including military officers and
equipment, belonging to the U.N. Observer Mission in Central
America (ONUCA), which was dissolved shortly after ONUSAL/PK's
[Peacekeeping] creation. ONUSAL has had problems, however, in
recruiting sufficient numbers of qualified police officers.
</p>
<p> Western Sahara. Although 185 U.N. cease-fire monitors
deployed in the Western Sahara September 6, 1991, to observe
the cease-fire between Morocco and the POLISARIO [Popular
Liberation Front for Rio de Oro and Saguia El Hamra], the formal
deployment of the MINURSO [U.N. Mission in Western Sahara]
peacekeeping contingent to conduct a referendum has been delayed
because of the inability of the two parties to agree on the
criteria to be used in selecting voters. The Secretary General
has asked that the Security Council grant him until the end of
May to resolve all outstanding impediments to the deployment of
MINURSO.
</p>
<p> Somalia. The Security Council approved last week the
dispatch of a technical team to Somalia to discuss with all the
warring factions the modalities of providing U.N. cease-fire
observers and the effective distribution of humanitarian relief.
The technical team must deal with the fact that there are many
more opposing factions in Somalia than the two Mogadishu-based
ones with which the United Nations has heretofore dealt. The
team must also confront the fact that there has not yet been a
respected cease-fire despite numerous agreements brokered either
through regional or U.N. efforts. To