The future of the UN after Iraq

The UN cannot stay the same after Iraq. It is clear that Security Council can no longer keep up the illusion of a reliable guardian of the world peace and security. Croatia’s experience with the UN and Security Council reveals its weakness, indecisiveness and inconsistency. So, do we really need the UN or not? The UN represents the most important organization for global coordination. However, the changed circumstances meant a different treat to peace and security. The probability of global and interstate conflicts lessened, but the number of intrastate conflicts grew. Battles in the war against terrorism can be won by military power, but winning the war requires a global partnership. In the name of a new, more efficient UN, we should all make some compromises

Achieving stability in Southeast Europe

The article question the widespread belief in inherent instability and conflict potential of the southeast Europe. In fact southeast Europe is not necessarily more conflict-prone then the other parts of Europe. The origins of the 1990 conflict is further analysed by paying a special attention to the role of Serbia and structural make-up of the former SFRY. The position of the international community in the early stages of the conflict is further discussed in relation to the policy from Belgrade where the most notable was the initial inertia and lack of appropriate response of the international actors. The authors subsequently analysed the developments that lead to the outbreak of the Kosovo crisis with special emphasis on the policy of the international community toward the former SFRY republics. Future development in Europe and its prospects for full unification will depend on the common values such ad democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights, but also common prosperity. Any north-south and similar division will necessarily have the opposite effect

Do We Need the UN?

UN je na prekretnici. Trendovi u pogledu triju stupova na kojima počiva, mira i sigurnosti, razvoja, i ljudskih prava, negativni su. Riječ je o paradoksu: globalna koordinacija i upravljanje nikada nisu bili važniji – istodobno, UN nikada nije bio manje relevantan. UN očito treba bolje prilagoditi novim izazovima, ali, promijeniti njegovu Povelju je vrlo teško jer se za to traži dvotrećinska većina i suglasnost svih pet stalnih članica VS-a. Zato UN treba, koliko je god to moguće, pokušati reformirati putem inovativnih rješenja koja (premda ih izričito ne spominje) slijede duh Povelje, kao i kroz kreativnu interpretaciju njezinih odredaba te savjetodavna mišljenja Međunarodnog suda pravde. Bez obzira na kreativnost, to ipak ima ograničeni domet, te stoga treba razmišljati i o mogućnosti radikalne reforme UN-a, te alternativnim modelima globalne koordinacije i upravljanja, razraditi odgovarajuće prijedloge te nadati se da će se zvijezde ipak jednom posložiti za njihovo prihvaćanje.Current global trends related to the three pillars of the UN: peace and security, development and human rights are negative. There are more conflicts and they last longer, implementation of sustainable development goals has slowed, halted or reversed, and respect for human rights and rule of law are back tracking. We are witnessing a paradox: because of the strengthening of global interdependence, global coordination is more important than ever. At the same time, the impact of the UN never seemed to be weaker. Some problems of the UN are related to a lack of implementation of what has been already agreed upon, but this almost eighty-year-old organization should also be better adjusted to the changing environment, opportunities and threats. However, the reform of the UN is very difficult to achieve because of its Charter provisions require a two-thirds majority of member states and consensus of all five permanent members of the Security Council. Therefore, it seems useful to try to reform the UN by a creative interpretation of its Charter provisions through interpretative resolutions of the General Assembly and advisory opinions of the ICJ, as well as by introducing innovations that, although not envisaged in the text of the Charter, follow its spirit and goals. Although a more radical reform of the global regulation, including a change of the UN Charter, is difficult to achieve because of global divisions, we should keep trying and further develop plans for it, hoping that the stars may align for a big bang

UNTAES: A Case Study

The UN peacekeeping missions preceding the UNTAES, namely UNPROFOR and UNCRO were unsuccessful from various reasons: their political basis was ambiguous and many of the key elements of their mandates were never implemented. Authors point out that defining UNCRO’s principal aim as “achievement of a political solution” was inappropriate for a UN peacekeeping operation. In contrast to its predecessors, UNTAES was designed within a different political setting taking into account the change in the military balance and political circumstances that followed the Dayton Agreement. Its success was founded on achievable mandate, international support for the fulfilment of the mandate, domestic leadership, adept and pragmatic leadership of the mission and the existence of regional balance of powers. The authors conclude by classifying UNTAES as a very successful peacekeeping operation that fulfilled its mandate and aims and was followed by the UN Civilian Police Support Group and finally by the current mandate of the OSCE