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VOLUNTARY BRIEFING
Preventive Diplomacy: A Russian Perspective
Russia’s position on the issue ofconflict prevention is founded on the acknowledgement of the principal and legitimate role of the UN Charter, the Security Council resolutions and international law in maintaining international peace and stability. We are convinced that the UN Security Council is the key instrument of international security. It is our firm belief that the principles and procedures of disputes and conflicts peaceful settlement as stipulatedin the UN Charter are also completely applicable to their prevention.
The importance of prevention of armed conflicts in compliancewith the goals and principles of the UN Charter was once again emphasized at the 2005 Summit in New Yorklast September. The leaders of more than 170 states who took part in the Summitreaffirmed their adherence to encouraging the culture of preventing armed conflicts as a means of effective resolution of complicated interconnected issues of security and development, as well as strengthening the UN potential in the sphere of crisis prevention.
Regional organizations (African Union, NATO, OAS, OSCE, CSTO, CIS, SCO) are playing evermore active role in the field of preventive diplomacy, promoting and maintainingpeace. The potential of the regional organizations in the sphere of armed conflicts prevention and peace maintenance is highlightedin the Final Document of the 2005 Summit.
The UN cooperation with one or several regional structures in crisis managementcan be quite diverse (information exchange, consultations, mutual visits of the working-level officials to the headquarters, joint personnel training and joint experts consultations on conflict prevention). On their part regional organizations provide support to a number ofUN efforts or undertakeseparate initiatives in peacekeeping. Regional organizations possessufficient potential in preventive diplomacy and peace managementproviding them opportunity to obtain positive results in this sphere. Thus delegating some responsibilities to the regional level seems to be quite expedient – on condition, of course, that the UN political prerogativesare maintained.
The experience of the UN peacekeeping is a clear evidence that preventing the outgrow of the crisis situations into armed conflicts is much more effective and preferable than traditional means – i.e. diffusing the crisesin the “hot spots” by peacekeepingoperations.
The key role in preventive diplomacy belongs to the UN. It possesses considerable potential and a wide arsenal of means preventing the disputes to transform into armed conflicts. At the same time we are convinced that the assistance to the member states should be confined only to voluntary contribution with strict observance of the noninterference principle.
We believe that the UN Charter empowers the Security Council with necessary authorityfor decision making, including decisions on the use of force in case of mass or rude violations of human rights being qualifiedby the Council as a threat to the international peace and security. If we manage to elaboratethe criteria of the use of force on the Council decision in such situations it would be most useful from the point of view of the functioningof the Council. At the same time there should not be any automatism in these actions. Every crisis or conflict situation must be evaluated in its essence.
A wide arsenal of means of conflictsettlement preventing the crises to transform into armed conflictswas developedwithin the framework of the UN. Among them we would like to emphasize the important role of the Security Council embargos on military supplies. The main objective here is to ensure their maximum effectiveness and their observance by all member states.
Russia attaches particular importance to the perfection of such meaningful instruments of conflictprevention as early warning systems, the utilization of the UN Secretary General potential, inclusive of “good offices” missions as well asvisits of special representatives of the Secretary General to the regions of high tensions, establishing fact-finding missions, the UN cooperation with regional organizations, more effective use of programsof disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatantsinto a peacekeeping environment.
When taking decisions by the UN on conflict prevention and settlement a military expertise and careful analysis of all available information is of utmost importance. One of the mechanisms of its upgrading is to use the potentials of the Military Staff Committee. Russia had been advocating its support to this idea for decades now. In particular we proposed to establish the MSC subsidiary agencies –regional subcommittees (on the UN Security Council decision)that would coordinate the peace keeping missions in various regions. Another proposal was to involve the UN Security Council non-permanent members providingpersonnel for peacekeeping operations to take part in the MCS’s activities.
A significant role in preventing the crises, their spill-over from one “hot spot” to another should be played by the Commission on peace-building formed at the end of 2005. The Commission as an intergovernmental consultative organ through cooperation with the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council will be involved into providing assistance to countries in overcomingthe consequences of the crises and the revival of state institutions, as well as on coordinating international efforts to insure stabilizing, economic and social recovery of countries and regions on their way out of the “hot” phase of the conflict. In particular, the Commission’s recommendations to the Security Council can contribute to the realization of programs aimed at reintegrating the former combatants to civil life, thus eliminating sources for recruiting combatants to other crisis spots.
Preventive actions to ensure peace also include deploying military contingents in the zone of an emerging conflict. Such operations are a kind of classical operations on peacekeeping, even though their conditions can differ significantly. In any case the actions of military contingents during the course of preventive deployment should strictly comply with the established practices of peacekeeping operations.
Deployment of military and/or police personnel in the course of preventive peacemaking actions together with relevant diplomatic actions, humanitarian measures can contribute to effective conflict settlement at its early stage. The purpose of deployment in this case can be a control over the developmentof the situation, its settlement, solving problems of refugees and internally displaced persons, etc.