Speaking at a Security Council’s hearing on Violence Extremism earlier in the week, the President of the United Nations Security Council for the month of August and Nigerian Permanent Representative, Professor Joy Uche Ogwu, pointed to emerging threats including environmental hazards, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and terrorism to demonstrate the need for collective action to maintain global peace and security.
She disclosed Nigeria’s readiness to join forces with the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, France, and the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, to decisively fight violent extremism which is said to be disturbing global peace and development.
“Regional organizations were now often the first respondents to crises, and brought a deeper understanding of the dynamics on the ground. ECOWAS was particularly active in security matters, among other organizations in her sub-region, dealing with a range of issues from Ebola to Boko Haram” she said stressing that regional organizations also addressed forced displacement, food insecurity, the demobilization of child soldiers and other burdens on national governments.
Ambassador Ogwu further emphasized that in meeting such challenges, those arrangements were also able to enlist the partnership of non-governmental organizations. She noted that it was critical to ensure that comparative advantages of organizations were harnessed, as shown by the triangular cooperation among the United Nations, the European Union and the African Union. “Such bridges must continue to be built, in a world that was ravaged by crises” she added.
In his own briefing, Mr. David Pressman of the United States said the partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations had become all the more important amid the growing complexity of international threats. He continued that regional and sub-regional organizations as neighbours were better positioned to identify and address challenges, adding that peacekeeping was also premised on the principle that those farther removed were more effective in addressing challenges.
Pressman also noted that there appeared to be an increasing bifurcation of political and peacekeeping processes, stressing that division of labour had positive and negative aspects. “On South Sudan, the United Nations had deferred to the regional political process, which had failed. The Council needed to step in to advance the process there and hold perpetrators accountable. Where the Council had authorized regional organizations to act, it needed to ensure proper resourcing, as well as accountability on the basis of common standards” he charged.
Mr. Alexis Lamek of France said that regional organizations played an increasingly important role in managing emerging crises, conflict prevention and peace-building. He noted that such efforts were most effective when done in conjunction with other organizations just as he welcomed the growing cooperation among the European Union, the Africa Union and the United Nations, which he described in detail.
He endorsed the recommendations of the Secretary-General and the High-level Panel for improving such cooperation, and added that the examples of Mali and the Central African Republic showed the importance of early arrangements to deal with emerging crises. In addition, he maintained that sustainable mechanisms for support of regional efforts must be developed.
Representing Chad, Mahamat Zene Cherif said the changing nature of current threats such as terrorism, proliferation, trans-border crimes and pandemics necessitated growing cooperation among States and regions. He added that regional organizations were the only bodies to provide solutions to insecurity in its various forms, a reality recognized by the United Nations Charter.
Speaking further, the Chadian official said the United Nations alone could not expect to work everywhere all the time, stressing that the African Union was a key partner, which deserved support. “Furthermore, cooperation among sub-regional organizations had facilitated swift responses to crises” he noted.
Mr. Cherif however charged the United Nations to strengthen its strategic partnership with the African Union by, among other things, ensuring predictable and reliable availability and disbursement of resources for African peacekeepers. “Given the transcontinental nature of current security challenges, capacity-building support for rapid-deployment forces assumed greater importance. Civil society, including women and youth groups, should be supported as part of the overarching objective of bolstering peace and security” he said.
In his own reaction, Mr. Peter Wilson of the United Kingdom said that the relationship with regional organizations was an important structural challenge for the United Nations, as security issues could not be tackled by one organization alone, particularly in Africa. He added that Somalia represented an example of fruitful collaboration, while in South Sudan, much more had to be done.
His words: “With all regional organizations, comparative advantages must be harnessed, substantive and early dialogue on any situation must be conducted between the Council and regional organizations, and sustainable ways of funding operations and the provision of other support must be developed. Briefings from those on the ground were invaluable. The ability of the Council to meet its heavy responsibilities would be greatly enhanced with improved arrangements with regional organizations”
Mr. Peter Iliichev of the Russian Federation reiterated his country’s call to expand the partnership between the United Nations and regional organization, stressing that such partnership should be based on the principles and purposes of the Charter, in order to strengthen the legitimacy of collective action.
Noting successes on the ground attained through cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union, as well as with subregional organizations, he said that cooperation should be strengthened to prevent crises. He also voiced concern at the threat posed by Boko Haram, saying that assistance should be based on the support of the countries concerned.
Mr. Liu Jieyi who represented China at the hearing said the United Nations was at the core of the international security mechanism; the Council had the primary responsibility of maintaining peace and security. “However, terrorism, natural disasters, epidemics and other non-traditional threats had necessitated greater cooperation among nations at regional and sub-regional levels” he said, urging the United Nations to encourage regional organizations to resolve conflicts and promote peace and security based on the United Nations Charter, particularly respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Earlier in his own address, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, said the United Nations increasingly shares responsibility for peace and security with regional organizations, saying: “We should do everything possible to help them resolve regional problems and to include the States concerned in solutions. At the same time, regional organizations should continue contributing to United Nations peace and security efforts.”
Outlining the recently delivered recommendations of the High-level Panel on Peace Operations, Mr. Ban called for stronger global-regional partnership to ensure that the Security Council could draw on a more resilient and capable network of actors. “Existing trilateral cooperation among the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union must be built upon to boost collective ability to manage, plan and execute peace operations in Africa” he noted. Different forms of engagement with other organizations should be considered as well, he said, naming the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Collective Security Organization (CSTO) of the League of Arab States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
