ELEMENTS OF COLLECTIVE SECURITY & THE EFFICACY OF THE UNITED NATIONS. THE YUGOSLAV & SOMALI EXPERIENCES

Abstract

The goal of establishing the collective-security-system is not just fiscal expediency, but also to shape a world that is more than an agglomeration of states, and a principled community. Any nation within the international system that commits aggression, imperils the peace, or grossly exceeds the bounds of civilized behaviour, violates the norms of the collective-security-system. The Security-Council of the United-Nations established in 1945 is vested with the responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. However, the world has witnessed two world-wars and many inter/intra state wars, which have claimed many lives. Irrespective of the arrangements made under the League-of-Nations; which obviously failed, and the United-Nations, conflict continues to be a scourge which raises its ugly head in virtually all continents of the world. Even the end of the cold-war has not guaranteed permanent peace. Using the Yugoslav and Somali experiences as case studies, this work takes a more realistic view of the intrinsic nature of the present-day international-system and a reexamination of the elements of an ideal collective-security-system with a view to enhancing the efficacy of the UN in the realization of international peace and security. Data collection was through content analysis and analysed using the quantitative chi-square scientific method. Findings revealed that there is no significant relationship between the resolution of the Yugoslav and Somali crises, and the application of the elements of the collective-security-mechanism, that the UN consciously or unconsciously presented itself as an instrument for attaining the strategic objective of a mega power – the U.S, and that there is a total disconnect between the elements of collective-security & the UN outing in the Yugoslav & Somali crises. For countries to trust collective-security, they have to know it works well enough to safeguard their security. Therefore, the work recommends a critical reform of the working hypothesis of the UNSC, by building into the system devices and innovations that could constrain member States from paralysing the system by arbitrary actions. Collective enforcement operations must be fully accountable to the Security-Council, and should be representative. Also, establishment of a UN military academy without friends or foes and with a new philosophy of universal peace, honour, justice unfettered, and security for all. Adoption of a wider scope of the concept of aggression to include indirect aggression in the form of sabotages, economic aggression, and other forms of pressure, initiated by the powerful states, aimed at bringing the weaker states under the subjugation of the world mega-powers. The work concludes that even the legitimacy of the humanitarian intervention or the use of military force by individual states must conform to the norms of the UN-Charter. The UN is not; in any way, irrelevant. Indeed it remains the only body with sufficient legitimacy to pull the world back from the chasm of lawlessness that it is yet again looking down into. The UN should therefore, not compromise its laws and principles in the face of increasing violence committed by states (powerful or not) as well as non-state actors.