Since 1945, there has been enormous increase of African states in the UN, this have showed a marked significance in two ways, first it exposed Africa to the international politics after so many years of slavery, in another way Africa could be an actor in the international relations rather than an object. Secondly the representation of African states in the general assembly and creation of African (regional) non permanent members in the Security Council implies that African issues can now receive international recognition.
The most contentious issues were those that were caused by colonialism, apartheid, cold war, great powers interference with states sovereignty and international economy in relation to African development. These issues not only happen in Africa but also in other developing countries though they have been felt in Africa more than any other developing countries because of their persistence. It's in Africa where the relics of colonialism remained through the three decades of UN. Due to low economic growth and lack of basic services, African states have given economic issues more priority to diplomatic activities in UN and in other international fora. The UN had acted as a refuge by all African government; as a body that might help restructure their socio-economic development. The participation of African states in the UN should not be viewed not only in accordance to the UNs objectives but also through the UN’s theoretical assumptions, however affect the way in which specific objectives can be realized or proven within the structure of the UN/org.
The UN has been viewed by all African governments as a body which might significantly contribute to the socio-economic development of their countries. The role of African states in the UN cannot be viewed mainly from the point of view of the objectives sought and the mechanisms utilized in pursuant of these goals. Account must also be taken of the underlying theoretical assumptions behind the establishment of the UN. These assumptions more or less affect the extent to which particular objectives can be realized within the framework of the organization whose primary purpose was to maintain peace and security could not ignore the dimensions of power and it's role in the international relations. The organization was not to operate as a democratic institution capable of making binding decisions on the basis of majority vote; instead the decision of the most important organ of the UN, the Security Council, could require the affirmative vote of the nine members including the concurring vote of the 5 members of the Security Council. This veto provision in the charter gave recognition to the importance of power and military capability as the key factors in international politics.
Actually the veto power just shows the impact great powers have in terms of socio-economic and technological developments, in addition to their military capabilities. This does not conform to the operational code of the UN whereby all member states should participate in the decision making instead the great powers only make the decisions armed with the lethal sword of "veto".
In relation to politics, Africa’s intercourse with UN started to show signs of mistrust during the so called Congo crisis 1960-1964, which later coincided with the shift of UN’s perceived role of the organization in crisis situations. This new shift resulted to preventive diplomacy and was considered as a substitute of enforcement action or collective military action under Security Council auspices. Preventive diplomacy was considered as a strategy of crisis management which aimed at inter-policing UN military and or political personnel between disputants with a view to preventing both the escalation of conflicts and possible intervention by the superpowers. The central thrust of preventive diplomacy was to quarantine local conflict situation and to insulate them from superpower meddling.
The Security Council lacks credibility and institutional responsibility to effectively address the contemporary international security issues.
No comments:
Post a Comment