NO PARTICULAR REGION SHOULD BE GIVEN A PRE-EMINENT POSITION IN PEACEKEEPING, FOURTH COMMITTEE TOLD

Press Release
GA/SPD/145

NO PARTICULAR REGION SHOULD BE GIVEN A PRE-EMINENT POSITION IN PEACEKEEPING, FOURTH COMMITTEE TOLD

No particular region should be given a pre-eminent position in peacekeeping, nor should any have its own brigade designated as a United Nations Brigade to the exclusion of others, the representative of Pakistan said this afternoon as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its review of peacekeeping operations.

He said that the Secretariat continued to give the impression that the proposed Multinational United Nations Stand-by Forces High Readiness Brigade (SHIRBRIG) was a United Nations Brigade. That was factually incorrect. The Secretariat must issue the necessary clarifications to set the record straight.

He also said the presence of United Nations peacekeepers had been vital in maintaining peace and security in South Asia. However, the failure of the international community to fulfil its commitments to the people of Jammu and Kashmir had brought India and Pakistan to a flashpoint early this year. If there could be a solution to protracted conflicts in South Africa and Ireland, then why not in Kashmir? he asked.

The representative of New Zealand said the ability of the United Nations to effectively mount and manage peacekeeping operations under its control was threatened. The serious arrears problem had delivered a body-blow to the Organization's ability to embark on new collective security operations. Budgetary constraints resulting from the arrears burden weighed heavily upon the Security Council's decision-making, he noted.

He stressed that a soundly structured Department of Peacekeeping Operations was fundamental to the ability of the United Nations to manage peacekeeping operations effectively. Noting that the conflicts which confronted the world today were often the result of complex internal struggles, he said there might not be unanimity among Member States on the appropriate response by the international community. Even when there was wide agreement, solutions were not clear-cut and mandates proved difficult to formulate.

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The representative of Haiti asked why the world should wait for another genocide to occur. The experience in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was an example of how preventive measures worked. While it was true that such preventive missions should respect State sovereignty and territorial integrity, State sovereignty must also take into account the sovereignty of the people as a whole. Whether it was a tribe oppressing another tribe, or a majority oppressing a minority, the world could not stand aside while the situation degenerated into a holocaust.

The representative of Japan said that so far this year the number of United Nations civilian staff members killed in the line of duty exceeded that of military personnel. The early entry into force of the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel would send a clear signal that the international community would not tolerate a culture of impunity. The Convention would provide a legal framework for bringing to justice those responsible for criminal attacks against United Nations personnel.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Tunisia, Nepal, Israel, Viet Nam, Kazakhstan, Mozambique, Fiji, Algeria, Romania, Norway, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Korea, Brazil (on behalf of the MERCOSUR and associated countries), Venezuela and Georgia.

The Fourth Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. tomorrow, 4 November, to conclude its review of peacekeeping operations.

Committee Work Programme

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met this afternoon to continue its debate on the comprehensive review of peacekeeping operations.

(For background on documents before the Committee, see Press Release GA/SPD/144 of 2 November and GA/SPD/143 of 29 October.)

Statements

MASAKI KONISHI (Japan) said that so far this year, the number of United Nations civilian staff members killed in the line of duty exceeded that of military personnel. It was imperative that the international community pursue ways of enhancing the safety of all United Nations personnel -- both military and civilian -- in order to maintain the effective functioning and timely deployment of peacekeeping operations. The safety of United Nations personnel was the responsibility of host countries and the parties to conflict. The Security Council was urged to explicitly request the parties to conflicts to carry out their fundamental responsibility of ensuring the safety and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel. Japan was gratified that the recent Security Council resolution 1202 (1998) on the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) had referred specifically to the safety of all United Nations and international humanitarian personnel.

He said that the adequacy of the international legal framework for protecting personnel must be recognized. In that regard, the early entry into force of the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel was very important, since it would send a clear signal that the international community would not tolerate a culture of impunity. The Convention would provide a legal framework for bringing to justice those responsible for criminal attacks against United Nations personnel. As of today, only one additional signatory was required in order for the Convention to come into effect. Since the problem would not be eliminated simply with the adoption of a legal instrument, it was necessary for the United Nations to consider practical ways of enhancing the security of United Nations personnel on the ground.

Consideration should be given to the demobilization of former combatants and the collection of arms, he said. In order to facilitate those efforts, a detailed demobilization plan and concrete projects for the collection of surplus arms should be integral to any peace process. Stemming illicit arms flows would significantly improve the security of personnel. The appropriate training of personnel was yet another important means of minimizing security risks on the ground. Information sharing could also be an effective means of enhancing the security of United Nations personnel on the ground. Coordinated efforts should be made by the United Nations, its specialized agencies and

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related organizations working in a particular region to collect and share information regarding the security situation in that region.

Regarding the relationship between peacekeeping personnel and the local population, he said past experience had taught that the security of peacekeeping operation personnel was enhanced, albeit indirectly, when the local population understood that the purpose of the United Nations operation was the promotion of a peaceful settlement. Recognizing the importance of effective public information efforts with respect to United Nations peacekeeping operations, Japan had made a contribution to the trust fund created for that purpose, and planned to make an additional contribution in the near future.

MOHAMED SALAH TEKAYA (Tunisia), also associating his delegation with the statement made on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said that recently, peacekeeping operations had seen remarkable developments and were now confronting new challenges. Nevertheless, they had demonstrated their ability to adapt. It was vital that peacekeeping operations be in conformity with the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter -- sovereignty, territorial integrity, the political independence of States, non-interference in domestic affairs, impartiality and the non-use of force except in legitimate self- defence.

He said it was important to ensure that the creation and continuation of a peacekeeping operation not be prevented by financial reasons. Troop- contributing countries should be paid in time in order to ensure the proper financing of peacekeeping operations. Equally, Tunisia regretted the frequent delays in compensating wounded soldiers and the families of those killed while serving on peacekeeping missions.

While the United Nations remained the cornerstone of peacekeeping and security in the world, regional organizations could make an important contribution, as shown by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), he said. That regional body's conflict prevention mechanism had demonstrated the will of African States to carry out preventive diplomacy. Moreover, initiatives towards strengthening Africa's capacity for conflict resolution must be set within parameters decided by the African States themselves.

KAMAL RAJ SHRESTHA (Nepal) said his country associated itself with the statement made previously by Jordan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. Nepal welcomed the recent decision of the Secretary-General to establish a minimum age for deployment with contingent troops for peacekeeping and for deployment as military observers and civilian police monitors.

Regardless of the change in the context, nature and mandate of any peacekeeping missions of the United Nations, he said, there were certain time- tested principles which must be scrupulously observed. These principles were:

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impartiality, State consent, non-interference and respect for a State's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Another prerequisite for the success of any peacekeeping operation was a clear mandate, backed by adequate resources.

International peace and security would suffer if the United Nations did not develop its capacity to deploy peacekeeping missions on time and when they were needed most, he said. That was the idea behind the Standby Arrangement System -- to enhance the rapid-response capacity of the Organization. Nepal was prepared to provide up to 2,000 troops, including medical and engineering units, military observers and headquarters staff, and up to 200 civilian police monitors, to be at the call of the United Nations within a minimum response time.

DAVID ZOHAR (Israel) said his country was presently engaged in an arduous and historic process -- that combined peacemaking with peace-building -- with all its neighbours. Despite the absence of an official United Nations definition of peacekeeping, there existed empirical definitions that usually served the purpose. However, experience had shown that sometimes peacekeeping solutions had to be found outside the United Nations framework, for example in the case of the multinational force and observers unit set up in the Sinai Desert in 1982 as a consequence of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Since no agreement could be reached in the Security Council, Egypt and Israel, with the United States as witness, had agreed upon that multinational alternative to United Nations peacekeeping.

NGO QUANG XUAN (Viet Nam) said his country associated itself with the statement made by Jordan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. United Nations peacekeeping operations were not, by themselves, solutions to conflicts, and should not be used as a substitute for addressing the root causes of conflict.

Noting the downsizing trend of peacekeeping operations in recent years, he said peacekeeping activities remained an important tool for the United Nations in maintaining international peace and security. Moreover, Viet Nam recognized the important role played by the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, and welcomed its enlargement. The Special Committee was the only competent forum with the mandate to comprehensively review the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects. Durable peace was dependent on the elimination of inequities. Peacekeeping operations, even within a multi-sectoral framework, must aim to solve conflicts by peaceful means and could not be a substitute for sustained economic growth and development.

AKMARAL ARYSTANBEKOVA (Kazakhstan) noted that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations had been able to achieve a considerable expansion in the number of participants in the standby arrangements system and that, thanks to its constant efforts, that system now included 74 States, the fifty-first

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participant being Kazakhstan. The agreement reached with participants in the arrangements to assign more than 100,000 men for use in peacekeeping activities might be qualified as an undoubted success in that respect. The progress achieved in strengthening the standby arrangements system was one of the first results of the implementation of the recommendations put forward by the Secretary-General with respect to attracting potential troop-contributing countries to participate in peacekeeping operations.

She said that at the same time, in order to expand the potential capabilities of the standby arrangements system and increase the effectiveness of utilization of existing capacity, it would be desirable to pay greater attention to the possibilities of those States which had only recently joined the standby arrangements system. That applied to the area of procurement activity, to seeking out and attracting additional troop-contributing countries, to improving the practice of providing them with timely information and to other issues relating to the system.

In that context, she said, Kazakhstan agreed with the conclusions of the Special Committee regarding the need to give full consideration to all offers from Member States with respect to possible participation in peacekeeping operations and to keep them expeditiously informed of the conditions for participation in all phases of peacekeeping operations. Efforts made by the Special Committee to expand the roster and geographical base of qualified suppliers to meet the needs of United Nations peacekeeping operations, including participants in the standby arrangements system, deserved approval and support.

AHMAD KAMAL (Pakistan) said his country associated itself with the statement made by Jordan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. Pakistan had continued to be a beneficiary of one of the oldest peacekeeping operations -- the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP). The presence of the United Nations peacekeepers had been a vital mitigating factor in the maintenance of peace and security in South Asia. In view of the heightening tensions in the region in recent months, Pakistan had requested, among other things, that the Secretary-General should further strengthen the United Nations presence along the Line of Control for effectively monitoring the cross-border violations along the disputed territory of Kashmir.

The pitfalls of undertaking peacekeeping operations half-heartedly were enormous, he said. The Jammu and Kashmir dispute was a case in point. The failure of the international community to fulfil its commitment to the people of Jammu and Kashmir had brought India and Pakistan to a flashpoint early this year. Though UNMOGIP was established fifty years ago, no determined and sustained efforts were made by the United Nations to resolve the root causes of conflict between India and Pakistan over the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. A host of Security Council resolutions on the question remained unimplemented. If there could be a solution to protracted conflicts in South Africa and

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Ireland, then why not in Kashmir? The United Nations must demonstrate enough political will in seeking a solution to that conflict.

The Secretariat continued to give the impression that the proposed initiative of the Multinational United Nations Stand-by Forces High Readiness Brigade was a part of the United Nations Standby Arrangements, he said. The recent report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization referred to the Brigade as a United Nations Brigade. That was factually incorrect. The Secretariat must issue necessary clarifications on a priority basis in order to put the record straight. No particular region should be given a pre-eminent position in peacekeeping, nor should any particular region have its own brigade designated of the United Nations Brigade to the exclusion of others.

CARLOS DOS SANTOS (Mozambique), associating himself with the statement made on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said that preventive action through preventive diplomacy and preventive deployment might be rendered viable if undertaken in close coordination and cooperation with established regional organizations and mechanisms. The United Nations should provide support to regional arrangements in order to create and strengthen their capacity, thus enabling them to respond immediately to affected areas.

Experience in Mozambique and elsewhere had demonstrated that peacekeeping operations played an important role in creating an enabling environment for the establishment of durable peace, he said. But in order for the operations to be effective and successful, they had to be carried out promptly when required, without undue bureaucracy and delays. A lost opportunity might be very hard to recover. Mozambique was therefore deeply concerned by the reduction of the peacekeeping budget. Political will should be matched by the necessary resources.

He said that promoting sustainable development was key in solving conflicts and it was an essential contribution towards durable peace and security. There could be no durable international peace and security as long as more than a quarter of the world's population remained in extreme poverty. The Secretary-General's report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa was very revealing and its recommendations should guide Member States as they sought solutions. Member States should give United Nations peacekeeping operations their unconditional support. Action must be taken now in order to save lives and give hope to future generations.

POSECI W. BUNE (Fiji) said the United Nations must institute yearly changes to fine-tune all aspects of peacekeeping operations. The report of the Special Committee was, in that regard, most commendable. Fiji endorsed the importance of early planning and coordination of peacekeeping and other mandated activities in order to reduce the risk of resumption of conflict and

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contribute to creating conditions most conducive to reconciliation, reconstruction and recovery. In fact, his country considered post-conflict programmes to be vital to any lasting and secure solution.

Fiji supported a comprehensive international demining programme to clear the millions of landmines planted in various parts of the world, and welcomed the formation of the United Nations Mine Action Service, he said. Moreover, Fiji reiterated its call to the General Assembly to establish a special unit to pursue action in conflict prevention and conflict resolution. The unit, in collaboration with competent countries and authorities, should work to contain, minimize and resolve such conflicts in collaboration with Member States.

NACERDINE SAI (Algeria), associating himself with the statement made on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said his country had always expressed a desire and willingness to cooperate in international peacekeeping. Its troops had participated in the mission in Cambodia and had sent military observers to Angola as well as civilian police to Haiti. But most importantly, Algeria was at present involved in the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The United Nations Secretariat, especially the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, was aware of the size of Algeria's contribution towards the success of that mission since its deployment in 1991.

Algeria was preparing to sign a convention with the United Nations on the placement of peacekeeping troops in the northern part of its territory parallel to Western Sahara, he said. There remained many steps for the United Nations to take in order to transcend the many obstacles standing in the way of a political resolution to be adopted by the Security Council on the issue of Western Sahara.

He said Algeria supported the standby arrangements and hoped the system would become an effective means of facilitating the deployment of United Nations troops in the shortest possible time. Algeria also supported the Stand-by Force High Readiness Brigade, but affirmed the misgivings expressed by certain Non-Aligned Movement countries. Algeria reaffirmed the need for a fair geographical representation in the composition of the Brigade.

Regarding the statement made previously by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, he said Algeria welcomed the initiatives of the United Nations to reinforce African capacity to keep the peace under Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter. The OAU had a role to play in performing certain peacekeeping missions at the continental level. But the United Nations had the primary role to play in maintaining peace and security in the world, including Africa.

ALEXANDRU NICULESCU (Romania) said his country agreed with the statement made previously by Austria on behalf of the European Union and associated

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States. Romania considered it essential for the United Nations to continue its efforts to maintain international peace and security. The recent establishment of two new peacekeeping operations, the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA) and the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL), with mandates that illustrated the complex character of the new generation of such operations, would strengthen the conviction that there would be a need in the future for peacekeeping and humanitarian missions.

Despite the inherent difficulties of the transition process to a market economy, he said, Romania had fulfilled its financial obligations towards the Organization, including all peacekeeping operations' budgets. Romania hoped that Member States in arrears would do their utmost to discharge their outstanding financial obligations. In that context, his country fully supported those delegations which had expressed concerns about the diversion of peacekeeping funds to other areas.

OLE PETER KOLBY (Norway) said his country believed that demobilizing former combatants and collecting small arms should be considered for inclusion in future mandates for United Nations peacekeeping operations. Moreover, it was important to increase the role and number of women at all decision-making levels in the United Nations. It was necessary to appoint more women to leadership positions in the Secretariat, and governments should recruit more women to peacekeeping operations.

Any serious organization operating in a complex and changing environment must increase its capacity for organizational learning, he said. Norway had from the outset supported the Lessons Learned Unit. However, that task was too important to be dependent on voluntary contributions. Norway emphasized the important work done by the United Nations training assistance teams, he said. Those teams made it possible for new countries in the field of peacekeeping to benefit from the experiences of more seasoned countries. Two of the most pressing remaining challenges to peacekeeping operations were the need to improve effective multifunctional planning and coordination, and the need to improve the ability to respond rapidly to crisis. The Rapidly Deployable Mission Headquarters was an important tool in that regard.

SLOBODAN TASOVSKI (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) said a number of acute and potential conflicts in different parts of the world remained, and thus the efforts by the United Nations in finding peaceful settlements had been enormous. His country acknowledged that the consultations between the troop contributors and the Security Council were essential, and commended the efforts of the Secretary-General to strengthen cooperation in international security between the United Nations and regional organizations.

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On 26 September, an agreement had been signed in Skopje for the establishment of a multinational peace force in southeastern Europe, he said. Seven countries of the region: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania and Turkey, as well as two observer States, Slovenia and the United states, had reached an agreement to contribute to the strengthening of peace and stability in the region and in Europe in general.

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia stressed the important role of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) in the maintenance of stability and peace in the region, he said. The security environment in the region in the post-Dayton era remained, and was becoming, exceptionally fragile. The UNPREDEP presence remained an important factor of stability and support to the peace process. The Mission was generally viewed by the international community as one of the most successful missions of the United Nations.

SUH DAE-WON (Republic of Korea) said that in some areas where the peace process was stalled because of the intransigent attitudes of conflicting parties, a sense of "peacekeeping fatigue phenomenon" could be felt by the international community. However, it was necessary to maintain the momentum and vitality of peacekeeping operations by adapting them to multidimensional tasks. The Republic of Korea welcomed the recommendation of the Special Committee, which underlined the necessity to protect humanitarian assistance in conflict situations. That was an urgent issue given the recent disturbing trend of decreased respect for international humanitarian norms and increased attacks against humanitarian workers. This year's report of the Special Committee was an important first step in having a fuller examination of all aspects relating to the relationship between the Peacekeeping Department and humanitarian operations.

He said procurement policies for peacekeeping operations should be done with greater transparency and fair geographical distribution. The Republic of Korea urged the Secretariat to take necessary measures to increase the number of qualified suppliers on the United Nations procurement rosters and to use information technology, such as the Internet, for a more expeditious dissemination of the relevant information.

Clearer rules of engagement and a formulation of common guidelines for national training were essential to the efficient discharge of peacekeeping mandates, he said. Lessons learned in past peacekeeping operations should be seriously looked at and a better mechanism should be worked out for future operations. It was hoped that the rules of engagement would be finalized in a clear and appropriate manner through consultations between the Secretariat and troop contributors. In addition, the promotion of standard training norms would greatly help in enhancing solidarity and partnership among peacekeeping personnel from various countries.

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TREVOR HUGHES (New Zealand) said unavoidably hard questions had to be asked about whether the United Nations retained the ability to effectively mount and manage peacekeeping operations under its own command and control. The regrettable evidence suggested that such capability was threatened. The serious arrears problem had delivered a body-blow to the United Nations ability to embark on new collective security operations. It was obvious that budgetary constraints resulting from the arrears burden weighed heavily upon the Security Council's decision-making.

A soundly structured Peacekeeping Department was fundamental to the United Nations ability to manage peacekeeping operations effectively, he said. While, on the one hand, the controversial issue of gratis personnel had been decided, the issue of adequate staffing for the Peacekeeping Department had not. Demining also remained a particular focus of New Zealand's participation in United Nations operations. The time had come for the Mine Action Service of the Peacekeeping Department to be properly staffed and funded on a secure basis. He noted that the conflicts which confronted the world today were often the result of complex internal struggles, and there might not be unanimity among Member States on the appropriate response by the international community. Even when there was a wide agreement, solutions were not clear cut and mandates proved very difficult to formulate.

HENRIQUE VALLE (Brazil) spoke on behalf of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the associated countries of Bolivia and Chile. He said United Nations peacekeeping operations were an important tool to ensure international peace and security only when used with impartiality of forces, as a last resort and in suitable political conditions with full consent of the States involved.

The MERCOSUR was involved in 12 out of the current 16 peacekeeping operations, he said. Preventive diplomacy and social and economic development in the developing world were the best ways to adapt to the demands of the twenty-first century. The United Nations must also support post-conflict peace-building to rebuild societies. Civilian police and the use of women must be implemented and coordinated with the Organization's efforts to ensure effectiveness. Moreover, in the case of standby arrangements, the United Nations must rely on officers from both developed and developing countries.

WILMER A. MENDEZ (Venezuela) said that the indisputable contribution of United Nations peacekeeping operations was revealed by the number of missions deployed. But peacekeeping operations could not be seen as a substitute for the peaceful resolution of disputes. Peacekeeping operations were more complex and urgent today than ever before. Assessing past mistakes could serve as a useful basis for guidelines to organize means to support diplomatic action for the resolution of disputes.

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He said that a distinction must be made between peacekeeping and humanitarian tasks. Peacekeeping operations must not be extended to become an end in themselves or be confused with the imposition of peace, in accordance with Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.

Venezuela endorsed the Non-Aligned Movement position on the use of gratis personnel, consultations with troop contributors and the funding of peacekeeping operations, he said. Peacekeeping was the collective responsibility of all Member States. Permanent members of the Security Council must shoulder the greater burden in paying for them. The timely payment in full of peacekeeping dues must be made by all Member States, particularly the permanent members of the Council.

ZAAL GOGSADZE (Georgia) said that during the last decade, the substance and shape of conflicts had changed from an inter-state to an intra-state context. Moreover, those conflicts were often fuelled by a relatively new phenomenon, "aggressive separatism". Consequently, a classical peacekeeping operation, as applied to inter-state conflicts, had been transformed to satisfy new emerging situations. The sooner peacekeeping operations reflected the increasingly intra-state nature of new conflicts, the more effectively they could be used to reduce the violent and destructive force of emerging conflicts, thus making it relatively easy to deal with such negative side occurrences as terrorism, illegal arms flows and drug trafficking, among others.

He said that timely measures, especially when applied at an early stage, could either avert the conflict or considerably limit its potential consequences. The main value of preventive diplomacy lay in its wide variety of means and tools -- from military to political and even economic. As such, when taken in its widest possible interpretation, preventive diplomacy, depending on the circumstances, could be effectively used to solve or mitigate ethnic, socio-political, economic and other problems.

The mechanism of economic sanctions required further refining, he said. A clear definition of the character of sanctions and their time-span helped to create the mechanism for the lifting of compulsory measures. Sanctions must be shaped in such a way as to avoid causing suffering to innocent civilian populations and to bring maximum pressure to bear on the leaders of the target country or region.

He said the profound systemic and political changes of the past decade had brought about numerous ethnic conflicts which, having picked up in the mid-1990s, had started to somewhat subside in the last couple of years. In that situation, the set of measures, and especially peace-building measures, were attaining increasing importance. In the case of conflict in Georgia, the ongoing negotiations in Geneva dealt with political, economic, social and other issues. At the same time, the vital issue of returning refugees was

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idling. No mechanism had been created with a view to introducing legal and other guarantees of safety and recognized human and other rights. That made the whole peace-building process seriously deficient. Moreover, without solving the problems of refugees, all other decisions would not bring the after-effects to their logical end.

BERTRAND FILS-AIME (Haiti) said more importance in United Nations peacekeeping operations should be given to the protection of some 14,500 military and civilian contingents deployed throughout the world. Moreover, such forces should be sent as a preventive measure when violence was in the offing. Why should the world wait for another genocide or fratricide to occur? he asked. The experience in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was an example of how preventive measures work.

It was true that such preventive missions should respect State sovereignty and that territorial integrity should be maintained, he said. However, State sovereignty must also take into account the sovereignty of the people as a whole. Whether it was a tribe oppressing another tribe, or a majority oppressing a minority, the world could not tolerate or stand witness while the situation degenerated into a holocaust. National sovereignty did not exclude international solidarity. That was why Haiti supported rapid deployment and standby arrangements, as long as they had clear objectives, secure funding and coordinated operations. Moreover, the United Nations should cooperate with regional mechanisms and organs because the causes of conflicts were often regional and local. Such organizations were in a particular position to play an important role in early warning and preventive diplomacy.

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