CONFLICT PREVENTION
ADEKEYE ADEBAJO: UN remains toothless despite best intentions to reform
Previous UN reform efforts have had mixed results, and the body still lacks the authority and resources of the World Bank and IMF
The latest proposals by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, submitted in September 2017, are yet another futile attempt at institutional alchemy. They propose an emphasis on conflict prevention, strengthened partnership and a more effective regional approach, all without increasing the UN’s budget. The UN departments of peacekeeping operations (DPKO) and political affairs (DPA) as well as its peace-building support office are to be restructured to increase the UN’s effectiveness in prevention, mediation, peace building and peace support operations. A new department of political and peace-building affairs (DPPA) is proposed, combining the DPA and the peace-building office’s mandates to promote strategic partnerships, mediation and electoral assistance. A new department of peace operations (DPO) is also proposed to combine DPKO’s peacekeeping and the DPA’s field-based special missions to support security-sector reform; disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration; and regional bod...
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