Peacekeeping: Perspectives Old and New Martello Papers 46

Created in the wake of the crucible of violence of the First and Sec- ond World Wars, as well as the diplomatic failures of the Interwar years, the founding of the UN on the ruins of the failed League of Nations was heralded as the dawn of a new era of international cooperation that would “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”10 Unlike its predecessor, the UN would be a viable foru. [...] To focus solely on the failure of the high ambitions of the UN founders to save the world from the “scourge of war,” means however, overlooking the development and evolution of institutional structures and policies to deal with interstate and intrastate conflicts since World War II that have pre-empted or lessened many conflicts and the enormous political, eco- nomic, and social costs that would h. [...] The UN Secretary General then works out the terms of reference and oversees the creation of each mission and the General Assembly then oversees the ongoing financing of the mission. [...] The failure of the UN interventions in Rwanda to forestall the Génocidaires in their murder of Tutsi and mod- erate Hutu during 1994 and in Bosnia prevent the massacre of Muslims in the Srebrenica during 1995 exemplified the inability of the UN to ef- fectively create peace in the evolving security environment. [...] One could argue that although that is an admirable aim the structure of the UN and processes of the Security Council, in particular the veto of the P5, was meant to maintain peace within the Westphalian system and prevent conflict from the major states in the P5; however, that model has proven unsuitable.