| Abstract: | This article is a brief review of the United Nations' experiencein the prevention, management and resolution of conflict inAfrica between the end of the Cold War and mid-1998. It describesthe various partners with whom the United Nations has workedfor these purposes and the different functions involvedpeacemaking,peacekeeping, electoral assistance and humanitarian relief.It assesses frankly the results the United Nations has achieved,giving it low marks for peacemaking (most peace settlementsin Africa have been mediated by non-UN actors) but higher marksfor peacekeeping (both the traditional variety and, especially,the new breed of multi-functional peacekeeping operations tohelp implement negotiated settlements), electoral assistanceand humanitarian operations. It examines critically the feasibilityof using multinational forces to protect humanitarian operationsin the middle of continuing conflict. It concludes by statingthe case for an integrated and properly coordinated approachby the international community as a whole to problems of conflictin Africa, and elsewhere. |
