Defence Forces Review 2008

Defence Forces Review 2008
Th e Pl a n o f Ac t i o n
Because governments have not created the necessary UN capability, the responsibility for
breathing life into the United Nations Emergency Peace Service now lies with civil society,
working with allies in the UN and interested governments. To create this service, a growing
number of citizens’ organizations and leaders of civil society are determined to: (1) identify
interested parties throughout the world to expand the number and diversity of those committed
to this initiative; (2) secure agreement on the principles, composition, and financing of a UN
emergency service; (3) draw on expert knowledge to ensure that the growing constituency is
accurately informed and to write detailed plans for the emergency service and how to establish
it; (4) develop a well-organized network of support with a compelling website, promotional
materials, list of endorsements, and speakers’ bureau; and (5) encourage a wide consultative
process among non-governmental organizations, the UN system, and national governments to
ensure the implementation of a successful strategy.
Pr o p o s a l f o r a Un i t e d Na t i o n s Em e r g e n c y Pe a c e Se r v i c e t o
Pr e v e n t Ge n o c i d e a n d Cr i m e s a g a i n s t Hu m a n i t y i 1
Th e Ne e d
Despite the need to be able to move quickly to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity,
the United Nations has no capacity to avert such catastrophes, even when prompt action
could save hundreds of thousands of lives. The international community’s failure to stop
genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and to avert “ethnic cleansing” occurring in the Darfur region
of Sudan a decade later illustrate this incapacity, as do the other massive killings of civilians
in Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, East Timor, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Liberia, and elsewhere. In recent years, huge atrocities have killed millions of
innocent people, wounded millions more, forced tens of millions from their homes, destroyed
entire economies, and wasted hundreds of billions of dollars.
After witnessing genocide, everyone promises: “Never again.” But mass murder has happened
again, and yet again. The time to stop it has come, at least in all those instances where
the international community could have a reasonable probability of success. Yet existing
international capabilities are simply unable to meet this responsibility. “Too little, too late”
has become the rule rather than the exception. As the UN Secretary-General has warned,
without serious reforms and institutional innovation, the United Nations will be unable to
prevent future human catastrophes 2 . The conscience of every human being should be shocked
and aroused by the international community’s inability to quell atrocities in Darfur ten years
after the lessons “learned” in Rwanda 3 .
Although many factors cause “too little, too late,” a single innovation could address most of
them: the creation of a permanent UN Emergency Peace Service to protect those victimized
by war, genocide, and crimes against humanity. Such a service could save millions of lives
and billions of dollars, while also advancing the rule of law against heinous crimes. Of
course it would not be a panacea for security problems in general; indeed its purpose is to
complement—not replace—other essential national, regional, and United Nations efforts. Yet
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