Natural Resources and Violent Conflict - WaterWiki.net

224 philippe le billonand economic self-interest seriously limit the effectiveness of domesticregulation in many countries. The transnational nature of the flow ofconflict resources means that national strategies alone are inadequateand that regional or international enforcement instruments are requiredto fill this vacuum or limit collusion by domestic authorities.Regional instruments, designed and enforced by regional organizations(and their member states) overseeing neighboring conflict-affectedcountries, have a strong potential. These regional actors are likely to bewell informed about, and sensitive to, conflict trade as well as politicaldynamics in neighboring conflicts. However, like national initiatives,regional efforts may be constrained by limited capacity and complicatedby local political or economic interests. Effective regional initiativesthus demand an assessment of national and local interests andagendas, as well as international support for capacity building.International instruments, designed and enforced by internationalorganizations (and their member states), represent an ideal given theglobal nature of conflict trade. However, international organizationsmay be prone to a time lag with respect to awareness of the significanceand dynamics of conflict trade and may be delayed in taking adequatemeasures by other international issues. Furthermore, althoughan independent monitoring capacity is now emerging (that is, UN panelsof experts investigating sanctions violations and war economies)international instruments continue to rely on national authorities fortheir implementation, and the record of enforcement is poor.Regardless of the type of instrument considered, effective enforcementwill depend on cooperation between different implementingagencies at various levels. Institutional structures of cooperation areessential, both horizontally within agencies dealing with similar matters(for example, financial regulation, customs, justice) and vertically(for example, national, regional, and international). Interpol, FATF, orthe “fatal transactions” transnational advocacy network on conflicttrade demonstrates the diversity of collaboration initiatives.A comprehensive international regulatory instrument could be moreeffective than the current ad hoc approach of tackling this issue on thebasis of individual actors or conflicts, commodities, or activities. Ideally,a comprehensive global instrument would deal not only with conflicttrade in natural resources but also with other economic activitiessustaining human rights abuses. Current international laws and principlesas well as enforcement mechanisms provide a basis for such aglobal enforcement instrument. Elements constituting a comprehensiveframework could include (but not be restricted to) targeted sanctions,economic protectorates and trust or escrow funds, certificationregimes, and economic monitoring (see table 6.1). These enforcement