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Periodical article |
| Title: | Measuring U.N. Security Council Action and Inaction in the 1990s: Lessons for Africa |
| Author: | Hawkins, Virgil |
| Year: | 2003 |
| Periodical: | African Security Review |
| Volume: | 12 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Pages: | 61-71 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Africa |
| Subjects: | conflict UN Security Council international relations Military, Defense and Arms |
| External link: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10246029.2003.9627221 |
| Abstract: | Although Africa is host to the vast majority (and the most deadly) of conflicts in the world, it would appear that there is a distinct lack of genuine interest in African affairs shown by the UN Security Council and its key members. This paper proposes a 10-level scale of response system to measure the seriousness of the Council in dealing with conflicts. By comparing the Council response with the size and severity of each individual conflict - amongst others in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo -, the scale attempts to assess the Council performance in the fulfilment of its duty to restore international peace and security. The results show that Africa has been (and remains) marginalized in the Council's work. The apparent resurgence of Council interest in Africa in the late 1990s - Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia and Eritrea - is a sign of improvement, but it has been limited primarily to postconflict peacekeeping. In the absence of Council interest, two strategies present themselves for Africa: developing African peace enforcement capacity, and using the Peace and Security Council of the AU. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract] |