Winning the peace: Revitalising disarmament and post-conflict negotiations

On 19 and 20 October, the annual Parliamentary Hearing at the United Nations will reconvene in New York around a most urgent cluster of issues: disarmament and arms control, peacekeeping, peace-building and reconciliation. Disturbing developments that threaten the security of nations have led to the choice of these topics. Indeed, since the end of the cold war, the emergence of new forms of terrorism and the international response to them, the increasing non-compliance with pivotal covenants, as well as the escalation of old conflicts and the birth of new ones (both between and within States) have led to unprecedented tension in international relations.

When it comes to disarmament and arms control issues, none seems more urgent than curbing the production and spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Today, almost 35 years after the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) came into force, some States still hold thousands of nuclear warheads, while the list of nuclear States (declared or undeclared) has grown longer. With respect to biological and chemical weapons,things are not much better. What we have seen over the last two years is a strong and certainly necessary effort at coordinating action to keep such weapons out of the hands of terrorists, but this has not been accompanied by equivalent efforts to limit their production and better account for States’ chemical and biological capabilities. The Biological Weapons Convention, for example, still lacks a verification protocol.

And although WMD have taken centre stage in recent years, one must not forget that in reality most victims of war today are killed or wounded by small, conventional arms. Here too, however, there are few signs that States are curtailing the production and sale of such arms. Annual worldwide military expenditures today exceed $800 billion, and are once again on the increase. The amount is less than at the peak of the cold war, but it is still incredibly high, especially in comparison with global development expenditures.

These disturbing developments make it crucial for parliaments to help revitalise arms control and disarmament talks and take action to ensure that governmental programmes are consistent with treaty obligations, to allocate funds needed to implement multilateral commitments, and to enact implementing legislation under the relevant treaties.

In addition to the disarmament challenge, the world is also facing a crunch in the areas of peacekeeping and humanitarian affairs. The large number of conflict and postconflict situations that exist today and the complexity of many of these situations is straining the resources of States and of the United Nations to an unprecedented degree. Although the United Nations peacekeeping budget for last year was only $2.8 billion, a small amount, if compared to the $800 billion in global military expenditures, this figure may easily double in the near future if the demand – both qualitative and quantitative – for peacekeeping operations keeps rising. In what is now an almost irreversible trend, peacekeeping has gone from being a purely military operation to keep two sides of a conflict at arm’s length, to a more complex kind of intervention, mixing together military objectives with humanitarian and reconstruction activities.

On the humanitarian front, the greater challenge goes beyond the mobilisation and fair allocation of resources. It has to do with the question of how to guarantee access to humanitarian aid for people in distress, often against the will of belligerents, and how to provide humanitarian assistance without compromising the impartiality and neutrality of such operations. Humanitarian assistance should not normally be provided by the same military force that is occupying a territory, but by a separate contingent of trained professionals whose objectives are not to be confused with military strategy.

In sum, the challenges the world is facing today in the peace and security arena are not likely to be resolved without the injection of new approaches, new ideas, and the more direct involvement of critical partners such as members of parliament. In addition to the aforementioned specific actions, members of parliament can work to help break down the wall of mistrust and silence that is being built up in various places in the world. They can talk to each other across borders and help bring about a better understanding of their peoples’ true aspirations. Perhaps more importantly, parliamentarians today can help redefine the whole concept of security to mean not only military defence, but also social, economic and environmental security in the broadest sense.

The Parliamentary Hearing that will take place at the United Nations in a few weeks will allow members of parliament to think critically and express their views on all these issues, in direct interaction with the Member States and the highest officials of the United Nations. We can only look forward to a substantive and meaningful debate, which should lead to a series of concrete recommendations to be shared with the relevant bodies of the United Nations.

African members of parliament discuss refugees

Mr. A. Kolwolé Idji

Finding lasting solutions to the plight of refugees depends in large measure on the provision of adequate resources in a spirit of international solidarity and shared responsibility.

No country is immune to the risk of generating and receiving refugee flows. Speakers and legislators from 26 African parliaments met to discuss these matters at a three-day conference in Cotonou, held at the invitation of the National Assembly of Benin. The conference, entitled Refugees in Africa: The challenges of protection and solutions, took place from 1 to 3 June 2004, and was organised by the African Parliamentary Union (APU) with the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the IPU.

From the outset, the participants agreed that protecting refugees is a shared duty of all States, and is a matter of respect for basic human rights. As stated by the President of the conference, Mr. A. Kolwolé Idji, Speaker of the National Assembly of Benin, "what refugees expect from us as parliamentarians is for us to become involved with our governments and others in our countries in protecting and monitoring the treatment of refugees in our countries and throughout the continent".

The discussions were held with a very constructive spirit and approach. They focused on the implementation and development of lasting solutions to the plight of refugees, in particular voluntary repatriation and sustainable reintegration. Particular attention was paid to the protection of refugees, and more particularly women and children, who face greater security challenges. Another focus was ways and means of building on local capacity.

At the close of the conference, the participants adopted a declaration and a concrete programme for action. Self-reliance of refugees was promoted as an important means to decrease their dependency, maximise their initiative and potential contributions and prepare them for lasting solutions. However, it was recognized that the success of such solutions (whether they consist of voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country) depended in large measure on the provision of adequate resources in a spirit of international solidarity and shared responsibility. UNHCR, development partners and international and regional financial institutions were called upon to redouble their efforts in support of countries of asylum as they facilitate refugee self-reliance, and countries of origin as they ensure sustainable reintegration following the return of refugees.

Since Governments are the main national decisionmakers in the EU, the Hungarian National Assembly must develop effective means to scrutinise its Government's activities László Sinka, from the EU Department, Office of Foreign Relations of the Hungarian National Assembly, says that for Hungary, the challenge is to establish appropriate new conditions for effective parliamentary action. Since some of the decision-making will be transferred to the EU level, the Hungarian National Assembly has to find new ways of influencing the decision-making process. This will involve new tasks for the National Assembly. The Hungarian parliament first of all must create appropriate mechanisms for regulating relations between the legislature and the Government. According to the representative of the Hungarian National Assembly, the Hungarian Constitution stipulates that all aspects of such relations in the field of EU affairs should be covered by a law to be adopted by a two-thirds majority. "Since Governments are the main national decision-makers in the EU, the Hungarian National Assembly must develop effective means to scrutinise its Government's activities. Later, when the EU Constitutional Treaty comes into force, the parliament too will be able directly to influence EU decision-making when it comes to reinforcing the subsidiary principle", he added. The Hungarian National Assembly now has to make all the necessary arrangements to meet these goals.