Prevention of conflicts

Conflict Prevention is one of thecardinal objectives of the United Nations Organisation as stipulated in Article 1 of the Charter. However, since the end of the 1980’s, the nature of conflicts has changed considerably. The conflicts between States have given way to intra-State conflicts. Civilians are often caught in the crossfire, or worse still, become the first targets of the violence.

Conflict prevention gained a new momentum at the beginning of the 1990’s through a programme called An Agenda for Peace by the Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Emphasis was laid on «preventive diplomacy» defined as «measures aimed at preventing existing disputes from degenerating into conflicts and limiting them from spreading once they break out». Source: United Nations Secretary General, An Agenda for Peace, UN Doc. A/47/277-S/24111 7 June 1992, paragraph 20).

The objective of preventive diplomacy is to defuse tensions and ensure the peaceful resolution of disputes within and between Member States by exercising good offices, mediation, conciliation and facilitation based on dialogue, negotiation and arbitration, which are generally applied as part of a looming crisis. Preventive diplomacy is applied during the conflict mangement, resolution and peace-building phases.

In 1997, the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflicts made an important distinction between operational prevention and structural prevention. Source: Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflicts; Final Report on Preventing Deadly Conflicts (New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, 1997).

In the ECOWAS sub-region, operational prevention refers to specific actions taken to address an imminent crisis, including early warning, mediation, conciliation, preventive disarmament and deployment through interactive mechanisms such as good offices and the ECOWAS Standby Force.

The structural prevention, often formulated under peace initiatives, aims at addressing the underlying causes of conflicts, including political, institutional (governance) and development reforms as well as capacity building and advocacy on the culture of peace. Source: ECOWAS Conflict prevention Framework, Reg. MSC/REG.1/01/08, paragraph 19).

In preventing conflicts, interventions may take the form of preventive diplomatic initiatives- fact-finding missions, quiet diplomacy, diplomatic pressure and mediation.

	Prevention of conflicts Conflict Prevention is one of thecardinal objectives of the United Nations Organisation as stipulated in Article 1 of the Charter. However, since the end of the 1980’s, the nature of conflicts has changed considerably. The conflicts between States have given way to intra-State conflicts. Civilians are often caught in the crossfire, or worse still, become the first targets of the violence. Conflict prevention gained a new momentum at the beginning of the 1990’s through a programme called An Agenda for Peace by the Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Emphasis was laid on «preventive diplomacy» defined as «measures aimed at preventing existing disputes from degenerating into conflicts and limiting them from spreading once they break out». Source: United Nations Secretary General, An Agenda for Peace, UN Doc. A/47/277-S/24111 7 June 1992, paragraph 20). The objective of preventive diplomacy is to defuse tensions and ensure the peaceful resolution of disputes within and between Member States by exercising good offices, mediation, conciliation and facilitation based on dialogue, negotiation and arbitration, which are generally applied as part of a looming crisis. Preventive diplomacy is applied during the conflict mangement, resolution and peace-building phases. In 1997, the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflicts made an important distinction between operational prevention and structural prevention. Source: Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflicts; Final Report on Preventing Deadly Conflicts (New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, 1997). In the ECOWAS sub-region, operational prevention refers to specific actions taken to address an imminent crisis, including early warning, mediation, conciliation, preventive disarmament and deployment through interactive mechanisms such as good offices and the ECOWAS Standby Force. The structural prevention, often formulated under peace initiatives, aims at addressing the underlying causes of conflicts, including political, institutional (governance) and development reforms as well as capacity building and advocacy on the culture of peace. Source: ECOWAS Conflict prevention Framework, Reg. MSC/REG.1/01/08, paragraph 19). In preventing conflicts, interventions may take the form of preventive diplomatic initiatives- fact-finding missions, quiet diplomacy, diplomatic pressure and mediation.
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