Looking back to the year 1999, when the people of Kosovo were in their
most desperate situation, it was NATO that gave an end to Serbia’s
policies of ethnic cleansing. Fast forwarding to March 16, 2008, when
the people of Kosovo were still under the shadow of independence
celebrations, it was NATO that made sure Kosovo remains stable and its
borders unchanged. Out of all the external forces that have been
involved in the newly found state, the presence of its troops has been
the only guarantor of peace.
The UN, on the other hand, has a history of failing in its attempts to
maintain peace and security. In fact, as an institution, it is often
incapable of protecting its own staff. Most recent example: The death
of an UNMIK (United Nations Mission in Kosovo) Ukrainian police officer
as a result of the failure to stop Serbian outlaws in northern
Mitrovica. Here too, it took NATO to bring the situation under
control. It is a sad reality; the UN has become a bureaucracy too
great to serve its purpose. Some of the greatest human rights
violations are accomplished before the UN even comes up with a
solution. There are plenty of such examples, sad stories like Rwanda,
Bosnia, and the most recent and ongoing genocide in Darfur. Kosovo,
luckily, was saved of disaster by the other “peace” force—NATO.
Nevertheless, the UN remains the table where nation-states can at least
express their concerns. That in itself makes its existence a
necessity, as in this anarchical world there is no other organization
that gives such importance to communication and negotiation, in such a
grand global scale. Misconception and miscalculation can often lead to
wars, and when countries come together to discuss issues, these two
negative factors are diminished. These are two realities facing the
UN, opposite with one another, making it a paradox.
While the UN’s ability to practice what it preaches seems low and
seriously challenged by the surrounding circumstances, NATO, with its
new mission of peacemaking and peacekeeping, seems to be of a greater
promise to world’s future security, as it is successful in its
attempts, and has clear, realistic objectives combined with the means
to act upon them. The case of Kosovo is a great microcosmic example of
the future of these organizations in the global scale.
By Ard Morina
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