Eleanor Finch
Diplomacy and the United Nations are both key to addressing and solving global issues. Diplomacy is the art and science of conducting international relations and affairs, with the aim of safeguarding interests and promoting political, economic, cultural, or scientific relations, while maintaining peaceful relationships. The United Nations, as the world's only truly universal global organization, is a forum for addressing issues that transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by a single country. The UN's role is to maintain international peace and security, promote cooperation, and address global challenges such as climate change, gender equality, and human rights. Together, diplomacy and the United Nations provide the tools and platforms necessary for nations to work together, resolve conflicts, and build a more sustainable and peaceful world.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Preventing conflict | Preventive diplomacy |
| Maintaining international peace and security | Peacekeeping |
| Settling disputes through peaceful means | Negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and judicial decisions |
| Facilitating conflict prevention | Diplomacy of democracy and human rights |
| Empowering women | --- |
| Alleviating extreme poverty | --- |
| Enhancing human dignity | --- |
| Providing a forum for global consensus building on scientific issues | --- |
| Encouraging the adoption of international resolutions | --- |
| Promoting discussion and dialogue | --- |
| Finding agreement through negotiation | --- |
| Finding common ground | --- |
| Advancing human dignity, prosperity, and human rights | --- |
| Upholding the rule of law | --- |
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What You'll Learn
Preventive diplomacy
The United Nations' (UN) primary function is to preserve international peace and security. The UN achieves this through the intervention of the Security Council, which can investigate any dispute or situation that could threaten international peace and security. The Security Council can recommend procedures or methods of adjustment, and if peaceful means fail, it can recommend settlement terms.
The idea of preventive diplomacy has been further developed by subsequent UN leaders. Secretary-General U Thant is particularly renowned for his role in preventing a nuclear confrontation during the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is considered a significant example of successful preventive diplomacy.
Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who took office after the Cold War, submitted the acclaimed "An Agenda for Peace" report, which addressed the UN's future role in conflict prevention, peacemaking, and peacekeeping. He practised preventive diplomacy in cases such as the war between Eritrea and Yemen and supported the first preventive deployment of UN peacekeepers in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The UN's current focus on addressing global climate change under the leadership of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is another form of preventive diplomacy. The UN's extensive presence in conflict-affected areas worldwide gives it a unique advantage in engaging in preventive diplomacy.
In summary, preventive diplomacy is a critical aspect of the UN's role in maintaining peace and security. It involves taking action to prevent disputes, de-escalate existing tensions, and limit the spread of conflicts. By doing so, the UN strives to create a more peaceful and secure global environment.
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Conflict prevention
The practice of preventive diplomacy at the UN was pioneered by Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld during the Cold War. Hammarskjöld recognised that while the UN's ability to intervene was limited in direct clashes between superpowers, it could play a role in preventing disputes between lesser powers from escalating into larger conflicts. This form of diplomacy involves judgement and discretion, deploying representatives on special missions to gather information and foster dialogue.
In the post-Cold War era, the demand for UN peacekeeping and preventive diplomacy increased significantly. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who took office during this period, played a crucial role in conflict prevention. He submitted the acclaimed "An Agenda for Peace" report, which outlined the future role of the UN in conflict prevention, peacemaking, and peacekeeping. Boutros-Ghali practised preventive diplomacy in cases such as the war between Eritrea and Yemen and supported the first preventive deployment of UN peacekeepers in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
His successor, Kofi Annan, built on this work and successfully employed preventive diplomacy in the border conflict between Cameroon and Nigeria over the Bakassi Peninsula. The current Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has also advanced preventive diplomacy at the UN, providing leadership on global issues such as climate change.
The UN's approach to conflict prevention is multifaceted and involves addressing various factors that can contribute to stability. This includes fostering diplomacy, democracy, and human rights at the country level, as well as alleviating extreme poverty and empowering women. The UN also recognises the importance of technology and science in modern diplomacy, and while it has utilised technology for peace, it is yet to fully harness the potential of scientific expertise in addressing global challenges.
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International peace and security
The United Nations (UN) was established in 1945 with the primary objective of maintaining international peace and security. The UN Charter, which outlines the structure and mission of the organisation, emphasises the commitment to settle disputes through peaceful means and protect future generations from the horrors of war.
Chapter 6 of the Charter provides for the pacific settlement of disputes through the intervention of the Security Council. The Security Council may investigate any dispute or situation that could potentially endanger international peace and security. It can recommend procedures or methods of adjustment at any stage of the dispute and suggest terms of settlement if parties fail to reach a peaceful resolution. The Security Council's decisions are binding on all member states, and it has the authority to enforce coercive measures, including diplomatic, economic, and military sanctions, or even the use of armed force, in cases where peaceful attempts have failed.
The UN's role in international peace and security also involves preventive diplomacy, which aims to prevent conflicts before they occur or contain and resolve them swiftly if they do. This was challenging during the Cold War due to tensions between the US and the Soviet Union, which limited the Security Council's effectiveness. However, in the post-Cold War era, the UN's peacekeeping efforts and related activities saw a significant increase, addressing new threats to international peace, such as AIDS and international terrorism.
The Secretary-General of the UN plays a crucial role in preventive diplomacy, fostering democracy, human rights, and conflict prevention at the country level. This includes addressing issues such as extreme poverty and the empowerment of women, which are crucial to enhancing human dignity and preventing crises. The UN's approach to preventive diplomacy has evolved over time, with notable contributions from Secretary-Generals like Dag Hammarskjöld, who laid the groundwork for preventing disputes between lesser powers from escalating due to superpower conflicts.
As global affairs become increasingly dominated by scientific and technological issues, the UN faces the challenge of adapting to remain relevant. While the UN relies on scientific and technological expertise in many of its agencies, programs, and treaties, it lacks a systematic approach to incorporating scientific advice. The organisation, particularly the office of the Secretary-General, needs to improve its capacity to identify, mobilise, and utilise the best available scientific and technical expertise to address emerging issues effectively.
The UN's commitment to international peace and security is further demonstrated through multilateralism, with an increasing number of member states and the inclusion of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), private actors, and other international organisations. This expansion has contributed to significant achievements, such as the eradication of smallpox and important international agreements on arms control and human rights. The UN's role in diplomacy and international peace and security remains crucial, with world leaders regularly reaffirming their dedication to these principles.
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Sustainable development
The UN has adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These goals serve as a universal call to action for all countries, rich and poor, to work towards ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring peace and prosperity for all by 2030. The SDGs recognize the interconnectedness of various issues and aim to balance social, economic, and environmental sustainability.
The SDGs cover a range of areas, including ending poverty, hunger, and discrimination against women and girls, as well as improving health, education, and social protection. They also address environmental concerns such as climate change, sustainable agriculture, water and sanitation, energy, and biodiversity loss. Additionally, the SDGs promote gender equality, peace, justice, and strong institutions.
To achieve these goals, the UN encourages the participation of all stakeholders, including governments, civil society, and the private sector. Multi-stakeholder partnerships are crucial for mobilizing resources and aligning countries' plans with their global commitments. The UN also provides a platform for negotiations and mock negotiation sessions between international groups to discuss and find consensus on sustainable development challenges.
The progress towards the SDGs is monitored through annual SDG Progress Reports, prepared by the UN Secretary-General, and the Global Sustainable Development Report, produced once every four years. These reports provide an overview of the world's implementation efforts and identify areas where more action is needed.
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Science and technology
Science diplomacy describes how scientific exchanges and cross-border collaborations between scientists and scientific organisations can perform diplomatic functions in the context of international relations. It is a multilateral endeavour that addresses global challenges and the matter of global goods. Science diplomacy can include formal and informal exchanges, and it often involves interactions between scientists and officials involved in diplomacy.
The United Nations (UN) plays a crucial role in promoting much-needed norms for common behaviour in diplomacy, especially in the area of emerging technologies. The UN's capacity to deal with issues such as infectious diseases, environmental degradation, electronic crimes, weapons of mass destruction, and the impacts of new technologies must continue to grow. The UN Secretary-General has assumed a proactive and preventive action-oriented role, firmly establishing the organisation as the cornerstone for global action in emerging technologies.
The UN's influence and effectiveness in science diplomacy will depend on its ability to mobilise scientific and technical expertise. While many UN agencies, programs, and treaties rely on scientific and technological expertise, they are not designed to receive systematic science advice. To address this, the UN Secretary-General's office can tap into advisory services to identify, mobilise, and utilise the best available expertise.
The creation of a scientific and technical advisory office under the UN Secretary-General and a coordinated platform for international science advice would be instrumental in meeting diplomatic challenges. The UN's ability to convene states and other actors makes it a good candidate for building a global consensus on scientific issues.
Science diplomacy initiatives have a long history, dating back to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission after World War II, which aimed to prevent an atomic arms race. While this initiative failed, it marked the beginning of science diplomacy efforts to mediate the circulation of knowledge and materials and create or rebuild exchange. Science diplomacy has since evolved beyond its traditional conception of building relations among geopolitical adversaries, now focusing on building partnerships and shared rules to achieve global objectives.
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Frequently asked questions
Diplomacy is the art and science of conducting international relations between nations, groups, or individuals. It involves safeguarding interests and promoting political, economic, cultural, or scientific relations while maintaining peaceful relationships. Diplomacy is a key instrument of foreign policy and a substitute for the use of force or underhanded means in statecraft.
The role of diplomacy is to prevent conflict, encourage the adoption of international resolutions, promote discussion and dialogue, and find agreement through negotiation and common ground. Diplomacy can be used to influence the decisions and behaviour of foreign governments and peoples without resorting to war or violence.
The United Nations is an international organization with 193 member states. It is a global forum that addresses and solves global issues that transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by a single country acting alone.
The role of the United Nations is to maintain international peace and security, prevent and resolve international disputes, develop friendly relations among nations, and achieve international cooperation in solving economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian problems. The UN also promotes respect for human rights, fights hate speech, and works towards sustainable development and climate change mitigation.
The United Nations coordinates its work with various entities within the UN System, including funds, programmes, specialized agencies, and other organizations. The General Assembly, Security Council, and Economic and Social Council pass resolutions that set the direction for the UN's activities. The UN also publishes documents, such as meeting records and resolutions, and promotes international days as an advocacy tool.
