Conflict Prevention and Resolution
Senior 6 · History
Conflict Prevention and Resolution
Lesson 4 of 5
25 min
The authors of the UN Charter, writing as the Second World War ended, tried to list every peaceful way in which states could settle their disputes. Their list, in Source B, is still the starting point for anyone who wants to prevent or end a conflict. Read it, and then use Figure 4 to see when each tool is used.
Important
Source B: Charter of the United Nations (1945), Article 33(1)
"The parties to any dispute, the continuance of which is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security, shall, first of all, seek a solution by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice."
Figure 4. A conflict rises and falls over time; different tools act at different stages. Adapted by Ganzaa from the conflict curve described by the American scholar Michael Lund.
Definition
Negotiation: the parties talk directly to reach an agreement.
Mediation: a neutral third party helps the parties to reach their own agreement, without imposing it.
Conciliation: a third party investigates and proposes terms of settlement, which the parties may accept or reject.
Arbitration: the parties agree in advance to accept the binding decision of an arbitrator they choose.
Adjudication (judicial settlement): a court decides the dispute according to law, as the ICJ did over Bakassi (Lesson 1).
Peacekeeping: the deployment of impartial military, police and civilian personnel, with the consent of the parties, to help keep a ceasefire and protect civilians.
Peace enforcement: the use of force, authorised by the Security Council under Chapter VII, to restore peace without the consent of all parties.
Peacebuilding: long-term work after a conflict to remove its causes: disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of fighters, justice, reconciliation and strong institutions.
Intervention: action by outside actors to influence or stop a conflict inside a state, by diplomatic, economic, legal or military means.
| Method | Who decides? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Negotiation | the parties themselves | talks between governments over a trade or border question |
| Mediation | the parties, helped by a mediator | Sant'Egidio in Mozambique (1990–1992); Nyerere and Mandela for Burundi (Arusha, 2000) |
| Arbitration | an arbitrator chosen by the parties; binding | commercial and boundary disputes referred to arbitration tribunals |
| Adjudication | a court; binding | the ICJ on Bakassi (2002); Rwanda's courts |
| Community mediation | the parties, helped by respected neighbours | Abunzi committees |
Outsiders may intervene in several ways: diplomatically (envoys, mediation), economically (sanctions, aid), legally (international courts) or militarily (peacekeeping or peace enforcement). Under international law, military intervention in another state is lawful when that state consents, when the UN Security Council authorises it under Chapter VII, or in self-defence (Article 51); the AU's Constitutive Act also allows the Union to intervene in grave circumstances (Article 4(h)).
UN peacekeeping follows three principles: the consent of the main parties, impartiality, and no use of force except in self-defence and in defence of the mandate, which today usually includes protecting civilians.
Rwanda's contribution. Since the African Union mission in Darfur in 2004, Rwanda has become one of the largest contributors of troops and police to peace operations, in missions such as UNAMID (Darfur), UNMISS (South Sudan) and MINUSCA (Central African Republic). In 2015 Kigali hosted the conference that adopted the Kigali Principles on the Protection of Civilians, a pledge by contributing countries to protect civilians in peace operations. Rwanda has also deployed forces under bilateral agreements at the request of the governments of the Central African Republic (from December 2020) and Mozambique (from July 2021).
Warning
Mediation and arbitration are not the same. A mediator helps the parties to decide; an arbitrator decides for them, and the parties have agreed in advance to accept the decision. Likewise, peacekeeping needs consent, while peace enforcement does not.
Tip
Use the curve. For any case study, place it on Figure 4: was the action taken before violence (prevention), at the peak (peacemaking), after a ceasefire (peacekeeping) or during recovery (peacebuilding)? This turns a description into analysis.
Important
Discuss. When, if ever, is military intervention in another country justified? Use the three legal grounds in this lesson and the lessons of 1994 from Unit 8.
United Nations: "Explainer: What is UN Peacekeeping" (about 1 minute). Note the tasks peacekeepers carry out besides military operations, and link them to the peacekeeping and peacebuilding stages of Figure 4.
Practice
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa: the analysis, the diagram (Figure 4, after Michael Lund's conflict curve), the table and the exercises.
