ABSTRACT
Conflict management, globally is a hectic task, which requires all
peacemakers to first, find the root cause of the conflict, probably heed the
early warning and importantly dialogue out the issues at stake to encourage
peaceful resolution. The United Nations (UN) conflict management in Africa
lacking in totality some of this capacity much especially as affecting the
Darfur crisis led to the blaming of this kind of diplomacy in place. The
character of the conflict and fractionalization of the crisis probably
contributed to the persistent and continual escalation of the crisis. A
problematic scenario that the work mindful of the contending issues tends to
explain while examining the reasons for the failures.
In the process of this, the work utilises primary and secondary
data. The primary data includes face-to-face oral interview of a key informants
of members of UN staff at Abuja, staff of Sudanese embassy in Nigeria,
international law scholars, political scientist, and members of Justice and
Equality Movement (JEM), and Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) staff living in
Nigeria. Others are of Nigeria institute of International Affairs (NIIA), and International
commentators. The secondary data includes data deal with materials adequate to
form good value judgment of the work. This includes archival library method,
Web-browsing, journals, conference papers, and communiqués reached at each
summits concerning Darfur crisis. The work uses in-depth interview method as
its instrument of evaluation. Analytical approach and descriptive concepts was
employed. The study is situated at the “Theory of Preventive Diplomacy and
International Violence Prevention.”
The study noted that one of the major problem propping up UN
conflict management lapses that had repeatedly hunt the body is late arrivals
to conflict zone. Failure to heed to
early warning signals about conflict was also revealed to be one of the UN
predicaments. The lapses and loopholes inherent in the UN charter principle
relating to the use of peace-enforcement is also adduced as part of problems
acting against UN initiatives. The actions of the veto members of the UN and
their national interests’ drive are also revealed as part of the problem
encouraging poor conflict management.
Conclusively, the best conflict resolution mechanism is that in
which parties to conflict dialogue out their differences, which in turn makes
the work of the conflict manager simple. In the course of this condition the
root cause of the conflict must be treated, just as the diplomatic examination
and mediation must eschew peace and use sincerity and unbiasness to all the
parties to conflict as the outcomes forms the bases for peaceful conflict
resolution.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Title Page
i
Certification
ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Table of Content v
Abstract vi
CHAPTER ONE THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1
1.1
Introduction
1
1.2
Statement of Problem 5
1.3
Objective of Study 6
1.4
Significance of Study 7
1.5
Literature Review 9
1.6
Theoretical Framework 19
1.7
Hypotheses 23
1.8
Method of Data
Collection/Analysis 24
1.9
Limitation of Study 25
CHAPTER TWO THE HISTORICAL
CONTEXT OF DARFUR CRISIS 27
2.1
The Historical Origin of Darfur
Crisis 27
2.2
The Politics of Darfur Crisis
Management and International Diplomacy 31
CHAPTER THREE THE GENERAL ANALYSIS 35
3.1
The General Analysis of UN
Conflict Management Strategy in Africa 35
3.2
The Appraisal of the factors
Affecting UN Conflict Management in Africa
46
3.3
Evaluation of UN Conflict
Management Failure in Darfur Crisis. 54
CHAPTER FOUR THE GENERAL IMPLICATION 61
4.1
The General Implication of UN
failed Conflict Management System 61
4.2
The Implications of Preventive
Diplomacy and Conflict Management in
Darfur Crisis 66
CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 72
5.1. Summary of Findings, 72
5.2. Recommendation 74 5.3. Conclusion 78
Bibliography
80
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION
This
work is an attempt to explain the processes and procedures adopts by the United
Nations towards conflict managements in Africa, with a particular focus on Darfur
crisis.
After
the end of the cold war, the nature of peacekeeping and the means of managing
crisis, particularly in African situation have been profoundly problematic due
to the transformed nature and processes that conflict and crisis in Africa had
taken. This systematic dimension had encouraged human rights violations,
ethno-religion and ethnic cleansing, failed states, failed elections crisis and
the changing nature of war, whichmight have put immense challenges for the
international community and the UN.
The
questions of does the international community like the UN, America, Britain and
others have enough capability and political will to respond to these challenges
becomes a reason of integrity and sincerity to inquired on. As the UN, itself
had consistently reminded the world of its constraints and the negating
tendency of meeting up the international community demanding assignments
without giving it adequate resources and political support. The UN also has an
important role in continents where there is absence of stability, as found in
the African continent, where political instabilities had render nullity the
existence of continental body like AU and sub-region bodies. The problems of
sub-Saharan Africa also receive top little attention from the international
body like the United Nations as noted by Ahrtisarri (2004) that the challenges
to the African conflicts, as faced by the United Nation, unfortunately
paralysed it or at least its functions are severely hampered due to the actions
of its members, often those that have a veto right in the security council.
It
is this unfortunate scenario that had down - played the attitude of the UN in
managing African Crisis in the last decade into the new milleminium. The
inability of the UN to make the necessary decisions in the engendering African
Crisis like Darfur region of western Sudan informed the situation that erodes
the position and prestige of the body. An issue that propped up the body stands
at the wake of the Darfur crisis, to only assist the AU peacekeepers. Although,
the African Union played a formidable role in advancing the Darfur ceasefires,
but because of its poor capacity to managing the crisis, the situations grows.
It is also unfortunate that the UN Security Council being unable to act
decisively in a timely manner to stop the suffering of the people of the Darfur
region helped to escalate the magnitude of killings, suffering and high refuge
overflow. The Darfur crisis in the western Sudan is between the government at Khartoum
and the indigenous people of South-West Darfur. According to De Waal (2004),
the people of Darfur, South – Western Sudan, whose identity formation transcend
four centuries, with each process overlapping one another and associated with
different period of events in the region’s history are among the people said to
have been neglected in the east-west axis of Sudan. These identities includes
the Sudanic identities associated with Darfur sultanate, Islamic identities,
administrative tribalism associated with the 20th century Sudanese
and the recent polarization of Arab and African identities, with a new form of
external intrusion and internal violence.
In the revelation of Grono (2006), the
Sudanese conflicts, since 2003, the government of Sudan has responded to an insurgency
by rebel groups in Darfur by unleashing its proxy Janjaweed militias on the
rebels’ tribal groups. The government supported the resulting ethnic cleansing
campaign with well coordinated air strikes and joint ground operations. The two
main rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality
Movement (JEM), are recruited mainly from the largely agrarian Fur and Massalit and the mostly nomadic Zaghawa, the three largest Darfurian groups of African descent. In
the process of the government encounter with the rebel coupled with the
government backed Janjaweed havocs, over 250,000 dead, mostly from conflict –
related disease malnutrition and outright killings have been record (Sach,
2006:134). With over 2 million being forced out of their home, more than
additional 200,000 are currently residing in camps at Chad as refugees
(Neuffer,2005:56).
Premised
on the severity of the crisis, and to which the Khartoum government have failed
in its responsibility to protect its own citizens against atrocities, to which
it had wilfully and flagrantly flouted, there was the need for outsiders to
intervened. Thereby, turning around to be the prime mover behind the campaign
of ethnic cleansing and the unceaseless unleashing of the poor people of the
Darfur by the Janjaweed, the international community – UN, US, Britain and
China among others had in themselves created the contradiction that makes for
peace and crisis settlement far from the people. The reasons behind this role -play,
inaction, and awful failure among others shall be further investigated in the
course of this endeavour.
1.2 STATEMENT
OF PROBLEM
Crisis management in many
African conflicts had been problematic to which several measures had been
followed (mostly internal and continental), but failed to yield result. This
probably due to poor capacity and capability of this African state on one hand,
and or to the other due to the politics of the interest groups, allies, power blocs
and the contending forces amongst others. This lapses which call for outside
help in many respects and occasions neither had proffered any solution to the
exacerbated conflict situations in Africa. In some instance, many had been
killed before any help or peace processes are embarked upon. It is the
catastrophy of this failures which appealed to outside conscience and help that
were still not cogent to save lives that made many victims to look up to UN.
The UN in its own never attends to any conflict until after three to six months
thereafter, according to Article 6 of the UN Charter principle. Meaning that
many might have been killed before the UN intervention might have taken place.
This was the case in the Darfur and many other African conflicts. A problematic
underpin that in itself does not solve the problem at the expected time and
which might not, if not properly managed. Thus, to say, that it is the UN
lapses in Darfur conflict that seemed to have encouraged the prolonged war,
killings and destructions in Darfur-Sudan.Against this informed view and the
issues raise in the background of this study, the followings are the noted research
questions of the problems:
i.
What
are the lapses cum reasons behind the prolongation of the Darfur crisis under
the UN peace and conflict management?
ii.
Do
the United Nations failed in making amend to issues of early warning in African
crisis vis-à-vis intervention.
iii.
Does
the United Nations have a critical limitation towards its mandates for not
intervening in the Darfur crisis?
iv.
Why
are political powers in many African states hooked to ethnic cleavages, thereby
making conflict resolutions problematic?
v.
Why
is the UN intervention and management of African conflict always treated differently?
1.3 OBJECTIVE
OF STUDY
In view of the raised
problems, the following are the research adduced objectives of study:
a.
To
investigate the lapses inherent in the International diplomatic order which had
allowed the Darfur crisis to last longer than expected.
b.
To
examine why political power in many African States, with Sudan-Darfur
inclusive, is coloured by ethnic division, which had rendered the conflict
management under UN a problematic in the region.
c.
To
examine the parity and divorce of interest of veto – member state toward
continuity of conflict, their interest, and the UN general intention for global
peace.
d.
To
re-examine the role of the international community who is not ready to commit
their troops on the ground in Sudan, but worried, disturbed and ready to see
that what is happening in Darfur are brought to end through support for African
solutions.
e.
To
expose the role of the international community who is good at keeping people
alive with humanitarian assistance until they are massacred without immediate
ending of conflicts
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
This study is however,
significance in several ways.
Firstly, the study
probably tend to explain the weakness in the United Nations’ management of
African conflicts, especially in the areas that bordered on life and death of
peacekeepers, observers and humanitarian efforts among others.Of which in
conflict situation anybody can fall a victim to strain bullets apart from the
combatants in battlefield, the UN should therefore cease in using such as a
reason for not intervening in time.
Secondly, the work wish
to explicate the intricate character of UN veto – members who tend to create
clog in the body’s process of making peace in conflict zone owing to their
individual interest, thereby leading to escalation of such conflicts as the
role of China and Russia in Sudan are anti progress to the proper UN crisis
management in Darfur.
Thirdly,
the international community who in several years past avowed that never again
will it watch the innocence exterminated by those who suppose and have the
responsibility to protect them do same should always be ready to commit their
troops when such matter as conflict (Power, 1996) as currently going in Darfur
arises, so as to uphold the sincerity and integrity people and citizens world
over imposed on them.
Fourthly,
the United Nations proper management of conflicts, whether in Africa or elsewhere
should be the cardinal point of the body in stepping into any conflict zone.
The idea of biasness, inaction and delay to early warning should equally be
discarded as its alertness provides hope and courage to that fleeing conflict
zone.
Finally,
the United Nations intervention and management of conflict in Africa becomes a
thing of interest and seriousness when the body employed the necessary
machinery toward ending all form of conflict irrespective of which interest is
at stake or being deterred. Peace being the goal of the body should not be
negotiated on greed of interest.
The
work apart from explicating the importance of the UN role in African conflict
management, also add to extend the frontier of knowledge. The work, however,
closes the gaps in literature on the issue of preventive diplomacy and the
lapses inherent in the UN conflict management system, especially as affecting
Africa conflicts.
1.5 LITERATURE
REVIEW
Premised
on the topic of study, this section will be viewed in three different
perspectives with the intention of bringing out the scholarly assertions vis-à-vis
thesub-headings. These are: The state of conflict management: A global
overview, the ploy to conflict situation in Africa, and the Darfur crisis and
the international community.
i. THESTATEOFCONFLICTMANAGEMENT:
A GLOBAL
OVERVIEW.
The
end of cold war, precariously throw up several issues in the world politics.
For while some jubilates for the end of cold war, others used the period to
procure and re-armed, thereby engaging in deadly conflict. Yet another sees the
post – cold war euphoria as truly over. However, to the international body –
the United Nations, it was a world community faced with fragile and disorderly
political landscape, exacerbated and staggered conflicts that its management
was not only a grave problem but complex and disturbing. To this effects, Black
(2003;45) notes that nowhere is this more apparent than at the United Nations,
especially in conflict management, where the promise of a new era of human
intervention and second generation multi-national operation has given way to
uncertainty, second – guessing and soul – searching. He further argued that
there are a set of challenges surrounding the expanded peace menu – including
preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace building. Clanton
(1999) agreeing with the view of Black asserts that it is the hardship created
by the challenges that impel on how to expand the range of instruments and
opportunities to be deployed in a way which avoid, becoming part of the problem
rather than part of the solution.
In
another reason, Dedring (2003) observed that the UN management of crisis is
bedeviled by several problems. These problems, he noted bother on unimproved
capacity, unable to meet the challenges of early warning and unattainable
challenges of preventing violent conflicts. He further argued on the need for
preparedness as effective early warning and analysis without a prompt and
appropriate response is clearly of little value.
Knight
(2003) arguing from the point of view of principle notes that the UN as a
matter of principle should as the central authority have a subsidiary function,
performing only those task which cannot be performed at a more immediate level.
This argument is premised on the fact that in the light of the overburdened
condition of the UN’s own peace and security function with the various regional
organs. He concluded by noting that the principle of subsidiary provides a
foundation on which this can be done.
Maclnnis
(2003) arguing on this line of reason noted that the serial problems
encountered in state crisis management are due to non-devolution of peace and
security responsibilities to regional agencies. He however averred that for
solution and proper coordination of programme and activities to be attained
that the need to devolve function is a one way of attaining success in crisis
management. While extolling the content of preventive diplomacy, Maclnnis
observed that proper state crisis management can be initiated to succeed when
the dangers of losing sight of the distinction between peacemaking and
peace-enforcement are abridged. This is because, according to him, compromising
what he sees as the vital peacekeeping resources of impartiality, can lead to
hardship and extremely difficult situations.
Day
(2003) agreeing with the above notion contended that what had fall short of
most of the UN crisis management is the breach of the above mentioned
distinction, which make the perception of impartiality extremely difficult to
recapture. However, another view that (Maclinns, 2003) rose on this subject was
in agreement with (Dedring, 2003) view, on what they termed the validity of the
concept of conflict prevention, which to them is the first step toward conflict
management.
It
is however in line with this notion that UN – EU (2003) agreed on effective
multilateralism and cooperation in conflict management. The document also
informed that it is based on this cooperation that the UN – EU intensified
cooperation in African, Balkan and Middle East
conflicts. Abel (2004) in reviewing this contention asserts that cooperation
could be the nearest view point to achieving global security through conflict
management.
However,
in a different stand point Grunewald (2004) argued that one of the problem
bedevilling the UN peace intention had always be on slow to respond to
unfolding conflict. To him other issues facing the body toward conflict
management are the lack of protection to the civilian population, and then the
problem of organization and lack of coherent and solid strategy among others
helped to ending several conflict management intentions.
Agreeing
with Grunewald Francis on the stated contentions, Grono (2006) recounted how
the UN failed to protect and manage the crisis in Darfur. He agreed that the
poor management in Darfur crisis had also
contributed to the failure to protect, prevent, and encourage development in
the continent. He further noted that there are number of substantial obstacles
created by the UN management itself toward successful implementation of its policies
and crisis management projects.
ii. THE
PLOY TO CONFLICT SITUATION AND MANAGEMENT IN AFRICA: NEGATIVE ISSUES
Generally
speaking, every conflict either intra or inter in Africa among others usually
attract reactions, supports, sympathizers and or beneficiaries. To this end,
despite the kind of killings and ploy to the solutions, the condition of things
in Angola
crisis, Rwandan crisis, Liberian crisis and Darfur
crisis had not been favourable. This, according to Chalk (1999: 100) is due to
the fact that while states are acknowledging the existence of conflict, however,
never agreedon the magnitude of its volatility less the need to intervene in a
somewhat ethnic or political issue. Against this dismay and growing foot-dragging,
Friedman (1995) observed that to try to extinguish one of these ethnic
conflicts when it is raging at full force is futile. This is because the tribal
impulse for survival and revenge in such a situation is like a political blow
torch. No amount of rational argument can tone it down, and if you try to
smooth it with your own body or any, it will burn a hole right through you.
While
this may be the basic reason for the Western role in African conflict (Alusala,
2004) however, in a disagreement noted that it is unfair. For the UN mission in
most of African conflict zone and its officials wouldn’t have kept quiet, since
they are aware of the flooding of many conflict states’ street with weapons but
could not cope or monitor the scale of illicit arms trading as existed in
Rwanda, Angola and Darfur among others. Brown (2004: 10) in support of
Alusala’s view and against the stand and negligence of the UN in most cases aptly
noted that a case in point is the Rwanda crisis of 1994 when a week after the
massacre of the Tutsi began in Rwanda, the force commander insisted that he
could end the carnage if given 5,000 - 8,000 troops in addition but the UN in
its excuse reduced the number. Added to this (Dedring, 2003) argued that even
when the UN was informed of the situation in Darfur in 2000, the UN chilled it
like no case. Ferrogario (2001) in submission noted that despite overwhelming
evidence of killings and knowledge as to its perpetrators, the UnitedStates
official decided against taking a leading role in confronting the slaughter in
Rwanda and in Darfur recognised as genocide but failed to act.
Totten
(2004) decrying the presence and doing nothing attitude of international community
in African conflict zone noted that their reaction are positive if there are
mineral resources or something to gain.But disagreeing with the above
Gourevitch (1998) asserts that even in the presence of the international
community that the Darfur crisis had persisted and proved unmanageable to the
chief supervisor – the UN, despite the all odds, so what are we basing it on.
Cohen (2004) further argued that while there is ploy to conflict continuity in
Africa, it is because most conflict or crisis are sponsored or aided by the
actors who are present at the conflict zone.
Thus,
(Brown, 2004) aptly states that those who had high hopes in the early 1990s for
the international community’s conflict prevention, conflict management, and
conflict resolution capabilities were chagrined by the international
community’s inability to prevent, stop or resolve most of the violent conflicts
in Africa.
In support of this contention Linden,
(1996) observed that the most tragic of all however, was the inactivity of the
UN and its failure in several African conflicts. He further notes that the ploy
strategy had help in making African conflict and the states a meaningless
venture for peace attainment. This is sequel to the kind of excuses even when
they are observing the conflict to the detriment of the victims.
c. DARFUR CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND THE INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNITY
The
Darfur crisis, which started in 2003 however, coincided with several other
crises, like the Burundi, Iraq and other places. The conflict was seen to have
played out in the depths of the desert and hence termed another African civil
war (Patten, 2007). But even as the war persisted, the intervention of the
international community was never pronounced. Thus, Grunewald (2005) observed
that the international community was slow to respond to the unfolding conflict
in Darfur. This is against the fact that
probably explained the volatility of the conflict, which included the fractionalization
of the conflict into several rebel groups.
According
to the ICG (2009) the non-immediate attendance to the crisis between 2003 – 2004
saw a high rate of death due to the high period of fighting. To them it was a
period when no organ or international group could manage the conflict, thereby
resulting in a mutated conflict, splintered parties, and multiplication of the
confrontations.
Morton
(2004) in his view noted that international peacekeeping was not yet effective
and political settlement was also far off. Against this uncoordinated
management of things in Darfur Bush (2006) contended that America is
frustrated with regard to the UN handling of the Darfur
crisis. He further asserts that I have said, and this government has said,
there’s genocide taking place in Sudan. And it breaks our collective
hearts to know that. He went on to reiterate that the best way to solve the Darfur crisis is by charting a political as well as
security track. He frankly blames the UN for the shortfall as regarding
insecurity and poor management of crisis in Darfur
region.
In
support of this assertion over the negative role of the UN in Darfur, Grono
(2006) noted that the UN had failed in its responsibility to protect human life
in Darfur. He further reiterated that much more must be done to prevent
conflict in Africa if development in the
continent is to be accelerated. Agreeing with the expressed notion De Waal
(2004) aptly states that the UN incapacitation are due to twin track diplomacy
of her major players, hence that the body should not be blamed in totality. He
further contended that the UN is doing the bidding of the interest groups in Darfur thus, the lost of sense of responsibility. In
another development while agreeing with the views above, Ahrtisarri (2004 : 46)
deduced that weak or ineffective political institutions help to diminish the
society capacity to manage social tensions in a
non-violent manner. He further asserts that those who are interested in
security should be more interested in development. For the prevention of
conflict begins and ends with the promotion of human security and human
development to which Darfur was lacking.
However,
Collier (2004) in a categorical contention noted that the majority of today
armed conflicts as occurring in Darfur is of internal rather than between. This
is because most conflict initiators make it so hard for the international body
and agencies to approach. To which, he noted with Darfur
inclusive had led to abundance failed states in Africa.
Against
the above held views, it is evident that several factors and problems acting as
impediment had helped in the Darfur crisis failure and poor management system both
from inside and outside African. However, it is this imperatives and many other
factors that will be examined in the body of the work since they are now a
thrown up problems.
1.6 THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
One
of the sound footings of crisis management in the context of human enterprises
goes with the measures put in place by the concerned group, organization and
individuals alike. Thus, in the context of the Darfur crisis vis-à-vis UN
management of crisis, and according to the RESPONSIBILITY to ACT of the UN
Charter Principle 39, 40, and 41, this study is situated on the ‘Theory of Preventive
DiplomacyandInternational Violence Prevention’. This theory holds that
conflict or violence prevention can only be attained when the common goal of
avoiding escalation of dispute are put in place to avert as such by initiation.
Meaning, that in every conflict, there is the tendency for escalation and
de-escalation of which prevention finds its place before the beginning of
escalation and also at end of de-escalation. This also notes to suggest that in
escalation, conflict prevention is a short-term intervention in order to
encourage a peaceful solution. While in the process of de-escalation, conflict
prevention is a prolonged initiative to stabilise and solidify a new peace
agreement.
The
scholars of this school includes Massimo Fusato, David Black, Andy Knight, Ted
Gurr, John Maclnnis, Peter Haydon, JuergenDedring, Michale Lund, Graham Day and
Robert Huebbert among others.
These
scholars, however argued that the necessary measures towards conflicts
prevention are the act of monitoring a tense situation, intervening to
stabilize a potentially violence conflict before its outbreaks; initiating
activities that address the root cause as well as the triggers of a dispute; establishing
mechanism to detect early warning signals and monitor specific indicators
that may
help to predict impending
violence; coordinating intervention to prevent the creation of
conflictual situations, and institutionalizing the idea of preventing violence
at the local, regional and international levels among others.
It
is in relation of this view above that Massimo (2003), divorcing his view form
short-term intervention of preventive diplomacy argued that a new focus, more
comprehensive, the structural prevention approach which includes long-term
initiatives, meant to targeting the root causes of conflict are more adducible.
The United Nations (1992), although, had argued that crisis management under
its Agenda for peace, in the short-term could suggest that the international communitys’
could intervene flexibly and effectively to prevent the explosion of conflicts.
But unfortunately, this was not allowed to apply in the case of Yugoslavia and
Rwanda owing to the behaviour of her neighbours, according to the UN.
According
to (Massimo, 2003) structural preventive diplomacy has its root in part of
international relations theory especially on relationship among states. Thus,
the core value of structural preventive diplomacy centred on norms, values, and
share interests among relating states. This is because the peaceful interaction
among different groups within a state can be fostered by structural initiatives
of constitutional engineering, economic development and institution building.
Galtung
(1988:34) accepting this notion was of the view that security community and
warm peace is essential ingredient to structural preventive diplomacy because it
also helps to identifying the structural foundation of a peaceful international
community.However, Lund (1996:17) disagreeing with the views of Massimo and
Galtung, favoured preventive diplomacy being in short-term intervention. He
detested structural prevention approach and said that it is too broad and
difficult to distinguished from general processes of democratization or
economic development and eventually closer to the concept of peace building.
This might mean to say that one’s notion of violence/conflict prevention
affects the others assumptions about when this activity can and should be done,
and what should be done.
It
is this notion that informed scholars who argued that the stage a conflict is
in is very important in determining what intervention tools are most likely to
be effective. Early-warning indicators and signs help to define the timing and
the targets of the preventive measures.
Gurr
(1993:21) in his view while agreeing with the contentions above noted that a
quantitative system analysis to check randomly whether minority groups are at
risk is another way of preventing conflict. This deduction is due to the fact
that in every conflict zone it is the minority group that are always affected.
The monitoring and consistent touches are the diplomatic relations establishing
the state of their well being.
However,
going by the way of postulation by scholars, both for those who favour
preventive diplomacy on short-term and those who advocates for structural
preventive diplomacy, which is in long term intervention, it is pertinent to
note that the role of the United Nations crisis management in Darfur might be
as added by scholars that apart from diplomacy and military operations, that
the needs for preventive diplomacy should stretch to includes institution
building, economic development, and grassroots community building. Since with
such make-up, an effective preventive strategy that might required a
comprehensive approach that encompasses both short-term and long-term political
diplomacy whose absence had been felt at Darfur might be used as a measure by
the international community, in cooperation with national and regional actors
to better the lots of those trapped in conflict zones like Darfur.
1.7 HYPOTHESES
The
deduced hypotheses of this work are:
i.
That the lapses inherent
in the international diplomatic order, especially as was in the case of Darfur,
largely accounted for persistent of the crisis.
ii.
That political power in
many African states, and Sudan inclusive, is coloured by ethnic division,
thereby rendering conflict management in the state problematic.
1.8 METHOD
OF DATA COLLECTION/ANALYSIS
The
research is essentially qualitative in design. It included both primary and
secondary data. The primary data were sourced through in-depth interview
method, by oral face-to-face interview. The interviews were based on
unstructured questions. The choice of unstructured method is based on its
flexibility, which allows for cordial relationship and interaction between the
investigator and the interviewee.
Those
interviewed included the United Nations (UN) staff at Abuja Nigeria, members of
Sudanese embassy in Abuja Nigeria, members of the Justice and Equality Movement
living now in Abuja Nigeria, members of Nigerian Institute of International
Affairs, International Law Scholars and members of Nigerian peacekeeping Unit
at Jaji Kaduna, Nigeria.
The
secondary sources of data collection comprises materials from internet and
library. Documents were sourced from several libraries in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu
and peacekeeping Unity library at Kaduna.
However,
in the course of analysis, the research employed descriptive and evaluation
concepts. The instrument used also was in-depth interview method.
1.9 LIMITATION
OF STUDY
The
investigation of this work from its inception was limited by several factors
which acted and or tended to mar the goal of the work. Amongst which is the
timing of the study as the conflict in Darfur
was still ongoing. There was the problem of been unable to meet up with time
which acted greatly against the intended period. Most of the international scholars,
UN agents and Humanitarian staff resident in Nigeria were not critical and ready
to release information of important vis-à-vis the crisis in Darfur.
The UN/AU Headquarters are also not keen in receiving or attending to
investigators on the subject matter.
The
study, meanwhile encountered some financial problems, lack of specific and
current text on the case study. Poor library and archival materials, and
general logistics problems were forces that compelled and delayed the early
completion of the work. All which fall as a great limitation to the supposedly
early completion of the study.
Finally,
in order to ensure objectivity of comments and remarks, secondary data such as
newspapers, magazine, periodic and journals among others, consideration was placed
on unbiasness.
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