[ Discursivas CACD ] Inglês 2010 - UN Security Council

CACD 2010 - Composition

It will be no surprise to those who follow UN affairs that the end of Cold War has been the single most formative experience in the existence of the Security Council. 

There are many ways to demonstrate this. The simplest is to count the absolute number of Council resolutions. For the period 146-1989 the annual average number of resolutions passed was fifteen; since then the average has been than sixty. The Council has moved from roughly one decision a month to once per week. This is indeed a dramatic change.

Peter Wallensteen and Patrick Johansson's. Security Council decisions on perspective.
In: Malone, D.M. ed. The United Nations Security Council : from the Cold War to the 21st Century. London: International Peace Academy, 2004 (Adapted).

In what other ways have the Security Council's actions changed since the end of the Cold War ? Why ?

José Joaquim Gomes da Costa Filho 

The demise of the Soviet Union marks a watershed in the history of the UN Security Council. Not only has the amount of resolutions increased in the aftermath of the Cold War, but the substance of its decision has also changed. Peacekeeping operations have been enhanced, new topics have been introduced at the top of the agenda of the council and stiffer verification mechanisms have been concocted in the light of the changing global scenario.

"An agenda for peace", a UN report published at the beginning of the 1990s, stressed the new features of armed conflicts and urged states to improve the peacekeeping operations capacity to tackle the daunting challenges posed by the new scenario. 

Thenceforth, the Security Council, aware of the complexity of the burgeoning number of intrastate conflicts, has aimed at diversifying the roles played by peace operations.

Peacemaking and peacebuilding activities are now as important as monitoring prior peace deals. The changing nature of armed conflicts since the end of the Cold War has demanded brand new responses from the Security Council.

Another major change is the discussion of topics which are not related to the traditional concept of security. The concept has evolved from a strict military bias to a more diverse understanding. The new concept of "securitization", which was consolidated by Barry Buzan, entails not only the military domain but also the societal, environmental and economy realms. Any threat may be securitized by states and put at the top of their political agenda. Accordingly, the Security Council has held meeting on climate change and human rights.

Finally, the Security Council has improved its verification tools through recent decisions such as resolutions 1373 and 1540. The latter refers to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the former is related to terrorism. Both established specify commitees' scrutiny. This change was spurred by the 2001 terrorism assaults in the United States and the political will of some permanent members. 

The international scenario engendered by the end of the Cold War has rendered the UN Security Council more pro-active inasmuch as new challenges have demanded a streamlined approach. A broader agenda, multifaceted peace operations and new verification mechanisms are important changes in its actions.