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THE ROLE OF UNITED NATIONS IN PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: A
Book Abstract by:
RashiSureka
Original Author: Sami Ali
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“ I heard two lawyers say, This chaos will soon be ended,
The blue house bended, Never ended, ended and ended” - Anonymous Metaphors cannot speak for themselves as they are heavily bribed. The progeny and prosthetics of life often lead to situations when we face the myriads of fate and tirades of destiny. One such situation which the International community faces is the impasse and embargo in Congo, which threatens to destabilize the peace and security of the entire African Continent. Ever since Congo or Zaire gained Independence in 1960 from Belgium, it has been the battleground of Africa. Successive regimes from Patrice Lumumba to the notorious Mobutu Sese Seko and Laurent Desiree Kabila have fought and tried to rule with an Iron hand for the control of this famed and mineral rich land. The history of Congo since 1960 has been dipped and written in blood. As the International community watches in helplessness, the role of UN in preserving the peace and tranquility in this disturbed land becomes more important. United Nations has been a participant to quell the wars of succession in Congo since 1960, when for the first time it had to interfere to protect the mandate of newly formed Government of Patrice Lumumba from Belgian threat. Ever since then, it has been embroiled in the messy affairs of Congo, but the fact has been that in most of the cases, it has been a silent spectator. As the war kept on raging in Congo after 1997 between the forces loyal to Mobutu Sese Seko and troops loyal to dissident leader Laurent Desiree Kabila, hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians were butchered and massacred in the region in Ituri and across Congo, but the UN did little to steam the tide of horror and misery in this area. As the world watched with disbelief and shock at the turn of events, the UNMOC (United Nations Mission in Congo) did little to intervene and save the lives of innocent civilians, ladies and hapless children. The events in Congo have proved to be a blackspot in the name of UN and in the face of International Community. The main paper by the two authors would extensively deal with the role of UN in maintaining International peace and security and whether it failed in its ambit of work in Congo and what steps can be taken now to redeem the situation. As the whole of the world and Africa watches with anxiety and bated breath, long term peace in Congo would not only provide peace to the embattled souls in Congo, but it would also redeem the position of UN, which for long has been accused of having “ arms of gold and limbs of clay”.
Published: September 20, 2007