The effectiveness of the United Nations security council in maintaining peace and security in the Middle East: The case of Syria (2011 – 2016)

Abstract

The general objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in resolving conflicts in the Middle East with a particular focus on the Syrian crisis. What prompted the study is the fact that since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011, no robust action has been taken by the UNSC in response to the situation, which clearly poses a threat to international peace and security. It is on this basis that the study aimed at establishing the mandate of the UNSC, the role it has played and the facilitating and inhibiting factors towards the resolution of the civil war in Syria. Data for this qualitative case study were collected through interviews and document analysis. The twelve participants for the interviews were drawn from Colonels in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), Embassies, Security Analysts and Academics from the University of Zimbabwe. Documents such as published books, journal articles and unpublished dissertations/ theses, newsletters, newspaper articles, policy briefs amongst other documents were used to illustrate the UNSC’s response to the Syrian conflict as well as the challenges faced in resolving the conflict. The study established that in response to the crisis, the UNSC inter alia, called for the implementation of the Geneva Communiqué, a six-point peace plan of the joint special envoy of the UN and the League of Arab States (LAS); it established a supervision mission in Syria (UNSMIS); it has condemned the use of chemical weapons and endorsed the removal and destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons; it has urged the international community to suppress funding of terrorist activities in Syria; it has urged all parties to the conflict to allow and facilitate humanitarian relief; and it has repeatedly stressed that the warring parties must stop all violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. The main findings in this research revealed that the UNSC has been rendered ineffective due to the meddling of external actors such as Russia and China who are pursuing their national interests at the expense of the peace and security of the Syrian people. From the respondents’ perspective, it is only when the external actors stop meddling in the Syrian crisis that a solution can be found. The study recommends that there is need for national ownership if the mediation efforts of the UNSC are to be successful. Labeling and hate speech should not be used if the UNSC wants to get cooperation from the Assad regime. There is need for an expansion of countries that wield veto power to enable a wider representation and the external actors involved in the conflict must withdraw their support from either side and leaving the warring parties to fight until a victor emerges. This might force the warring parties to go on the negotiating table