Role of regional organizations in peacekeeping and security

1. Overview

The UN recognizes regional organizations as key stakeholders in international relations. Some of these regional organizations have been granted observer status at the UN General Assembly and have a permanent representation in New York. This is notably the case for:

 The African Union
 The Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization
 The Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
 The Central American Integration System (SICA)
 The Commonwealth
 The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)
 The European Union (EU)
 The International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF)
 The League of Arab States
 The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

Several other regional organizations, even if they don’t have a permanent representation in New York, benefit from observer status and actively participate in the UN’s diplomatic activities.

 The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
 The Andean Community
 The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
 The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
 The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
 The Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries
 The Community of Sahel-Saharan States
 The Council of Europe
 The East African Community
 The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)
 The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
 The Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB).
 The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC)
 The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region
 The Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA)
 The Latin American Integration Association (ALADI)
 The Latin American Parliament
 The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
 The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
 The Organization of American States (OAS)
 The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States
 The Pacific Island Forum
 The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM)
 The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
 The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
 The Southern African Development Community (SADC)

Lastly, some regional organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization do not have observer status but are critical UN partners.

Chapter VIII of the UN Charter relating to regional agreements makes provision for the existence of regional entities whose role in the peaceful settlement of conflicts is recognized by the UN.

The Charter enshrines the Security Council’s monopoly on authorizing the use of force, except in self-defense. This authorization may however stipulate that the mandate be executed by a regional organization.

Any intervention by a regional or sub-regional organization involving the use of force therefore requires an explicit Security Council mandate in order to avoid the fragmentation of collective security which is intended to be universal.

Role of regional and sub-regional organizations in peacekeeping

The role of regional organizations in collective security expanded rapidly in the 1990s. This trend reflects both the institutional strengthening of the regional and sub-regional organizations and the openness showed by the UN Secretary-General from 1992 to 1996, Egyptian Boutros Boutros-Ghali, in his Agenda for Peace (1992).

The involvement of regional organizations in peacekeeping continued to expand during the first decade of this century. Action by NATO and the EU, as well as the OSCE and the AU, served to make this phenomenon all the more visible. This activity related not just to the peaceful settlement of disputes (good offices, mediation efforts) but also to coercive measures (sanctions and even military operations).

The Security Council and the regional and sub-regional organizations

The Security Council has, in this context, developed cooperation with the regional organizations, while seeking to strengthen and improve the framework of this cooperation.

A variety of arrangements have therefore been implemented, sometimes in the form of support lent by a regional organization to the UN (the European Union’s Operation Artemis in the Democratic Republic of Congo), but most often in the form of UN support for regional organizations: co-deployment, successive rotations and deployments, operational or budgetary support (AMISOM), exclusive management by the regional organization within the framework of a UN mandate (NATO International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan).

These experiences have posed new challenges for the Security Council with respect to partnership arrangements, as in the case of the AU/UN hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID).

The involvement of regional organizations in peacekeeping can lead to political difficulties: lack of resources available to the regional organization (troops, equipment, military expertise, budget), pressure to provide predictable and sustainable funding, lack of oversight by the Security Council with respect to the operations that it has authorized, strategic differences between the regional organization and the Security Council, etc.

However, the role of regional organizations in peacekeeping and international security is destined to continue growing with a view toward promoting subsidiarity as well as the accountability of regional actors. France contributes to this through the organizations to which it belongs, as well as through its support for implementing regional security architectures, as for example in Africa in support of the African Union’s efforts.

(May 2013)

2. France statements

 7 may 2013 – Security Council – OSCE – Statement by Mr Martin Briens, Deputy Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations

3. Helpful links

 List of international organizations that have observer status at the UN

 Website of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs – cooperation with regional organizations

 United Nations University Institute - Comparative Regional Integration Studies