By Patrick Cole
March 27, 1999
As NATO airstrikes relentlessly pound Yugoslavia, the United Nations Security Council finds itself in the curious role of observer instead of mediator. On Friday, Russia tried--and failed--to have the UN Security Council demand an immediate halt to the NATO bombing of Serbian forces.
Only Russia, China and Namibia supported the measure. The decisiveness of the defeat surprised many diplomats. Diplomats and experts here say that the Security Council had no choice but to defer to NATO's military effort. "In fact, the UN has discretion to defer some regional conflicts to other international organizations like NATO. The Security Council has become more tolerant of actions by regional organizations by blessing the action after the fact," said Ruth Wedgwood, who teaches international law at Yale University and the Naval War College.
Some were not so kind. Albanian delegates to the UN pointedly noted that the UN should have acted earlier to stop "ethnic cleansing" in Kosovo by Yugoslav forces. Yugoslav military operations have forced more than 235,000 ethnic Albanians from their homes. About 25,000 of that number have been forced out since last week.
"Still, it's not too late," said Sokol Kondi, a top-ranking diplomat in the Albanian mission. "When the UN was witnessing the massacre of Muslims in Bosnia, the UN was doing nothing to impede this situation. This (military action) is a necessary action to take. We have been asking for a long time for NATO intervention in the way of ground troops. "The Albanians of Kosovo are very grateful for the American troops," Kondi added. "We believe they are engaged in a useful action, and we do consider it a step toward peace."
Yet NATO's actions, to some, left the Security Council appearing inept. On the one hand, Secretary General Kofi Annan admitted that diplomacy had failed and that it was necessary to use military force to curtail the bloodshed Serbia has inflicted on Kosovo. On the other hand, Annan also said that while the UN recognizes NATO's responsibility in such regional conflicts, the UN "should be involved in any decision to resort to the use of force."
Observers said that because of Milosevic's actions, NATO was compelled to respond. The Security Council was divided, said a diplomat who requested anonymity, "So the solution had to be with NATO."
Yet some believe the failure of UN peacekeeping operations in key trouble spots adds another bruise to its image. "I don't have great hopes for the UN to perform peacekeeping roles," said David Phillips, executive director of Columbia University's International Conflict Resolution Program. "It (the UN) failed in the Balkans in the early '90s, and the UN peacekeepers became the problem and not the solution because they were vulnerable to becoming hostages."
Diplomats interviewed predict NATO's offensive may force Milosevic to compromise, and that the Security Council action on Friday may help convince him he has no alternative. "The Security Council cannot reach a decision that creates a considerable vacuum," said a Turkish diplomat, who asked not to be identified. "This is what had to be done, and we hope that Milosevic will come to his senses."
