Violence in Syria Needs a Joint Approach Essay

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Updated: Mar 22nd, 2024

Introduction

The rebellion in Syria has persisted for quite a while. The violence started in 2011, as a part of the Arab World wave of revolts that involved among others Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Tunisia. Even though, the uprisings subsided or concluded in several Arab nations, such as Egypt and Libya, violence has continued to the increase in Syria. As this continues to happen, powerful international and regional organizations are doing nothing to stop the killings in Syria. These organizations simply observe as Syrians kill one another daily. The United Nations, the Arab League and Saudi Arabia have done less to end the violence in Syria. This essay analyses the United Nations and other organizations role in building peace in Syria. However, the essay focuses on the role of the United Nations. Fighting in Syria could likely end, if there was an active participation in peace efforts by both regional and international organizations.

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Discussion

The Likely United Nations Role in Syria

The main role of the United Nations is to build peaceful co-existence between nations. On the other hand, the Arab League is a supervisory organization of the Arab World. Therefore, it has a responsibility in ending the violence in Syria. In the past, Saudi Arabia has supported peace efforts in the Middle East, for instance, in Afghanistan and Iraq, hence, it should do the same in Syria (The New York Times, 1). The fighting in Syria has a religious side; hence, Saudi Arabia has a part to play in ending the conflict in Syria. The uprising in Syria started after the Syrian people called for the resignation of their President Mr. Bashar Assad. President Assad responded to this resignation call by deploying government military to subdue violence in Syria’s capital. However, his response led to armed forces defectors, who initiated the current rebellion against the government of Syria. The rebellion has a factional undertone, which has fueled the violence to its current state.

The United Nations has previously played a critical role in creating peace in Kosovo, Rwanda and other nations that have been in political crisis (UNAC). The Arab World problems are complex because they involve sectarian opinions centering on the Sunnis and Shiite Muslims besides politics. The fighting in Syria could not have reached the current state, had it not been for this complexity. In view of this, the United Nations role in ending the fighting could entail the United Nations sending peacekeepers to Syria, to protect civilians from the war between the Syrian government forces and the insurgency militias. The additional role the UN could play in establishing peace between the warring Syrian factions could entail appointing a neutral United Nations envoy, to initiate dialogue between the two sides. This approach has currently been proposed by the United Nations and the Arab League. The two organizations have called upon the Syrian president to initiate dialogue and end the country’s goriest tumult. Kofi Annan, the official Arab-League envoy, made this call to Mr. Assad, the President of Syria, late February 2012 (Aljazeera and Agencies, 1).

The United Nations is capable of ending the violence in Syria. However, the bureaucracy in the organization and the vetoes powerful that some nations have are a limiting factor to attaining peace in Syria. For instance, Russia and the People’s Republic of China have twice used their vetoes, to impede any intervention in Syria by the United Nations Security Council (Muja). Toward the end of February 2012, the United Nations and the Arab-League joined efforts, and appointed Kofi Annan as the chief mediator for the Syrian crisis. This is arguably the first bold-step the United Nations has taken to end violence in Syria. The United Nations has mediated many conflicts since its inception. Therefore, the first role it could take could be investigative. The analytical role could entail evaluating the situation in Syria, and determining whether the situation has worsened or improved. The United Nations has failed on this role.

The additional role the United Nations could play to end the conflict in Syria, would be to ease the humanitarian crisis. The Syrians could stop fighting if they perceived that someone cares about their plight. If the Syrian government facilitated the humanitarian efforts, the United Nations could use this opportunity to persuade President Assad, to initiate dialogue.

The United Nations derives its powers from its major sponsor like the United States, China, Russia and the United Kingdom. Therefore, the United Nations could persuade the world’s influential nations, to put embargoes and a warrant of arrest for President Assad and his military chiefs. The United Nations used this approach in Libya and Iraq. The Arab League has responded to the United Nations call for peace, by ending its diplomatic links with President Assad’s government. To some extent, the embargoes and restrictions may succeed, although this approach is not instantaneous.

The United Nations cannot function alone, to stop the violence in Syria. A collaborative effort is needed to establish a peaceful co-existence in Syria. The role that the United Nations could play to establish peace in Syria could entail the creation of a joint diplomatic armed force, to quell the violence. Although the United Nations has acted too late, the ongoing efforts to establish a joint peacekeeping military force for Syria is a step in the right direction. Following the high-level meeting convened by the United Nations, the Arab League agreed to initiate communications with Syria’s rebellion faction. It has taken eleven months for the organization mandated with world peace to act on the Syrian crisis (United States Institute of Peace).

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For being a diplomatic organization, the United Nations may have trouble in fostering peace in Syria, because the Syrian problem is deep rooted. It started after Syria got its independence in the 1940s. The United Nations negotiation role could work for Syria, through the United Nations urging “the friends of Syria”, particularly in the West, such as the US and European Union, to use their diplomatic ties with Syria as a route to peace.

Conclusion

The conflict in Syria could have ended peacefully if the United Nations assumed its role in creating peace. The United Nations has responded to calls for peace in Syria, hence, it should act decisively and end the killings in Syria. The major role the United Nations could play in Syria is mediation. The United Nations has played this role severally in other nations. Therefore, the Syrian crisis should not be a problem. The problem in Syria is long overdue. Many people have died in Syria, the prudent thing the United Nations should do is to end the violence in Syria. There should be no more bloodshed in Syria. If dialogue fails, force should be considered.

Works Cited

Aljazeera and Agencies. “Kofi Annan calls for unified action on Syria. Joint UN-Arab League envoy wants single process of mediation as troops launch ground assault on the city of Homs.” Al Jazeera News 2012: 1. Print.

Muja, Sahit. UN, China and Russia are utterly useless in fostering peace in Syria. 2012. Web.

The New York Times. “Arab League.” The New York Times 2012: 1. Print.

UNAC. Is Peace in the World a Utopian Dream? The Role of the United Nations. n.d. Web.

United States Institute of Peace. Syria. 2012. Web.

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IvyPanda. 2024. "Violence in Syria Needs a Joint Approach." March 22, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/violence-in-syria-needs-a-joint-approach/.

1. IvyPanda. "Violence in Syria Needs a Joint Approach." March 22, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/violence-in-syria-needs-a-joint-approach/.


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IvyPanda. "Violence in Syria Needs a Joint Approach." March 22, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/violence-in-syria-needs-a-joint-approach/.

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