Post Cold War Role of the United Nations Security Council

This paper examines the history of the United Nations peace-keeping operations and its attempt at enforcement actions in the Middle East and Korea. The effect of the Cold War on the ability of the Council to agree on enforcement actions in the past are also examined. EastWest confrontation during the Cold War was a major hindrance to effective decision making at the Security Council. With the collapse of the Cold War, the UN seems to have gained a new lease on life as was demonstrated in tackling the Gulf crisis. The first major tests of the post Cold War Security Council were the Gulf crisis and the Temple Mount Killings. An examination of the various debates during the two crises shows that, although the permanent members of the Council were willing to work together in solving the crises, this was due only to the fact that their interests in energy oil were threatened. However, the inability of the Council to establish a truly UN force to implement its decision indicates that the collapse of the Cold War does not translate into unanimity of action. There are competitions still if not outright confrontation between the countries of the West and East. If the UN Security Council is to perform its functions as contained in the charter, there must be a removal of the veto powers of the present permanent members. There should also be an increase in the numbers of permanent members to reflect geographic and Third World representation.