Voice 1 Hello, and welcome to Spotlight. I'm Steve Myersco. Voice 2 And I'm Marina Santee. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3 "The only people who can solve conflicts are the people who are involved in the fighting and those who are affected by it. The people who own the conflict must be the people who own the peace. As outsiders, all we can do is help them towards that aim." Voice 1 A man called Peter Dixon said these words. He was once a pilot in the British Royal Air Force. Now, he leads a group called Concordis International. Concordis members work in a number of troubled areas around the world. They try to build peace between all groups involved in conflict situations. We will look more closely at the work of Concordis international in a later programme. Today's Spotlight is the second in this series. And we ask the question: what is the best way to intervene in a conflict?
Voice 2 Asha sits on the dirt floor of a large room. A number of other children sit around her. Some of them are crying loudly. Others sit and pull at their clothes. Asha sits quietly, her eyes large and full of questions. She is little more than a baby. But she has already experienced suffering beyond her years. It almost seems as if she will never smile again. Asha lives in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC. This area is experiencing a period of great conflict. Many groups are fighting to gain political control of the country. Asha's father was away from home, fighting for one of the military groups. One day, soldiers came to Asha's village. They killed many people, including her mother. Aid workers took Asha to a children's home in the town of Goma. And there she sits, waiting for a father who may never return.
Voice 1 Sadly, stories like Asha's are extremely common in conflict areas today. Organizations like the United Nations were designed to prevent such human suffering. The UN started in 1945. And one of its main aims was to re-establish faith in basic human rights.
Voice 2 However, the conflict in DRC is one of several that have tested this aim. Some experts say they are examples of ‘new wars'. Mary Kaldor is Professor of Governance at the London School of Economics. She described the recent conflicts in this way: Voice 4 "These are the situations that create ‘new wars': when the state lacks authority; when the state does not represent the common people; when people no longer believe that their leaders are willing or able to deal with public concerns; when the state cannot or will not control groups who are willing to use violence to achieve what they want. These are the conditions that give rise to violent conflicts." Voice 2 And Mary Kaldor also described the effects of these ‘new wars' on a country's population: Voice 4 "I call these conflicts ‘war' because of their political nature. But I could also describe them as huge violations of human rights...The people fighting mainly direct their violence against citizens and not other armies. The aim is to capture territory through political control, not military success. They keep this control through terror - sending away or killing those people who do not agree with them...expelling the population, mass killing, widespread crime - these are not just the effects of war. They are methods particularly chosen to achieve political control." Voice 1 So, how should the international community react to these ‘new wars'? In 2005, the UN published a document describing its responsibility to protect. Part of it said: Voice 5 "Each individual State is responsible for protecting its populations from mass killing of one particular group, war crimes...and crimes against humanity... The international community, through the United Nations, is also responsible. It must use the right kind of ways - like negotiating and providing humanitarian aid - to help protect populations from these dangers." Voice 1 But the document continued: Voice 5 "The international community is prepared to act together...through the Security Council. We will act along with other concerned organizations, if peaceful negotiation is not successful. And if national authorities also fail to protect their populations from danger and death." Voice 2 One way that the UN may intervene in a conflict is through peace support. This involves sending UN military forces to protect law and order and keep peace. In 2008, there were 16 such UN peace-keeping projects around the world - including in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Peter Dixon leads the peace-building group, Concordis International. He believes that these UN peace-keepers have an increasingly difficult job. He says: Voice 3 "Peace-keeping has become much more complex. Today's peace-keeper has to do much more than protect the line between enemy forces. ...An intervening military force may stop the fighting. But it may also cause existing injustice to continue - or get even worse." Voice 2 UN forces do not aim to add to a country's problems. However, there may not be much time to prepare their soldiers before they enter a conflict situation. And the soldiers do not always completely understand how complex the situation is. Without knowing, they may support the ‘wrong' side. Sadly, the UN peace-keeping force in the DRC shows problems like these all too clearly. It is the largest and most costly of its kind in the world. But it is still too small to do an effective job against larger rebel forces. And its soldiers have not been able to protect many innocent people from being attacked and killed. Aid cannot reach the people who need it so badly. The situation is too dangerous. The immediate future does not look good for the DRC.
Voice 1 Military intervention and peace-keeping do seem to have a place in managing conflict. But it is not always clear what that place is. And one day, the peace-keeping soldiers will have to go home. What will they leave behind? A situation worse than when they first arrived? Or a country at peace with itself at last? As Peter Dixon of Concordis says, peace is much more than a lack of fighting. In the third programme of this series, we will look at how his organization works to build peace in areas of conflict.
Voice 2 The writer and producer of today's programme was Ruby Jones. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can hear more Spotlight programmes on our website. The address is http://www.radio.english.net. This programme is called, "Conflict, Part 2: Intervention and its Effects."
