The Role Of The United Nations In The Peace Initiatives Of Post-conflict African Nations

Since the post-independence regime of the African continent and the collapse ofthe cold-war, multitude of domestic conflicts have surfaced the international scene,witnessing incredible humiliations of human dignity and the loss of precious lives atthe advantages of power, ethnic and religious domination, cultural dominance andbattle for wealth. Despite efforts from international mediation groups, foreigngovernments, international organizations and as well as donor support agencies toremedy the situations and bring perpetual peace to the people of Africa, the sounds of‘dark cloud’ still hang over the continent of Africa if not huge but in an increasednumber.The conflicts in Liberia and Sudan are two of the continent atrocious nightmaresthat occurred at the disadvantages of their natural, material and human resources; withpolitical, ethnic and religious and as well as wealth-accumulation dimensions whichhad severe implications on the neighbors of the two countries. In spite of theunprecedented nature of the entire conflicts in these countries, the United Nations andthe international community played a little role in intervening at the earliest; whichresulted to the intensification of those horrible situations. Although the United Nationssubsequently made an intervening present to bring an end to the conflicts andguarantee the initial peace but it is argued that it was after many people paid theunwarranted price of death from abuses in these struggles.This paper investigates the role of the United Nations in the peace initiatives ofpost-conflict Liberia and Sudan that suffered decades of bloody civil conflicts in aneffort to determine the impact of its intervention and the efforts exerted to preventfuture conflicts in post-conflict African society. During the helm of these domesticconflicts, barrage of human abuses topped the ceiling of international humanitarianconcerns and presented the need for assistance in order to save innocent lives from thescourge of those deadly political, ethnic, religious and economic struggles thatoverpowered the orders at the time due to the huge human intimidation. Theinvestigation further intends to uncover amid the UN role in conflict initiatives inAfrica, why conflict still brew and remain so high on the continent?On another frontline of this discussion, this paper also argues that theintervention and execution of activities by the United Nations in the above-mentioned conflicts are not enough material gain to guarantee any future conflict-free society inAfrica. The UN method of approaching the resolution of conflicts on the continent isinconclusive to the nature and foundation on which those conflicts occurred. Thismeans that the core issues which result to the breeding grounds of conflicts areignored for the political side of the organization’s image; thereby paving a future forrepetition of chaos.It is important to highlight here that the conflicts in Liberia and Sudan are not thefirst to witness the UN intervention from the perspective of searching for an avoidablereoccurrence of those deep rooted conflicts on the continent. The UN has used almostthis same method of conflict resolution in previous African conflicts and nothingsubstantive has materialized in preventing future huddles; which I think there is aneed in trying to use alternative methods that are geared toward bringing some reliefto the continent’s people.Also as part of the UN peace initiatives in these countries, this paper highlightsthe reform role of the United Nations and expresses an analysis that these reformexercises are not enough material gains to prevent future conflicts. Despite thetemporary peace, the serious consideration and correction of those vices that plungedcountries in total chaos will help solidify the peace and harness harmoniousunderstanding of the people of these conflict-affected nations.