UN CASE STUDY: SIERRA LEONE success

 Resources are in the Ppt below

Sierra Leone UN case study from DB3igs

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BOSNIA GENOCIDE DENIAL OUTLAWED

Guardian:

The top international official in Bosnia has outlawed denial of genocide in the Balkan country to counter attempts by Bosnia’s Serbs to deny the scope of the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica, Europe’s only post-second world war genocide.

Valentin Inzko, the outgoing head of Bosnia’s Office of the High Representative, or OHR, introduced the changes to the country’s criminal code on Friday, bringing in prison
sentences of up to five years for genocide denial and for the glorification of war criminals, including naming of streets or public institutions after them.

The OHR is the top international body overseeing implementation of the peace agreement that ended Bosnia’s 1992-95 war. It has the authority to impose decisions or dismiss officials who undermine the post-war ethnic balance and reconciliation efforts among the Bosniaks, who are mostly Muslim, Bosnia’s Serbs and Croats.

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Inzko said he decided to use his powers after waiting for years for Bosnia’s politicians to act. He cited a refusal by the Bosnian Serb assembly to withdraw decorations awarded to three convicted war criminals.

“The situation has gotten worse and is now getting out of hand,” he said, warning that lack of acknowledgment was “sowing the seeds” for new conflicts. “Therefore, I believe that it is now necessary to regulate this matter with legal solutions.”

The genocide in Srebrenica happened after Bosnian Serbs took control over the eastern enclave in July 1995. They executed Bosniak men and boys and dumped their remains into mass graves which were later dug out and reburied to cover the crime. The victims’ remains are still being unearthed and identified.

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The UN security council on Thursday rejected a resolution put forward by Serb allies Russia and China that would have immediately stripped the powers of the OHR in Bosnia.

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...the top politician in the Serb entity called Republika Srpska ... Dodik threatened to launch a process of “dissolution” of Bosnia

Bosnian Serbs also have honoured their wartime leader Radovan Karadžić and military commander Ratko Mladić as heroes, although both have been convicted of genocide and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Hague-based tribunal

UN snippets

---TBC: I'LL GATHER SOME LATER POSTS HERE TOO FOR SIMPLICITY---

RUSSIA USING VETO TO BLOCK AID TO SYRIAN REBELS - DOES THE VETO BREAK THE UN?

Somewhat shocking or simply realpolitik?

Russia was pressured into agreeing to a UN motion to deliver aid into Syria without the government's permission at the time it was invading the Crimea and hosting the Sochi Olympic Games. Now it has used it's Vero to block 3 of 4 routes agreed in the UN, with the last up for a security council vote next week - and likely to be vetoed, possibly causing mass starvation. (Guardian)

Perhaps an example of the UN at its most AND least effective? Are the vetoes the problem? The USA routinely uses its veto, and diplomatic threats/pressure, to block resolutions favourable to Palestine or critical of Israel (and for many green policies). It's seen as a failure of diplomacy when countries use their veto; many votes are scrapped when it's clear this will happen, though equally some are forced to cause diplomatic embarrassment to the vetoing power.

Here's a useful Wiki on the veto. This is a decent summary:

The veto power is controversial. Supporters regard it as a promoter of international stability,[2] a check against military interventions,[3] and a critical safeguard against US domination.[4] Critics say that the veto is the most undemocratic element of the UN,[5] as well as the main cause of inaction on war crimes and crimes against humanity, as it effectively prevents UN action against the permanent members and their allies.[6]