The Challenges of the United Nations in Conflict Resolution: The Case of Darfur

ABSTRACT: The importance of international peace and security around the World following World War II has led to the foundation of the United Nations in 1945. However, since then the international community and the UN have both been facing challenges from the Cold War to today’s intrastate conflicts, Arms of Mass Destructions, environmental problems, “terrorism”, just to name a few. One important concern of today is the difficulty dealing with intrastate conflicts that may affect international peace and order. In Darfur since 2003, conflict between the Darfur rebels on one side and the central government of Sudan resulted into one of most deadly conflict of the 21st century. The UN has been trying to end the conflict, however the organization is faced with many challenges, such as the inability of the Security Council to come up with a decision free from veto from the permanent members. The objective of this thesis is to explain the conflict in Darfur and the activities of the UN in that region and critically analyze what the organization is doing. This will be done by using theories of conflict resolution and other peaceful mechanism of resolving conflict. Keywords: International peace and security, international organization, conflict resolution. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………