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NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN PEACEKEEPING 
The UN has not relented in its efforts at addressing the shortcoming associated with her 
operational capacity. Boutros Boutros Ghali, upon assumption of office in 1992, introduced' An 

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Agenda For Peace: Preventive Diplomacy, Peacemaking And Peacekeeping' which was geared 
towards creating possibilities for successfully meeting threats to common security Ghali, in his 
Agenda for Peace, gave his analysis and recommendations on ways of strengthening and making 
more efficient, within the framework and provisions of the Charter, the capacity of the UN for 
preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peacekeeping-to which he had added the closely related 
concept of peace building. In addition and stressing the need for preventive diplomacy, the SO 
observed; among other things, the need for 'confidence building measures' that is hinged on 
information-gathering and fact-finding (Early Warning) which could involve preventive 
deployment among other things. 
Also, In July 1997, Kofi Annan proposed reforms that are aimed at confronting the 
challenges of the coming decades and also, emphasizing that any reform is an evolving process. 
This reform is aimed at avoiding any failure in the R2P civilians in a timely manner (as experienced 
in Bosnia and Rwanda) and also to ensure that there is adequate self-defense mechanisms for 
peacekeeping forces and UN staff members (Learning from the situations in Sierra Leon and East 
Timor, where. UN Staff were kidnapped and murdered by Mobs and Militias). Mr. Annan 
repeatedly emphasized the need for peacekeeping forces to develop new capabilities for 
peacekeeping mandates among population in conflict zones while arguing that peacekeeping 
forces are now in need of greater coercive capacity. However, he cautioned that reliance on 
coercion alone is insufficient. 
Moreover, while we are in agreement that till this date, all of the above mentioned steps 
(and many more) geared towards making peacekeeping better, are still evolving and will continue 
to take shape as the years roll by, we will add that it has also been suggested that the Security 
Council be enlarged and that the veto power of the permanent members be amended. For us, that 
is a welcome development. 
Therefore, we are unanimously in support of the fact that the UN, no doubt, is still very 
much relevant and needed today. But if the UN wants to use that relevance to live up to its charter 
and save the coming generations from the heart-ache of conflicts and/or wars, she needs to be 
armed in its peacekeeping agenda. The UN, obviously, needs the funding, the strength and the 
capacity to mount and support a new generation of peacekeeping operations because, in our 
opinion, based on the position of various reform suggestions, the nature of today's wars has 

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changed and peacekeeping MUST 'dress up' for her call.