A Critical Study of the Ethical Challenges to United Nations

A critical study of the ethical challenges to United Nations Peacekeeping Missions and National Sovereignty in Africa with specific reference to Congo, Somalia, Rwanda and Sudan By Herbert Chingono (Diploma in War and Strategic Studies; BA (Honours) in War and Strategic Studies; MSc National Security Strategy; MBA; MA International Relations) Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Academic Requirements for the Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy In the Subject of Ethics at the School of Religion Philosophy and Classics, College of Humanities University of KwaZulu–Natal Pietermaritzburg Supervisor Dr Munyaradzi Felix Murove June 2017 DECLARATION I, Herbert Chingono declare that: i. The research presented in this thesis except where otherwise indicated, is my original work. ii. The thesis has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. iii. This thesis does not contain other persons’ data, pictures, graphics or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons. iv. This thesis does not contain other persons’ writing unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted: a. Their words have been rewritten but the general information attributed to them has been referenced. b. Where their exact words have been used, their exact words have been placed inside quotation marks and referenced. v. This thesis does not contain text graphics or table coped and pasted from the internet unless specifically acknowledged and the source being detailed in the thesis and in the reference sections. Candidate: H Chingono Signed: ……………………………….. Date ……………………………. Supervisor: Dr M. F. Murove Signed: ………………………………… Date ……………………………… i DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my beloved parents for their abundant and endless love, spiritual support and encouragement. I will forever cherish their sacrifices towards giving me a firm educational foundation that has enabled me to attain this academic achievement. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been successfully completed without the total and unflinching critical support from my supervisor, Dr Munyaradzi Felix Murove. I remain forever indebted to him for the professional, rigorous guidance and constructive criticism he gave me throughout the research project. There is no doubt that he invested a lot of his valuable time and energy marking my chapters and giving me timeous and detailed feedback. I cannot fully express my profound gratitude and appreciation for his enormous contribution to the successful completion of this thesis. I am equally greatly indebted to my Commander, General Constantino Guvheya Chiwenga who was my pillar of professional strength and inspiration throughout my research project. He personally encouraged me to embark on the PhD study programme and provided me with the logistical and financial support that enabled me to visit several countries in search of relevant research material for my thesis. His personal academic focus and achievement inspired me to excel in my research endeavours. I would also like to thank the Commander of the Zimbabwe National Army Lieutenant General Philip Valerio Sibanda who released me to attend to the demanding working visits to University of KwaZulu–Natal for consultations with my supervisor at a time when office demands and financial resources were a big challenge. General Sibanda equally shared with me his most valuable experience as Commander of UNAVEM II in Angola. I found his experience extremely useful and relevant to my broad area of study. Retired Lieutenant General M Nyambuya who served with UNOSOM shared with me his personal experiences and professional views regarding UN/US peacekeeping missions in Somalia. I remain indebted to him for his contribution to the successful completion of this study. Lieutenant Colonel (Dr) Sadiki Maeresera, a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of KwaZulu-Natal was extremely generous with his sharing of research experience and how to remain focused on addressing the issues under investigation. Mrs Celeste Johns was an outstanding librarian throughout my studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Without her professional assistance, my usage of library books could not have been as effective as it was. I wish to sincerely thank Zimbabwean ambassadors accredited to the countries I visited for my field work namely South Africa, Ethiopia and Russia. A special thank you goes to various diplomats accredited to the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa for the invaluable assistance they gave me through interviews and the provision of research materials for my fieldwork. I wish to iii single out Mr Simon Badza who personally helped me in scheduling and coordinating my interviews with diplomats accredited to the AU despite his having a busy schedule at the AU Department of Political Affairs. A special acknowledgement goes to all the interviewees that spared their precious time to grant me the opportunity to engage with them. I wish to single out the following interviewees: Ambassador I.A. Moyo; Ambassador Manzou; Ambassador Mapuranga; Ambassador Mtetwa; Ambassador Maupanga; Professor Madhuku; Professor Manyeruke; Professor J. Moyo, Dr. Gomesh; Dr. Ibbo Mandaza; Dr. N. Mlambo, Dr. R. Uriga; Dr. J. Mukusha and several serving and retired army and police officers who served with various missions in the countries under study who agreed to grant me interviews. Special mentions also go to all the academics and political analysts that agreed to spare their precious time for my interviews. The research project could not have been a success without the professionalism and dedication to duty of my office staff who worked odd hours in helping me to put together the various parts of the interviews as well as the desk research. Mr J. Maguranhinga was outstanding with his clerical and editing contribution. Ms M. Nyamandi was always cheerful and prepared to go an extra mile despite the clerical overload that she had to handle to ensure this study was successfully completed. Last but not least I wish to express my profound appreciation for the patience and moral support I received from my beloved wife Loice Chingono and my immediate family members. The demanding workload for the successful completion of this study saw her assuming greater family responsibilities as I was working hard to meet deadlines agreed to between my supervisor and myself. The views expressed in this thesis are attributed to the author’s point of views. iv ABSTRACT Africa has become the epicentre and experimental laboratory for UN peacekeeping missions. The UN peacekeeping doctrine has evolved through numerous operational experiments in Africa culminating in the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine that has been erroneously portrayed as the doctrine of harmony of interests and of international solidarity designed to serve international interests. This thesis concludes that the UN peacekeeping doctrine conceals the fact that it is primarily designed to advance the self-interests of the big powers at the expense of the weak states in conflict situations. This thesis demonstrates that UN peacekeeping missions facilitate the continued looting of Africa’s natural resources by big powers whose international policies are designed to entrench their privileged positions in violation of host state sovereignty and at the expense of the suffering populations. UN peacekeeping missions have been unethically used to facilitate regime change agendas in countries whose leaders would have fallen out of favour with the US and its Western allies. In this regard, humanitarian and other altruistic justifications for peacekeepers’ deployment have been used to camouflage and conceal the true nefarious intentions of the big powers in what is known as “organized hypocrisy” on the part of the main sponsors of UN peacekeeping operations. The study revealed that African countries with greater geo-political and geo-strategic importance receive significantly higher attention and probability for UN peacekeeping deployments and not countries with the highest human suffering requiring the most urgent international attention. The study demonstrated that it is a myth and a fallacy to believe that UN peacekeepers deployed in Africa serve the interests of local populations affected by conflicts. UN peacekeepers were accomplices in the assassinations of national leaders of Congo and Rwanda. In Somalia, the most powerful warlord was targeted for assassination by UN peacekeepers while in Sudan, the sitting head of state was indicted for prosecution at The Hague. The UNSC response to the genocide in Rwanda was morally and ethically reprehensible. In countries of no significant geo-strategic or economic interests, the big powers resort to what has been termed “collective waffling” as part of “organized hypocrisy.” In that regard African leaders must prioritise the protection of their populations as it is their internationally acknowledged responsibility to protect their own civilian populations without relying on foreign peacekeepers to play that vital role. v KEY TERMS United Nations Peacekeeping Missions, State Sovereignty, Self-Determination, Peacekeeping Challenges, Ethical Challenges, National Self–Interests, Protection of Civilians, Responsibility to Protect, Consent, Impartiality, Use of Force and self-determination, Organized Hypocrisy. vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AHM Austro- Hungarian Monarch African Union AMIS African Mission in Sudan ANC National

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