Frechette gives advice on reconstruction

Keeping order in conflict-torn countries is much more complicated than simply devising a plan of action.

Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Louise Fr‚chette addressed an audience at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy last night on the difficulties and imperatives involved in peacekeeping and nation-building.

Her speech was the keynote address at Fletcher's Conference on Innovative Approaches: Rethinking Interdisciplinary Action in Conflict. The first annual conference will continue today with a number of panels discussing the latest theories and ideas addressing global conflict.

Fr‚chette said the conference was especially timely with the world's attention currently focused on peacekeeping efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Thorough knowledge of local dynamics and customs is essential for U.N. personnel in order to succeed on missions, according to Fr‚chette. As much time as possible should be "spent listening to the widest cross-section of society," she said.

Without "the local language and knowledge of local communities, [U.N. personnel] cannot hope to take root in communities like local forces," she said.

Fr‚chette discussed the difficulties of maintaining order in countries with nation-building efforts. "Nothing is possible without security," she said. "The perils of inadequate military presence are all too obvious."

She said that there are often difficulties in finding funding, recruiting, and in building cohesion among the ranks when developing local security forces.

Fr‚chette said the recent international tribunals in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda have linked systematic rape and media propaganda to genocide. She warned, however, that pressing for accountability too soon could undermine rebuilding efforts.

International donors rarely focus aid on redeveloping states' infrastructures -- a necessary facet of restoring normal life, Fr‚chette said. "No country can do without security, legal, and regulatory services."

Other priorities, she said, include the installation of democratic systems and decreasing unemployment. She warned that short-term foreign investment is unlikely to be high and recovering economies are unlikely to quickly stabilize.

Even if the priorities Fr‚chette identified are dealt with, international peacekeeping efforts still face serious difficulties. "No matter how well-meaning, no matter how many resources," she said, missions cannot be successful without a deep understanding of the situation. Peacekeeping forces should "not impose their own ideas and visions on societies emerging from conflict."

The speech was followed by a question and answer session, moderated by Fletcher Professor Jeswald Salacuse.