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NATO and the United Nations (UN) share a commitment
to maintaining international peace and security. The two organizations
have been cooperating in this area since the early 1990s.
At the Lisbon Summit in November 2010, the Allies underlined
their commitment to strong and productive cooperation with the UN and
welcomed the strengthened practical cooperation following the Joint
Declaration on UN/NATO Secretariat Cooperation of September 2008. NATO
aims to deepen this practical cooperation and further develop political
dialogue on issues of common interest, including through enhanced
liaison, more regular political consultation, and enhanced practical
cooperation in managing crises where both organizations are engaged.
NATO’s new Strategic Concept commits the Alliance to prevent crises,
manage conflicts and stabilize post-conflict situations, including by
working more closely with NATO’s international partners, most
importantly the United Nations and the European Union. The UN is at the
core of the framework of international organizations within which the
Alliance operates, a principle that is enshrined in NATO’s founding
treaty.
UN Security Council resolutions have provided the mandate for NATO’s
operations in the Balkans and in Afghanistan, and the framework for
NATO’s training mission in Iraq. More recently, in March 2011, the
Allies decided to take on the whole military operation in Libya under
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, in order to protect
civilians and civilian-populated areas under threat of attack. This
operation was highly successful. It terminated on 31 October 2011.
Over the years, NATO-UN cooperation has been extended beyond
cooperation in peace-support and stabilization operations to include
consultations between NATO and UN specialised bodies on issues such as
crisis assessment and management, civil-military cooperation, logistics,
combating human trafficking, mine action, civilian capabilities, women
and peace and security, arms control and non-proliferation, and the
fight against terrorism.
Close cooperation between NATO and the UN and its agencies is an
important element in the development of an international “Comprehensive
Approach” to crisis management and operations. At Lisbon, the Allies
decided to enhance NATO’s contribution to a comprehensive approach to
crisis management as part of the international community’s effort and to
improve NATO’s ability to deliver stabilization and reconstruction
effects.
NATO has also provided support to UN-sponsored operations, including
logistical assistance to the African Union’s UN-endorsed peacekeeping
operations in Darfur, Sudan, and in Somalia; support for UN
disaster-relief operations in Pakistan, following the massive earthquake
in 2005; and escorting merchant ships carrying World Food Programme
humanitarian supplies off the coast of Somalia.
Framework for cooperation
NATO’s Secretary General reports regularly to the UN
Secretary General on progress in NATO-led operations and on other key
decisions of the North Atlantic Council in the area of crisis management
and in the fight against terrorism. In recent years, staff-level
meetings and high-level visits have become more frequent. The UN is
frequently invited to attend NATO ministerial meetings.
In September 2008, building on the experience of over a decade of
working together, the Secretaries General of the two organizations
agreed to establish a framework for expanded consultation and
cooperation. This includes regular exchanges and dialogue at senior and
working levels on political and operational issues. Increasing
cooperation will significantly contribute to addressing the threats and
challenges that the international community faces.
Within this framework, cooperation will be further developed between
NATO and the UN on issues of common interest, including in communication
and information-sharing; capacity-building, training and exercises;
lessons learned, planning and support for contingencies; and operational
coordination and support. Cooperation will continue to develop in a
practical fashion, taking into account each organization’s specific
mandate, expertise, procedures and capabilities.
Staff-level meetings also take place with other UN organizations,
such as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), and NATO experts
participate in events organized by other UN bodies.
NATO also contributes actively to the work of the UN
Counter-Terrorism Committee (UN CTC) – established in accordance with UN
Security Council Resolution 1373 in the aftermath of the 11 September
2001 terrorist attacks on the United States – and participates in
special meetings of the Committee bringing together international,
regional and sub-regional organizations involved in this process. NATO
and the UN conduct reciprocal briefings on progress in the area of
counter-terrorism, in their respective committees. NATO is also
committed to supporting the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
Since 2004, NATO has been working with a number of UN agencies in the
framework of the Environmental Security (ENVSEC) Initiative, through
the NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme. (See NATO
A-to-Z page on
Environmental Security)"
Evolution of NATO-UN cooperation in the field
Working relations between the United Nations and the
Alliance were limited during the Cold War. This changed in 1992, against
the background of growing conflict in the western Balkans, where their
respective roles in crisis management led to an intensification of
practical cooperation between the two organizations in the field.
Bringing peace to the former Yugoslavia
In July 1992, NATO ships belonging to the Alliance's Standing Naval
Force Mediterranean, assisted by NATO Maritime Patrol Aircraft, began
monitoring operations in the Adriatic in support of a UN arms embargo
against all republics of the former Yugoslavia. A few months later, in
November 1992, NATO and the Western European Union (WEU) began
enforcement operations in support of UN Security Council resolutions
aimed at preventing the escalation of the conflict.
The readiness of the Alliance to support peacekeeping operations
under the authority of the UN Security Council was formally stated by
NATO foreign ministers in December 1992. A number of measures were
subsequently taken, including joint maritime operations under the
authority of the NATO and WEU Councils; NATO air operations; close air
support for the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR); air strikes
to protect UN "Safe Areas"; and contingency planning for other options
which the United Nations might take.
Following the signature of the General Framework Agreement for Peace
in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Dayton Agreement) on 14 December 1995,
NATO was given a mandate by the United Nations, on the basis of UN
Security Council Resolution 1031, to implement the military aspects of
the peace agreement. NATO’s first peacekeeping operation, the
Implementation Force (IFOR) began operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina
to fulfill this mandate in December 1995. One year later, it was
replaced by a NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR). Throughout their
mandates both multinational forces worked closely with other
international organizations and humanitarian agencies on the ground,
including UN agencies such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) and the UN International Police Task Force (IPTF).
From the onset of the conflict in Kosovo in 1998 and throughout the
crisis, close contacts were maintained between the UN Secretary General
and NATO’s Secretary General. Actions were taken by the Alliance in
support of UN Security Council resolutions both during and after the
conflict. The Kosovo Force (KFOR) was deployed on the basis of UN
Security Council Resolution 1244 of 12 June 1999 to provide an
international security presence as the prerequisite for peace and
reconstruction of Kosovo. Throughout its deployment, KFOR has worked
closely with the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
In 2000 and 2001, NATO and the United Nations also cooperated
successfully in containing major ethnic discord in southern Serbia and
preventing a full-blown civil war in the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia¹.
Afghanistan
Cooperation between NATO and the UN is playing a key role in
Afghanistan. The Alliance formally took over the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF), a UN-mandated force, in August 2003. Originally
tasked with helping provide security in and around Kabul, ISAF has
subsequently been authorized by a series of UN Security Council
resolutions to expand its presence into other regions of the country to
extend the authority of the central government and to facilitate
development and reconstruction.
NATO and ISAF work closely with the United Nations Assistance Mission
in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and other international actors that are
supporting governance, reconstruction and development. The close
cooperation takes place in various settings, in Afghanistan as well as
in UN and NATO capitals. It includes co-membership of the Joint
Co-ordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) overseeing the implementation
of the internationally endorsed Afghanistan Compact, co-chairmanship
together with the Afghan Government of the Executive Steering Committee
for Provincial Reconstruction Teams, and other joint
Afghan-International Community bodies.
The practical close work also covers cooperation between UNAMA, ISAF
and the NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Kabul on civil-military
issues such as operational planning. Beyond Kabul city, close
civil-military cooperation between UNAMA and ISAF is also being pursued
in those provinces where both ISAF and UNAMA are present. This practical
work is now being developed comprehensively in the context of UNAMA’s
Integrated Approach to selected prioritized Afghan districts.
Iraq
Under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1546 and at the
request of the Iraqi Interim Government, NATO is providing assistance in
training and equipping Iraqi security forces.
Supporting African Union missions
In June 2005, following a request from the African Union and in close
coordination with the United Nations and the European Union, NATO
agreed to support the African Union’s Mission in Sudan (AMIS), which is
trying to end the continuing violence in the Darfur region. NATO
assisted by airlifting peacekeepers from African troop-contributing
countries to the region and also helped train AU troops in how to run a
multinational military headquarters and how to manage intelligence.
Following a request from the African Union in 2007, NATO accepted to
assist the African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM) by providing
airlift support to AU member states willing to deploy on this mission.
NATO is also providing capacity building assistance for the African
Union via a Senior Military Liaison Office in Addis Abbaba. The Alliance
also protects UN shipping in support of AMISOM.
Deterring piracy
In October 2008, NATO agreed to a request from the UN Secretary
General to deploy ships off the coast off Somalia to deter piracy and
escort merchant ships carrying World Food Programme cargo.
Libya
On March 27, NATO Allies decided to take on the whole military
operation in Libya under United Nations Security Council Resolution
1973. The purpose of Operation Unified Protector was to protect
civilians and civilian-populated areas under threat of attack. NATO
implementied all military aspects of the UN Resolution. Allies moved
swiftly and decisively to enforce the arms embargo and no-fly zone
called for in the resolution, and to take further measures to protect
civilians and civilian populated areas from attack. Operation Unified
Protector was successfully concluded on 31 October 2011.
The North Atlantic Treaty and the UN Charter
The Charter of the United Nations, signed in San
Francisco on 26 June 1945 by fifty nations, provides the legal basis for
the creation of NATO and acknowledges the overall responsibility of the
UN Security Council for international peace and security.
The preamble to NATO’s North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington on 4
April 1949 makes it clear that the UN Charter is the framework within
which the Alliance operates. In its opening phrases, the signatories of
the Treaty reaffirm their faith in the purposes and principles of the
Charter.
In Article 1 they also undertake to settle international disputes by
peaceful means and to refrain from the threat or use of force in any
manner inconsistent with the purposes of the UN Charter.
Article 5 of the Treaty makes explicit reference to Article 51 of the
UN Charter in asserting the right of the Allies to take, individually
or collectively, such action as they deem necessary for their
self-defence. Moreover, it commits the member countries to terminating
any armed attack and all measures taken as a result, when the UN
Security Council has itself taken the measures necessary to restore and
maintain international peace and security.
Further reference to the UN Charter can be found in Article 7 of the
North Atlantic Treaty. It states that the Treaty does not affect and
shall not be interpreted as affecting in any way the rights and
obligations of Allies under the Charter, and reaffirms the primary
responsibility of the UN Security Council for the maintenance of
international peace and security.
And finally, in Article 12, a clause was included in the Treaty
providing for it to be reviewed after ten years, if any of the Parties
to it so requested. It stipulated that the review would take place in
the light of new developments affecting peace and security in the North
Atlantic area, including the development of universal and regional
arrangements under the UN Charter.
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_50321.htm
