UN preventive diplomacy as a toll for preventive conflict situations
Authors: Perevalova Lyudmyla , Okladna Marina , Samuseva Kateryna 
Published: January 2022

Problem setting. The specifics of the development of countries in the modern world are the strengthening of integration processes, the destruction of interstate and interregional barriers, coordination and joint efforts in solving global problems, creating a system of collective security, which caused significant changes in the concept of international security, interaction between countries, their cooperation. Such transformations have also affected the peacekeeping activities of the United Nations, which require it to step up its initiative, find new mechanisms and forms of conflict prevention that would correspond to current trends in the development of states and the specifics of conflict.

Analysis of recent researches and publications. Mechanisms of preventive diplomacy are considered by many scientists, both domestic and foreign. Among domestic scientists, special attention is paid to this problem by I. Blyshchenko, M. Matsyakh, O. Gogosha, V. Makarov, I. Komirenko, D. Gorovtsov, A. Melkin, and S. Melnik. Regarding foreign scientists, we should pay attention to the works of such researchers as: G. Nicholson, M. Jensa, W. Latifi, J. Opio, W. Zartman, F. Mancini, A. Williams. It is worth paying attention to the publications of the UN Secretaries General: K. Annan, B. Boutros-Ghali. They detail the key functions of the United Nations, which is a key player in preventive diplomacy.

Target of research. The purpose of the article is to define the concept of preventive diplomacy, the range of its subjects, the role in ensuring international and national security. Much attention is paid to the analysis of the activities of preventive diplomacy, which should actively cooperate with each other to effectively prevent conflicts. The authors try to summarize the experience of preventive diplomacy in the field of international and national security, and the obstacles that arise in the modern world in the implementation of its means.

Article’s main body. The phrase “preventive diplomacy” came into use by the United Nations during the Cold War. In the late 1950s, UN Secretary-General Dаg Hammarskjöld used the phrase not as a method of preventing potential conflicts, but as a means of preventing conflicts. Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s 1992 Agenda for Peace states that diplomatic measures are best used to reduce tensions before they escalate into conflict and, if they do erupt, to contain the conflict quickly and resolving the controversies that caused it. Preventive diplomacy refers to actions aimed at preventing disputes between the parties, escalating existing disputes into conflicts and limiting the spread of the latter in the event of their occurrence. This definition provides an understanding of the objectives of preventive diplomacy, which the UN has associated with a range of actions, such as facilitation, mediation, conciliation, litigation and arbitration. The main areas of preventive diplomacy are: confidence-building measures, fact-finding, early warning, preventive deployment, and the creation of demilitarized zones. Subjective diplomacy actors such as the UN, the UN Secretary-General as its direct representative, regional bodies, national initiatives, humanitarian organizations and development agencies are widely considered.

Conclusions and prospects for the development. The article summarizes the definition of the main problems of modern preventive diplomacy, which negatively affect the implementation of basic means of conflict prevention, confirms the effectiveness of preventive diplomacy in comparison with other instruments for maintaining peace and security in the world.