Moreover, the conflicts taking place within some of the world s poorest countries often cause secondary problems of starvation and disease. But the overall costs of intra-state conflicts are much higher than the obvious human casualties. There is the material damage, the destruction of roads, buildings etc., which can bring countries virtually back to the Stone Age. At best, the results of several recent United Nations interventions have been mixed. Successes have been achieved in places like Cambodia, Namibia, El Salvador and Haiti, but experiences in Somalia, Rwanda and former Yugoslavia, engendered a deep scepticism about the merits of such interventions and a widespread reluctance to become involved in other political and military quagmires.
Prevention is the name of the game.
The old adage that prevention is better than cure is truer than ever. To which can be added that the chances of prevention being successful are greater in the early stages, when a social or political conflict is more manageable, and it costs less. And if it is already too late for prevention, political action at an early stage is preferable to military intervention later. Indigenous mechanisms to resolve conflicts should be supported. Finally, there exists a great deal of ignorance about the possibilities of conflict prevention, the instruments available and possible actors.