How can the UN maintain or obtain legitimacy for its operations? Go to the people!

(Mary Ireland, IIRR)

On June 8, 2011, IIRR attended the United Nations University’s Conference on Legitimacy and Peacekeeping. UN Peacekeeping Operations goals are to end violence and to enable communities to rebuild their lives and societies. The operations have had substantial success, however, they have also had very public failures. The critiques are endless, and most focus on the UN’s loss of legitimacy as a key issue. The UN, looking to avoid further failures, held an open discussion with NGOs, journalists, scholars, and students about how to better maintain or perhaps further obtain greater legitimacy for its operations. The speakers made an interesting point that the perception of legitimacy completely depends on the audience leading to the question: whose perception of UN legitimacy matters the most? the West’s perception? the media’s perception? One speaker, Roland Paris, the University of Ottawa Research Chair in International Security and Governance, proposed a solution that dovetails with IIRR's mission. He suggested that the UN should do what it takes to gain legitimacy with local communities on the ground in these war-torn areas, which is a more “bottom-up” suggestion than the typical peacekeeping “top-down” approach to success. The idea sparked fervent discussion. His exact quote was, “Human security demands that public policy must be directed at enhancing the personal security, welfare, and dignity of individuals and communities”. The audience at the conference agreed that this new way of thinking was indeed…legitimate.