NCJ Number
130643
Journal
Mediation Quarterly Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: (Summer 1991) Pages: 343-348
Date Published
1991
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Systems design principles applied to the efforts of the United Nations for international conflict resolution suggest a number of innovative ways to satisfy disputants' legitimate complaints arising out of border disputes, ethnic rivalry, religious hostility, uneven distribution of resources, global ecology, and nuclear proliferation.
Abstract
Fifteen suggestions for immediate improvement in U.N. involvement in international dispute settlement are presented, beginning with regional mediation centers, a world arbitration service, cross-cultural research data bases, and world trial and appellate courts. Other recommendations focus on model treaty provisions, negotiation centers, mediation "SWAT" teams, and tripartite panels. The author describes regional conferences and workshops, practical solution sessions, regional treaties, and national and regional ombudsmen. Additional alternatives to dispute resolution could utilize U.N. agencies and systems design, U.N. staff resources, and a proposed international university on conflict resolution. The author maintains that the recent conflict in the Persian Gulf might have been avoided through the use of creative mediation and arbitration approaches. 3 references (Author abstract modified)