appleydappley16 's List: MMUN articles

• The goals of the roundtable were to explore and identify:

  • The main challenges to peace and security in the region;
  • Existing frameworks and initiatives to address these challenges, including lessons learned and success stories; and
  • Opportunities for more effective preventive action.
• The drug trade, for example, is not only funding paramilitary groups and destabilizing governments in the region; it is also threatening the security of ordinary citizens.
• To address these interconnected challenges, participants highlighted the need for a comprehensive regional approach. Without such an approach, participants suggested, solving the problems of one region will likely just displace them to another.
• the biggest hurdle is the lack of government funds and political will to foster effective and stable governance structures.

• Other obstacles to cooperation included:

  • The lack of trust between states in the region and large-scale disagreement about historical narratives;
  • Competing development models that vary from country to country; and
  • Outdated concepts of security and sovereignty, mainly because conflicts in the region rarely escalate into humanitarian crises, and the concept of security is still understood in terms of national frontiers rather than a social and human perspective.
• Latin American and Caribbean countries have tried to institutionalize regional cooperation, but have hit two persistent obstacles. First, the lack of a permanent body, similar to the Commission of the European Union, to drive the integration process forward and ensure continuity.
• A second obstacle is the lack of neutrality and inclusiveness of organizations such as the Organization of American States (OAS), which was criticized for being too U.S.-centric. As a result, countries in the region tend to turn to bodies such as the United Nations for security assistance rather than regional organizations.
• . UNASUR’s South American Defense Council, in particular, has raised hopes for improved collective security, although it is too early to assess the effectiveness and potential of enhancing Latin-American security.
• Participants also noted the need to focus on practical implementation that builds on existing ideas rather than developing new mechanisms. The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development is one such framework, and has shown promise for fostering cooperation efforts. Additional suggestions included the expansion of bilateral initiatives that have proven successful in the past. The European Union was identified as one player that could provide technical assistance in this regard, especially if it can overcome taboos against providing foreign assistance to the Latin American security sector.

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