When the United Nations Security Council Resolution 798 was adopted back on December 18, 1992, in the heart of New York City, it was like a wake-up call that many chose to ignore. It aimed at addressing human rights abuses in the former Yugoslavia, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Now, why wouldn’t everyone remember such a critical historical resolution? Because it’s one of those moments where the world talked a good talk but then, well… didn’t really walk the walk. Western powers and global leaders, heralded in countless coffee shops and intellectually elite circles, pass resolutions like these to cement their diplomatic prowess, but when it comes to action, the results were tepid at best.
Let’s break it down. The resolution was unanimously adopted by all 15 members of the council, a rare feat that should tell you just how severe the situation was. It called for the parties involved to immediately cease all human rights violations, especially those perpetrated against ethnic groups like the Bosniaks. The resolution explicitly condemned these atrocities, sometimes described as ethnic cleansing, essentially making its point crystal clear: Stop the madness. But did they suddenly all start holding hands and singing hymns together over some hearty meals? Not quite.
The international community, within its towers of glass and steel, rattles its sabers and wags its fingers, but it often forgets that bad actors aren't motivated by stern language. The resolution aimed to reaffirm the Security Council's commitment to international law and help bolster the UN peacekeeping efforts in the war-torn Balkan region. It demanded immediate and unrestricted access to places of detention and called on Serbia and Montenegro to ensure compliance. Did tough language from the council flap its way across the seas and accomplish peace overnight? Wrong again.
The sad truth is that the resolution, while strong on paper, lacked teeth in practice. Sure, the armchair diplomats will tell you about embargoes and humanitarian aid efforts; they're good for books and documentaries. But how effective was it to curb violence and end suffering? Not very. The very inefficacies that critics predicted came to pass. When the bullets fly and bombs drop, the perpetrator's focus remains steadfast on their objectives and less on reading comprehensively worded documents from an international body light-years away from their reality.
Let’s give credit where it’s due – this resolution did lay groundwork for international criminal tribunals, marking a new chapter in the fight against impunity. Criminals like Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić eventually found themselves sitting on trial benches. But if the resolution's intent was to stop the killings right away, it fizzled. History remembers intentions, but it judges outcomes.
Enforcement, or lack thereof, stands out starkly. Military intervention was not authorized. Ironic, isn't it, how a stern solution was demanded by a group that wasn't willing to tighten the belt and take command of the situation? After all, commanding wasn’t on the liberal agenda at the time. They preferred non-interventionist approaches. When problems arose, it seemed the council didn’t have the political bandwidth to make a decisive move. The chorus of voices yearning for peace was met by the cavalcade of inaction.
The end result was a mixed bag. Ultimately, the path forged, though slow and winding, did pave the way for later peace interventions and a stronger EU role in regional stability, though at the cost of long delays and untold suffering. Maybe if clear and decisive action had been the order of the day, perhaps some lives could have been saved from the horrors that took place. But history is less forgiving than one might hope.
The legacy of Resolution 798 is one of unrealized potential. It holds a mirror up to the complexities and struggles in international diplomacy, blaring the siren that intent without proper enforcement leaves trouble unscathed. Generations looking back at this piece of history are tasked with asking how it might have all gone differently. That's a question everyone should be mulling over if this kind of tragedy is ever to be darkened by effective early intervention.