2. Armed conflict prevention, management and resolution*
Renata Dwan

1999 marked the end of the UN’s retrenchment with significant expansion of the number and scope of United Nations peace operations. The international community’s limitations in conflict resolution and peace-building were, however, demonstrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, East Timor, Kosovo and Sierra Leone.
The financial and technical demands of reconstruction have prompted new coalitions between the UN, regional organizations and international financial institutions, but these are falling far short of meeting the needs of devastated societies.
An even more difficult challenge is securing the commitment of all parties to peace. Economic and political incentives for the continuation of conflict, particularly in Africa, have become depressingly clear.

• Appendix 2A, by Renata Dwan, Thomas Papworth, Marta Reuter and Henry Wathen, presents data on the multilateral observer, peacekeeping, peace-building, and combined peacekeeping and peace-enforcement missions in 1999.