While the world’s attention is focused, and understandably so, on the events unfolding in Libya, another conflict and brewing humanitarian crisis has been unfolding on the other side of Africa for months.  Ivory Coast, the small West African nation which saw a disputed presidential election result in a political stalemate late last year, is sliding ominously downhill towards civil war.

The November 2010 election in the country resulted in a victory - widely recognized by the international community - for candidate Alassane Ouattara over incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo.  However, Gbagbo has refused to leave office and has ordered U.N. peacekeepers out of his country, though they have remained anyway.  Now four months later, Gbagbo is still clinging to power, and opposition rebels supporting Ouattara have been battling with his forces.  Meanwhile U.N. peacekeepers have surrounded the hotel where Ouattara is living in order to protect him, and are also attempting to protect civilians in the country. 

In an interview with Gulf News on Tuesday, I discussed the importance and need for a United Nations Emergency Peace Service (UNEPS). It's one step towards effective genocide prevention, and is designed primarily as a first-in, first-out unit that could fill the gap between the Security Council's authorization of a peace operation and the actual deployment of a conventional peacekeeping mission.

UNEPS would consist of 15,000 - 18,000 civilian police, military, judicial, and relief professionals, employed by the United Nations that could deploy within 48 hours of a Security Council authorization. The force would be permanent and voluntary; its participants could be trained together in the same language, use the same weapons and communications equipment for greater interoperability, have a clear chain of command and would have a greater level of commitment to the success of their missions.

I am currently participating in the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) conference titled, "Global Strategic Developments: A Futuristic Vision," where I am discussing the future of the United Nations and the Security Council. 

As the United Nations Security Council and Human Rights council meet today, Mommar Gaddafi continues to defy calls for him to step down. Innocent civilians are being fired upon by Gaddafi's security forces and there is no end in sight. It is the responsibility of Gaddafi and the Libyan government to protect its civilians. When this does not happen swift action must be taken. The UN Human Right Council and Security Council must do more than just condemn Gaddafi, it must take active steps. Libyan officials abroad have already taken action. In today's UN Human Rights Council meeting, the Libyan delegation announced it would resign and side with the people. I'm shocked! This almost never happens on the global stage.  Libyan's have already taken the difficult actions that are necessary, now it is our turn address this heinous dictator. Of course it would help if the international community could decide how to spell the guys name.  Is it Gadhafi, Gaddafi or Qaddafi? More on that later.

CGS is happy to report that the House of Representatives voted on February 9^th to defeat H.R. 519, the ‘‘United Nations Tax Equalization Refund Act of 2011.’’  This bill, introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), would have asked the U.N. to return $180 million in U.S. dues which had been earmarked by the U.S. government to provide security for the U.N. building in New York City, and to fund peacekeeping missions around the globe.

The bill purported to save taxpayers money by returning approximately $180 million in credits that have accumulated in the Tax Equalization Fund (TEF) since 2000.   The TEF is a fund used to ensure that U.S. citizens working at the UN are not disadvantaged in their salary compared to those from other countries, since the United States, unlike other nations, decided not to exempt their citizens from paying taxes on UN compensation.  However, according to Esther Brimmer, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, the $180 million in overpayments in the TEF are in the form of credits, not cash, and thus cannot be refunded. Furthermore, the U.S. government had already planned to use the $180 million in credits to harden security around the U.N. building in New York, and to help fund peacekeeping missions around the globe.