1995-10-01a- CIA Conference Report: THE CHALLENGE OF ETHNIC CONFLICT TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORDER IN THE 1990S GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVES 01-Oct-95

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American critics, including Ronald Reagan, con- that neither NATO, the EC, nor any other European
curred; the West had sold out to Moscow. institution can play in preventing Bosnia-like conflicts
and, ultimately, in integrating Eastern Europe and the
However, the leaders who founded the CSCE, perhaps NIS into a new Europe.
unknowingly, began a process that would ultimately
lead to the collapse of the Soviet Empire. By acknowl-
edging that certain principles are inherent and univer- Conclusion
sal, Moscow, in effect, acknowledged limits to its
power. It did not have the sovereign right to transgress The United States is a nation of idea-not of blood,
the Helsinki principles either in its colonies or even in birth or creed. It has largely avoided ethnic strife
Mother Russia. Of course, this did not prevent succes- because it has not attempted to build a state based on
sive Soviet leaders from ignoring these principles; ethnic, racial, or religious homogeneity. If human
they did, however, lose their intellectual cover. The rights and fundamental freedoms belong to the mdi-
CSCE, with its broad definition of security founded on vidual, then group or collective rights can best be
human rights and democracy And its inclusive mem- addressed through the protection of individual rights.
bership, helped win the Cold War. As long as ethnicity is seen as the only basis for sort-
ing out human relations or creating nations, we will
The CSCE can now help win the peace in Europe by have ethnic conflict in Europe. Group rights can have
establishing human rights noris, protecting ethnic no meaning if the basic human rights are ignored by
minorities, and pursuing low-intensity conflict preven- ethnic zealots.
tion and peacekeeping activities. Helsinki's broad def-
inition of security also encompasses the conciliation The best way to address ethnic conflict in Europe is
and crisis management. To cope with existing and through a united, but decentralized, Europe governed
potential crises, largely fueled by ethnic conflicts, the by mutually accepted rules of behavior. The integra-
CSCE has deployed monitor missions to Kosovo, Ser- tion of Western Europe into institutions-NATO, the
bia proper, and Macedonia to prevent a spillover from EC, and the CSCE-founded on fundamental human
the Bosnian tragedy. It has also deployed or is consid- rights, has gone a long way to eliminating territorial
ering deploying missions to deorgia, Estonia, and disputes, irredentist claims, and ethnic grievances
Moldova in the former Soviet Union. It has brought among and within its member states. We must now
the parties of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute to the find creative ways to use these institutions to deal with
table. emerging ethnic-and other subregional-tensions
before they erupt into shooting conflicts. We must
We should build on these quiet successes. For avoid the situation where every crisis presents a
instance, the CSCE High Conmissioner on National choice between inaction and military intervention. We
Minorities now has the authority to provide "early must now extend these habits of cooperation to the
warning" and, as appropriate,. "early action" to East.
national minority issues, which have "the potential to
develop into a conflict." The CSCE can play a role
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