Professor Nsia-Pepra Presents in Ghana

While visiting home this summer, Dr. Kofi Nsia-Pepra was invited to present at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra, Ghana. Nsia-Pepra’s talk entitled “Robust Peacekeeping? Confronting the Failures of the United Nations’ Traditional Peacekeeping in Preventing Human Rights Violations,” was part of the Reflections on Security Series hosted by the Centre.

Nsia-Pepra, introduced as a U.S. based security expert, addressed a large audience made up of diplomats, military professionals, governmental officials, and the mass media. He discussed the failures of traditional United Nations’ peacekeeping efforts in places such as Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Bosnia. In these situations, relatively small UN peacekeeping forces proved unable to prevent intra-state violence against civilians.

He recommended what he has termed the "Formidable Barrier Model" to prevent future civilian mass killings. This model calls for a large force, with rules of engagement that include protecting civilians, as well as self defense, and armed with heavy weapons (e.g. tanks and artillery). Such a force is necessary, because Nsia-Pepra argued that the decision to kill civilians is the result of a rational process that involves a cost-benefit calculation. Therefore, to stave off civilian killings, the force tasked with peacekeeping must present the afore-mentioned formidable barrier that would reduce the benefits and increase the costs to governmental and other forces who wish to target civilians. He also argued that this force should include elements from major powers such as the United States, which would give it the stamp of legitimacy and demonstrate global concern about ongoing atrocities.

He also argued that the composition of peacekeeping forces was crucial to reducing civilian casualties. Forces made up of culturally diverse elements, those with cultural similarities to the host are less effective as peacekeepers.

In addition, conflicts that involve democratic nations that lack strong institutions, which often leads to corrupt practices, tend to result in more civilian fatalities, according to his research.

Nsia-Pepra concluded his talk by addressing upcoming elections in Ghana. He argued that several steps were necessary to strengthen democratic institutions in the country in order to avoid violence. He argued that the nation must take steps to protect the integrity of the ballot box in the next election, including setting up a system for electronic voter registration, an electronic voting system, and making the government responsible for the registration of all voters over the age of 18. These steps would prevent underage voters, and foreigners, as well as multiple registration and voting from altering the electoral results, and solidify confidence in election returns. He also urged the Ghanain government to foster the creation of a strong civil society and to take steps to de-personalize and de-tribalize politics and public policy.

Essentially Ghana would need to develop strong, independent, detribalized, depoliticized, and incorruptible democratic institutions. These steps would help Ghana to build a sustainable democracy, develop the human capacity of the nation, and to avoid violence that often arises when election results are not trusted by the people.

After the conference, Nsia-Pepra gave interviews to various media outlets, including Sky TV and City FM.