UN radio and peacekeeping missions: providing a bridge from war to peace.

• Author: Ribeiro, Juliana

The 1945 Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization highlights that "since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed". Wars are fuelled by the behaviour and attitudes of one party towards the other and so is sustainable peace.

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Many scholars and practitioners believe that the quality of information or the level of misinformation plays a significant role on a population's perception of possible political outcomes, and that this perception can ultimately be translated into action. The destructive effects of information mismanagement in the Balkans and Rwanda are painful reminders. Therefore, reliable and credible information is a basic need for populations affected by war or emerging from it. However, it is hard for local media to operate in countries that have had their infrastructure destroyed by war; also, a free and independent media might not be present. This awareness has contributed to the increased use of media-based strategies by United Nations missions to bridge the information gap existent in their host societies.

Although other types of media, such as television and newspapers, also have the potential to contribute to peace-building efforts, it is radio that has been most widely used, largely due to practical matters, such as available infrastructure in pre-conflict, wartime and post-conflict stages and levels of literacy. The wide reach of radio also plays a role in its selection and prominence as a peace-building tool. Indeed, as Sheila Dallas of Radio UNAMSIL of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone points out, "the UN is good at dealing with Governments, but to deal with the people at the grass-roots level, this is where the radio comes in".

As time goes on, Security Council resolutions that establish mission mandates have increasingly highlighted that UN missions hold the right to produce programmes or set up radio stations. However, their direct use of media is a fairly recent phenomenon and is closely related to the United Nations more comprehensive and long-term approach to peace-building in post-war societies since the end of the cold war, whereby missions involve more civilian components, with a view to tackle the psycho-social effects resulting from the war. It is, therefore, not coincidental that a change has occurred since the United Nations produced its first mission-related radio and television programmes in Namibia in 1989. In 1992, it took the...