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'Freezing' Lawless Regions Invites Hot Conflict

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  • 'Freezing' Lawless Regions Invites Hot Conflict

    The Wall Street Journal
    Aug 3 2014

    'Freezing' Lawless Regions Invites Hot Conflict

    We need better strategies for dealing with Gaza and other black holes
    in the international security system.

    By Brenda Shaffer
    Aug. 3, 2014 4:39 p.m. ET


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    Value Your Change Short position Flight MH 17 over rebel-held
    territory in eastern Ukraine on July 18 illustrates the dangers that
    ungoverned territories present to international security. A
    significant number of territories are currently without an accountable
    authority and present dangers to their neighbors and others. We need
    better strategies to get rid of these black holes in the international
    security system, or prevent them forming.

    Currently lawless or unaccountable territories arose in different ways
    and for different reasons. Some territories, like the Gaza Strip, have
    been transferred to governance under nonstate entities with limited
    legal authority. Some ask to be recognized as states, such as the
    Palestinian Authority, yet do not want all the responsibilities of
    statehood, like limiting militia activity within their borders.

    In other places, due to the activity of separatists, states are unable
    to assert their legal sovereignty. Such areas include the
    Armenian-supported region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, and the
    Russian-engineered "breakaway" territories of Abkhazia in Georgia and
    Transnistria in Moldova. All three are effectively ruled by a neighbor
    who prefers to maintain the illusion of separation in order to derive
    benefits without consequences.

    In some instances, accepting territories without legal, liable
    governments has become a preferred method in the international system
    to avoid hard choices on conflict resolution. For over 20 years since
    the Soviet breakup, four disputed regions--in Moldova, Azerbaijan and
    two in Georgia, including South Ossetia--have been left in this limbo.
    The U.S. and most other nations continue to formally recognize them as
    the legal territory of recognized states from which they broke away.
    But in many cases the international community simply ignores the
    status quo because it provides an illusion of peace.

    Enlarge Image Close

    Associated Press

    The convenience of "freezing" conflicts instead of resolving them
    comes at a cost. These ungoverned territories are centers of illicit
    activity, including money laundering, counterfeit goods, human
    trafficking and the drug trade. They are often havens for terrorists
    and criminals. Individuals inside and outside often derive financial
    benefit from unregulated economies in these areas, where taxation is
    nonexistent. Since banks in these regions may not be registered with
    states, no one is technically running afoul of international treaties
    and no one can be sued for illicit activity.

    It is time to ensure that each such disputed territory has a return
    address so that it is liable for its actions. There should be a
    separation between legal sovereignty and security responsibility: If a
    state supports a militia or force that operates in another area--like
    Iran's Hezbollah or Russia's client militias in Ukraine and regions of
    Georgia--then Tehran and Moscow are the return addresses.

    This distinction is important for leverage. Most of the states that
    support rebels in other territories are signatories to international
    treaties and conventions related to prevention of terror-financing,
    production of counterfeit goods, banking regulations, human
    trafficking and more. If this activity takes place in the regions run
    by their surrogates, the backing state is liable. Political
    fabrications, such as so-called independent Abkhazia or
    Nagorno-Karabakh or the People's Republic of Donetsk, should not be
    used by neighboring states to circumvent responsibility for their own
    actions in creating these unstable regions out of another state's
    land.

    But the rest of the international community has responsibilities too.
    States whose sovereignty is threatened should be supported by the
    international system to assert their authority throughout their
    territories. The U.S. and Europe in particular should not encourage
    states under siege to negotiate with rebels, but with their state
    sponsors. More broadly, the international community should not
    encourage the establishment of entities with limited authority in lieu
    of the resolution of conflicts, as happened with the Palestinian
    Authority.

    To prevent the creation of other non-governed territories, the U.S.
    should not contribute to state failure and then call that
    democratization. In Libya the U.S. has undermined state authority or
    weakened institutions. In Syria, U.S. and other support for rebels has
    unintentionally turned some Syrian regions into ungoverned
    territories, which has provided opportunities for the rise of the most
    malevolent militias.

    Above all, states should be held responsible for what takes place in
    their de jure territories. If Palestine wants a flag at the U.N., it
    cannot relieve itself of responsibility for what happens in its
    territory by claiming that nonstate militias out of their control are
    perpetrating attacks. And if Russia wants the respect of the
    international community, it must control the separatists in eastern
    Ukraine that it is supporting and take responsibility for the downing
    of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

    The U.S. and Europe should stop trying to "freeze" conflicts as a
    means for conflict resolution. This only delays the next round of
    conflict and leaves huge territories that are springboards for further
    danger.

    Ms. Shaffer is a visiting researcher and professor at Georgetown
    University's Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies.

    http://online.wsj.com/articles/brenda-shaffer-freezing-lawless-regions-invites-hot-conflict-1407098343?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304297104580051113874184130.html

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