ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the experiences and identifies opportunities for strengthening the coherence and effectiveness of United Nations (UN) interventions to address conflict resources. It focuses on the international peace and security architecture's response to natural resource–fueled conflicts and suggests ways it can be strengthened. The risks that a peace agreement may consolidate control over natural resources by an unaccountable elite became reality in Sierra Leone. Natural resources—a driver of conflict in all four countries mentioned above—are part of the reason why peacekeepers have faced an uphill battle. Following a background survey, the discussion is organized into sections relating to the four principal domains of the international conflict management system: sanctions, peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding. The chapter addresses these peace and security approaches to delinking natural resources and conflict. It ends with a review of lessons learned and a discussion of the way forward.
