The establishment of a United Nations standing multinational maritime force - a dream?

Abstract

During the last decade, there has been a remarkable increase in attention paid to multinational military forces. The idea of UN standing multinational maritime forces has emerged as a potentially important contributor to international peace, order and stability. The assignment of national contingents to such a force on a standing basis seems desirable, but so far there has been no international consensus on the establishment such as this force. This thesis proposes that a UN Standing Multinational Maritime Force can be an important contributor to international security. Establishing a UN standing Multinational Maritime Force raises a central question: is it possible to establish a UN standing multinational maritime force? What are the problems and constraints of such force in the UN context? The point of this thesis is that there is a dilemma between realities and ideals, so that the establishment of a UN Standing Multinational Maritime Force seems to be a dream foreseeable only in the distant future. This thesis highlights the political constraints and problems that complicate the creation of a standing multinational maritime force in terms of UN naval missions and supporting tasks. Consequently, this thesis attempts to demonstrate that to establish a standing multinational maritime force within the UN organization is impossible unless these constraints and problems are solved.