According to the Western allies, one dimension of their war on the Taliban is concern for democracy and human rights in post-war Afghanistan. It is surely extremely relevant to look at the international community's record in Bosnia and Kosova by way of assessing the credibility of this concern.
Undoubtedly, human rights abuses in Afghanistan had, as in Bosnia and Kosovo, reached such catastrophic levels that international intervention of some kind was justified - quite apart from the provocation of the terrorist attacks of September 11th.
However, it is worth recalling that the Western allies only took decisive military action in Bosnia following 31/2 years of extensive genocide that involved hundreds of thousands of victims.
It was the dreadful reality of Bosnia that impelled a far more rapid Western response to the mass expulsion of the Kosovar population from their own country.
Re-establishing civil order and human rights is an immensely difficult task after such traumatic events as occurred in Bosnia and Kosovo, and as we are now witnessing in Afghanistan. But if the Western powers are not to win the war only to lose the peace, it is imperative that they learn from the post-war experience of Bosnia and of Kosovo.
Almost six years after the Dayton agreement, Bosnia remains effectively partitioned. In flagrant violation of Dayton, the vast majority of the previous Muslim residents of eastern Bosnia have not been allowed to return to their homes in the so-called Republika Srpska. Regrettably, Serb refugees have also found it very difficult to return to Croatia.
In addition, indicted war criminals continue to circulate with impunity in the Republika Srpska despite requests from The Hague war crimes tribunal that they be handed over.
As for Kosovo, the tragic abandonment of the Albanian prisoners in Serbia since 1998 illustrates in microcosm the lack of international political will to enforce the human rights criteria which have been used to justify the West's original intervention in March 1999. Among the 200 remaining prisoners are survivors of the Dubrava massacre in May 1999.
These men were imprisoned at random, solely on account of their Albanian origin, and condemned to prison by an entirely corrupt judicial system. Despite their wretched condition and repeated international calls for their release, the Serbian government continues to use them as political pawns to ensure continuing concessions from the international community. It is deplorable that the Western powers tolerate a situation of such gross violation of human rights.
In addition, it is alarming that in order to ensure the co-operation of the Kosovar Serb population in the forthcoming election, the UN Security Council and NATO have given "firm guarantees", according to the Serbian deputy Prime Minister, that they would never support the majority Kosovar population's right to self-determination.
Clearly, it is important that the local Serb population participate in this election but it must be asked whether this vehement opposition to Kosovar self-determination contributes to the future stability of the country.
Attacks against the non-Albanian minorities and moderate Albanians must always be strongly condemned. At the same time, one has to ask why the international police force, the sole guarantors of law and order in the country, has been so inadequately funded and supported. In this post-war situation it is unfortunate that the lowest common denominator of violent law-breaker is portrayed as typical of the population as a whole. And so the conclusion is drawn that the Kosovar Albanians are permanently unfit for self-determination.
The wretched economic condition of both Bosnia and Kosovo is a breeding ground for fanaticism. The experience of these Balkan countries should teach us that short-term compromises designed to win the favour of previous oppressive regimes serve only to perpetuate the region's underlying problems and ensure the re-emergence of a perhaps even more destructive violence.
These considerations should inspire Ireland's contribution in the Security Council so that the mistakes made in Kosovo and Bosnia will not be repeated unnecessarily in Afghanistan.
Valerie Hughes works with Kosova Solidarity Ireland