After a peace agreement is signed the international community has to transform diplomacy or military intervention into a political effort aimed at maintaining peace, and make it durable and fair for all parties involved. This requires a variety of engagements, not simply military and humanitarian. Projecting a post-conflict situation into durable peace requires first of all the re-establishment of public order and the rule of law.
Law and order in post-conflict societies is important for two main reasons. The first reason answers to a human security approach, which means providing the victims of conflict with a secure environment that, will protect them from being subjected to major violations of their fundamental rights. The second reason answers to a general requirement of democracy: the functioning and security of institutions. Institutions cannot work if they are under constant threat. The peace-building efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq are showing us the hurdle of enforcing the law with threatened institutions. The most delicate security post-conflict security problem is to free new-born democratic institutions from fear and aggression

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