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Peace Operations: Peacekeeping

More than 750,000 men and women from 110 countries have taken part in UN peacekeeping operations over the years. Of these, over 1,500 have been killed in UN service. Just now, there is a lull in new peacekeeping, no new operation having been launched in the past two years. Although there are 15 UN peacekeeping operations world-wide, the number of peacekeepers has gone down from a peak of 78,000 in 1994 to around 18,000 (16,000 troops, 2,000 civilians) today. The take-over of old Yugoslavia by U.S.-NATO is the main explanation. Secretary-General Kofi Annan puts the best face on this. "The successful cooperation between the United Nations and the Stabilization Force in Bosnia has underlined the role of regional organizations and subregional initiatives in peacekeeping. When this is taken into account, it is clear that peacekeeping has not declined in recent years, but has continued to grow." (Statement to Peacekeeping Seminar, New York, 17 November 1997.) He might have added some C.I.S. (ex-USSR) and African operations. We know the story. After the ill-conceived and mismanaged Somalia operation, for which the U.S. commander in situ had major responsibility, the U.S. shied away from UN peacekeeping, hobbling the Security Council. Not that the Europeans were very forthcoming as the 1990's wore on. Underlying this inhibition was the radical change in prevailing conflicts: not inter- but intra-state, and often messy amongst undisciplined factions. The original UN peacekeeping service-- a buffer between contestants, by mutual agreement-- just didn't fit. Civil war implied forceful intervention (Chapter VII of the Charter); and already in January 1995 (Supplement to the Agenda for Peace) Dr. Boutros Ghali had advised that, where fighting was still going on, so long as the UN was not given the mandate and means to do an effective job, the Security Council should turn things over to whatever member states are willing and able. Thus, for example, in March 1997 the Security Council authorized an Italian-led operation to restore order in Albania. It would be even harder than for the UN for such interventions to be (and to be seen as) politically neutral. An alternative is for regional organizations to do peacekeeping, but so far only in Europe (NATO) is there capacity to do it. Africa's OAU has made a formal move in this direction but so far lacks funds and logistics. An anomaly is the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in military terms mainly Nigeria, that tangled with Liberia in crisis and now has engaged the renegade military junta in Sierra Leone. Our respected Mohamed Sahnoun has served as a joint OAU/UN mediator in the "Great Lakes" region of Africa (Rwanda/Burundi/Congo-Kinshasa). In the Eurasian northlands, under the C.I.S. umbrella Russia has variously intervened with sporadic UN presence, largely symbolic. In Georgia, poor Edward Shavernadze feels let down, as evident from what Georgia said during the General Debate. The UN contribution to calm in Tajikistan seems more substantial. In his 1997 overall annual report, the Secretary-General says: "One key priority for the coming year is to draw on the experience gained in co-deployment in such cases as Georgia, Liberia and the former Yugoslavia to develop doctrine and guidelines so that the United Nations will be better prepared for such partnerships with regional organizations in the future."

The UN itself continues peacekeeping in India-Pakistan, Cyprus, the Middle East and Angola; but from Rwanda on, the Security Council has done nothing much for Africa. With France pulling out, it looks like the UN will put a small force into the Central African Republic. Sierra Leone? The legitimate elected Government-in-exile may again resort to hired guns if the UN won't perform. On 25 September 1997, with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in the chair, the Security Council held a one-day special meeting on Africa; and asked the Secretary-General to give them a report with recommendations early in 1998. So far, attempts to get the Security Council into Africa have been blocked, mainly by Washington and penury. In 1997 the Secretary-General (Peacekeeping Department) made plans and preparations for action in Sierra Leone, Burundi and the two Congos; but no go.

A word about sanctions, used eight times by the Security Council since 1990. General embargoes hurt the civilian population more than the political powers. There are serious pressures on the Security Council to reconsider and refine this instrument.

In the Secretariat, the Peacekeeping Department was shaken by the elevation of their leader, Kofi Annan, to the top: with him went some key staff. The new Under-Secretary Bernard Miyet has taken over with a hands-on inclusive style but faces big problems. The Department is only five years old and nearly half of its professional staff (total 250) is on loan from governments (mostly from the "North"). NAM tends to regard UN intervention as crypto- (or neo-) imperialism; so the G.A. has ordered loaned staff out within two years. A few may be kept on regular budget: political correctness versus efficiency. Canada's Rapid Deployment Initiative is stalled in the budget bind. How long can UN fragile capacity survive the money squeeze?

What to say about conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction? Under new management (Kieran Prendergast) and with a separate voluntary Fund for Preventive Action (initiated by Norway in 1996) the Department of Political Affairs leads preventive services with around 24 high-level UN mediators in troubled spots around the world. Peace in Mozambique is reassuring. Guatemala's 35 years of bloodshed are ending at last, with UN mediation and continuing presence to see that the peace is kept. In volatile Haiti the UN helps build a civilian police. With UN mediation, Angola is limping towards peace. Tragic Cambodia tells us not to run away, to stay long enough.

All of the above-- Peacekeeping and Prevention-- reflects a pretty short-sighted approach to conflict. We don't know everything about what causes war but we do know that social and economic deprivation are unsettling. In the long term, promotion of "development" is promotion of peace.