UN Peacekeeping forces

Introduction

• • The United Nations Peacekeeping Forces are employed by the World Organization to maintain or re-establish peace in an area of armed conflict
  • The UN may engage in conflicts between states as well as in struggles within states.
    • The UN acts as an impartial third party in order to prepare the ground for a settlement of the issues that have provoked armed conflict.
    • If it proves impossible to achieve a peaceful settlement, the presence of UN forces may contribute to reducing the level of conflict.
  • Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations as “a unique and dynamic instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace”
  • Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they may have signed.
    • Such assistance comes in many forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development
  • The United Nations Charter gives the United Nations Security Council the power and responsibility to take collective action to maintain international peace and security

Financing

• • The financial resources of UN Peacekeeping operations are the collective responsibility of UN Member States
  • Decisions about the establishment, maintenance or expansion of peacekeeping operations are taken by the Security Council
  • Peacekeeping expenses are divided by the General Assembly based upon a formula established by Member States which takes into account the relative economic wealth of Member States among other things

Structure

• • A United Nations peacekeeping mission has three power centres
    1. The first is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, the official leader of the mission
       • This person is responsible for all political and diplomatic activity, overseeing relations with both the parties to the peace treaty and the UN member-states in general
    2. The second is the Force Commander, who is responsible for the military forces deployed
       • They are a senior officer of their nation’s armed services, and are often from the nation committing the highest number of troops to the project
    3. The Chief Administrative Officer oversees supplies and logistics, and coordinates the procurement of any supplies needed

India and UN Peacekeeping

• • India stands solidly committed to assist the UN in the maintenance of international peace and security with a proud history of UN peacekeeping dating back to its inception in the 1950s
  • Also, India’s unique combination of being the largest democracy in the world with a strong tradition of respect for rule of law and the successful experience in nation building makes it particularly relevant in the context of twenty-first century peacebuilding
  • India today is the largest contributor of troops to UN peacekeeping operations (UNPKOs).
    • More than 200,000 Indian troops have served in 49 of the 71 UNPKOs deployed so far
    • India is the second largest troop contributor [TCC] with 7,676 personnel deployed in 10 out of 16 active UN Peacekeeping Missions

The following have been the notable missions in which India has contributed since 1950.

Is UN Peacekeeping Losing its Appeal?

• • Until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, most global conflicts were driven by competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, creating the need for an impartial army to stand between them
    • But, most modern conflicts, whether in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Rwanda during the 1990s or in Syria and Iraq today are too messy and chaotic for the old model of peacekeeping to work
  • The factors that allow for effective peacekeeping aren’t in existence anymore; as the same factions that allow for an easy creation of cease-fire do not exist anymore
  • Also, there is the lack of public support in Western nations for the costly and sometimes dangerous missions
    • Ex: France leads the counterterrorism mission in Mali but is working to reduce its involvement and end the mission, in part because of domestic pressure and an upcoming election
  • Further, waning support for peacekeeping in the West is rippling into sub-Saharan Africa
    • Neither Malian nor Somali forces are capable of filling the gap left by peacekeepers and other foreign forces if and when they withdraw
  • The withdrawal from Afghanistan marks the end of an era, and for now the end of enduring stabilization operations in distant places
    • It provides an opportunity for all Western nations to reconsider the use of their military as an instrument of their foreign policy

UN Peacekeeping: Critical Analysis

• • Positive Impacts
    • There is strong evidence that the presence of peacekeepers significantly reduces the risk of renewed warfare; more peacekeeping troops leads to fewer battlefield and civilian deaths
    • There is also evidence that the promise to deploy peacekeepers can help international organizations in bringing combatants to the negotiation table and increase the likelihood that they will agree to a cease-fire
  • Concerns
    • There have been several reports during UN peacekeeping missions of human rights abuse by UN soldiers, notably in Central African Republic in 2015
    • The cost of these missions is also significant, with the mission in South Sudan costing $1 billion per year for 12,500 UN soldiers unable to prevent the country’s movement towards civil war
    • Also, Often missions require approval from local governments before deploying troops which can also limit effectiveness of UN missions
    • A 2021 study in the American Political Science Review found that the presence of UN peacekeeping missions had a weak correlation with rule of law while conflict is ongoing, but a robust correlation during periods of peace

Way forward: Proposed reforms

• • Brahimi analysis
    • The Brahimi Report was the first of many steps to recap former peacekeeping missions, isolate flaws, and take steps to patch these mistakes to ensure the efficiency of future peacekeeping missions
    • The UN has vowed to continue to put these practices into effect when performing peacekeeping operations in the future, which include:
      • the harmonization of the conditions of service of field and headquarters staff
      • the development of guidelines and standard operating procedures
  • Need for Rapid reaction force
    • To prevent delays in action and deployment, a standing group, administered by the UN and deployed by the Security Council, that receives its troops and support from current Security Council members and is ready for quick deployment in the event of future genocides could be helpful
  • Reforms needed in United Nations peace and security architecture
    • This should have an overall objective of reducing fragmentation for better delivery, to make the peace and security pillar more coherent, nimble and effective by prioritizing prevention, sustaining peace and delivery on Agenda 2030
  • Other reforms efforts in this perspective include
    • Capstone Doctrine (2008), outlining the most important principles and guidelines for UN peacekeepers in the field;
    • Peace Operations 2010 (2006), containing the reform strategy of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO);
    • 2005 World Summit establishing the Peacebuilding Commission;
    • High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change , setting out a broad framework for collective security for the new century