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The United Nations (UN) supports U.S. interests in maintaining international security by deploying and operating 16 peacekeeping operations in locations in conflict, including Darfur, Lebanon, and Haiti. Over the past 10 years, the number of deployed UN personnel increased from about 41,000 peacekeepers and civilian staff to about 109,000 in 2008. In this report on the UN's capacity to deploy further operations, GAO was asked to examine (1) the evolution of UN peacekeeping operations in the past 10 years; (2) the likely characteristics of a potential new peacekeeping operation, given this evolution; (3) the challenges, if any, the UN would face deploying this operation; and (4) U.S. efforts to support and report on UN peacekeeping. GAO reviewed UN documents, developed a methodology to assess the requirements for a potential new operation with UN assistance, interviewed UN headquarters and mission officials, and assessed U.S. government documents on UN peacekeeping. To ensure Congress has the information needed to consider U.S. budget and other requests for peacekeeping, GAO recommends that the Department of State (State) include in its reporting to Congress information about UN challenges and gaps in obtaining resources needed to carry out peacekeeping. In response to State's comment that GAO should not specify the reports in which this information should be provided, GAO modified the recommendation. The UN concurred with the conclusions of the report.
As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and the largest contributor to the U.N. peacekeeping budget, the U.S. has extraordinary authority over the approval and parameters of those operations—and a responsibility to ensure that the missions are effective, and that peacekeepers uphold the highest standards of conduct. The unprecedented scope of U.N. peacekeeping operations of the past decade has revealed serious flaws and weaknesses. The most disturbing problem has been the frequency of sexual exploitation and abuse by U.N. personnel and peacekeepers, and the apparent inability or unwillingness of the U.N. to prevent such misconduct and hold perpetrators accountable. U.N. peacekeeping operations can be useful if conducted with an awareness of their inherent limitations—but widespread mismanagement, corruption, and misconduct cry out for fundamental reform. The U.S. must use its diplomatic and financial leverage to press for solutions to serious problems with U.N. peacekeeping operations.
The protection of civilians which has been at the forefront of international discourse during recent years is explored through harnessing perspective from international law and international relations. Presenting the realities of diplomacy and mandate implementation in academic discourse.
First published in 1998, Peacekeeping in Africa was written to help make up the shortfall in the number of books that concentrated specifically on peacekeeping in Africa. The book covers the main peacekeeping operations of Africa, and provides a wealth of background material. In doing so, it explores the policies and actions of the international organisations concerned and the participating African states. It also considers the impact of sub-regional powers and the role of the USA, Britain, and France. Comprising three parts, Peacekeeping in Africa examines world perspectives, case studies, and wider issues surrounding Africa’s peacekeeping operations.
The deployment of a large number of soldiers, police officers and civilian personnel inevitably has various effects on the host society and economy, not all of which are in keeping with the peacekeeping mandate and intent or are easily discernible prior to the intervention. This book is one of the first attempts to improve our understanding of unintended consequences of peacekeeping operations, by bringing together field experiences and academic analysis. The aim of the book is not to discredit peace operations but rather to improve the way in which such operations are planned and managed.
A major issue facing the United Nations, the United States, and Congress concerning United Nations peacekeeping is the extent to which the United Nations has the capacity to restore or keep the peace in the changing world environment. Associated with this issue is the expressed need for a reliable source of funding and other resources for peacekeeping and improved efficiencies of operation. For the United States, major congressional considerations on U.N. peacekeeping stem from executive branch commitments made in the U.N. Security Council. The concern with these commitments, made through votes in the Council, is the extent to which they bind the United States, both militarily and financially, to fund and to participate in some way in an operation. This includes placing U.S. military personnel under the control of foreign commanders. Since 1948, the United Nations (U.N.) has launched 60 peacekeeping operations, of which 16 are currently active. U.N. estimated peacekeeping expenditures went down from$3.4 billion in calendar year 1995 to $1.2 billion in 1997. Ongoing U.N. peacekeeping expenditures were estimated at $2.2 billion for the year starting on July 1, 2000, and $2.63 billion for the year starting on July 1, 2002. U.S. payments in calendar year 2000 were $518.6 million and $1.3 billion in CY2001. Peacekeeping has come to constitute more than just the placement of military forces into a cease-fire situation with the consent of all the parties. Military peacekeepers may be disarming or seizing weapons, aggressively protecting humanitarian assistance, and clearing land mines. Peacekeeping operations also now involve more non-military tasks such as maintaining law and order (police), election monitoring, and human rights monitoring. Proposals for strengthening U.N. peacekeeping and other aspects of U.N. peace and security capacities have been adopted in the United Nations, by the Clinton Administration, and by Congress. They are being implemented. Most authorities have agreed that if the United Nations is to be responsive to post-Cold War world challenges, both U.N. members and the appropriate U.N. organs will have to continue to improve U.N. structures and procedures in the peace and security area. On February 7, 2005, President Bush requested $1,035,500,000 for FY2006 assessed accounts and $195.8 million to fund U.S. assistance to international peacekeeping efforts of special concern. On December 8, 2004, President Bush had signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (P.L. 108- 447, H.R. 4818) that provided $490 million (of $650 million requested) for peacekeeping assessments and $104 million (as requested) to fund international peacekeeping efforts of special concern. On February 14, 2005, the President requested FY2005 supplemental funding that included $780 million for CIPA and $210 million for PKO. Issues for the 109th Congress include whether the over $1 billion request for CIPA will survive Congress' scrutiny, especially in view of numerous accountability and other problems currently facing the United Nations, including accusations of sexual misbehavior by U.N. peacekeepers.
The Oxford Handbook on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations presents an innovative, authoritative, and accessible examination and critique of the United Nations peacekeeping operations. Since the late 1940s, but particularly since the end of the cold war, peacekeeping has been a central part of the core activities of the United Nations and a major process in global security governance and the management of international relations in general. The volume will present a chronological analysis, designed to provide a comprehensive perspective that highlights the evolution of UN peacekeeping and offers a detailed picture of how the decisions of UN bureaucrats and national governments on the set-up and design of particular UN missions were, and remain, influenced by the impact of preceding operations. The volume will bring together leading scholars and senior practitioners in order to provide overviews and analyses of all 65 peacekeeping operations that have been carried out by the United Nations since 1948. As with all Oxford Handbooks, the volume will be agenda-setting in importance, providing the authoritative point of reference for all those working throughout international relations and beyond.
One of the most vexing issues that has faced the international community since the end of the Cold War has been the use of force by the United Nations peacekeeping forces. UN intervention in civil wars, as in Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Rwanda, has thrown into stark relief the difficulty of peacekeepers operating in situations where consent to their presence and activities is fragile or incomplete and where there is little peace to keep. Complex questions arise in these circumstances. When and how should peacekeepers use force to protect themselves, to protect their mission, or, most troublingly, to ensure compliance by recalcitrant parties with peace accords? Is a peace enforcement role for peacekeepers possible or is this simply war by another name? Is there a grey zone between peacekeeping and peace enforcement? Trevor Findlay reveals the history of the use of force by UN peacekeepers from Sinai in the 1950s to Haiti in the 1990s. He untangles the arguments about the use of force in peace operations and sets these within the broader context of military doctrine and practice. Drawing on these insights the author examines proposals for future conduct of UN operations, including the formulation of UN peacekeeping doctrine and the establishment of a UN rapid reaction force.

U.N. Peacekeeping

United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Democracy, and Human Rights

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 64


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