A peacekeeping operation can be considered successful in the short term, if the mandate given to it by the Security Council was effectively fulfilled. But ultimately, the UN effort in a post-conflict situation will be judged by the ability of the country involved to sustain long-term peace and stability, and embark on the road to rebuilding and development.

There are examples in which the UN can take pride: UN peacekeeping aided the transition to democratic rule in Namibia and supported similar transitions in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. UN peacekeepers oversaw the withdrawal of foreign forces from Cambodia, and conducted the 1993 elections that finally put the Khmer Rouge out of business. The UN led the way to a peace that has brought sustained economic growth in Mozambique, and helped it become a symbol of hope in Africa. The United Nations shepherded Timor-Leste to independence in 2002 and most recently, in December 2005, successfully completed its peacekeeping mandate in Sierra Leone.

On the other hand, some countries which hosted peacekeeping operations lapsed back into conflict a few years after the UN mission was completed: “Successful operations…in which the patient dies”, Under-Secretary-General Guéhenno called such missions. Haiti and Liberia in the 1990s, for example, represented two situations in which gaps developed between the security stabilization work, which is traditionally at the centre of the peacekeeping effort, and the corresponding work in governance building and development, which previously had not been considered part of peacekeeping. As a result, the UN had to launch new peacekeeping missions in both countries, with wider mandates than in the past.

A recent example of a post-UN peacekeeping situation going astray occurred in spring of 2006 in Timor-Leste, a year after the Organization concluded a seemingly successful peacekeeping mission there. When violence broke out again in that country, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that the United Nations needed to look critically at its role in the recent past and carefully assess whether it had withdrawn its peacekeeping forces too soon. Meanwhile, UNOTIL—the UN Office in Timor-Leste—has continued to carry out its political support mandate, until the Security Council takes a decision as to what kind of additional help the United Nations could provide to Timor-Leste in the months ahead to deal with the unexpected developments.

Building peace from the ashes of war takes time and the international community must be willing to work with local institutions until they are ready to shoulder responsibility for democratic governance, the rule of law and continued economic development. Peacekeeping operations must be linked to a longer term plan for achieving real stability. The recently completed peacekeeping operation in Sierra Leone, for example, contained built-in peacebuilding strategies currently under implementation.