Peace-keeping in a changing context

United Nations peace-keeping is the responsibility of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations, headed by Mr. Kofi Annan. It remained a dynamic and demanding activity, responding to continuing turbulence in relations between States as well as to armed conflict within State borders. Certain peace-keeping missions were brought to a successful conclusion and new missions were established by the Security Council, while the status of existing operations ranged from relative stability to high danger. In the face of these challenges, the Organization continued to encounter grave difficulties in obtaining resources from Member States, in both specialized and properly equipped military units and adequate financing. At the end of July 1995, approximately 65,000 military personnel, 1,700 civilian police and 6,000 civilian personnel were deployed in 16 United Nations peace-keeping operations, with an aggregate annual budget of approximately $3.6 billion (see table 2).

Table 2
Peace-keeping troops, military observers and
civilian police in peace-keeping operations on 31 July 1995

Troops Observers PoliceTotal
UNTSO- 220-220
UNMOGIP- 40-40
UNFICYP1 165- 351 200
UNDOF1 036- -1 036
UNIFIL4 963- -4 963
UNIKOM859243 -1102
UNAVEM3 014333 2073 554
MINURSO48236 113397
UNCRO13 683347 43514 465
UNPROFOR27 738288 1828 044
UNPREDEP1 10725 261 158
UNOMIG-134 -134
UNMIH5 850- 8416 691
UNOMIL762 -69
UNAMIR3 792306 594 157
UNMOT-39 -39
TOTAL63 262 2 2731 73467 269

In Haiti, the suspended United Nations Mission was redeployed after a multinational force established stable and secure conditions. Likewise, in Angola, an effectively suspended United Nations peace-keeping operation, the United Nations Angola Verification Mission, has been newly deployed after the Angolan parties, following prolonged negotiations under United Nations auspices, finalized an agreement to bring the interrupted peace process back on course. In Tajikistan, a small United Nations Mission of Observers was deployed in support of a negotiating process under United Nations auspices, with the goal of national reconciliation and the promotion of democracy. Two major missions, in Mozambique and in El Salvador, were steered to a commendably successful conclusion, both culminating in elections monitored by the United Nations and the establishment of elected Governments, with the promise of the consolidation of stability in both countries. In contrast, the United Nations Operation in Somalia II, long plagued by interminable hostility between clan leaders who often turned upon the mission itself, was terminated, with a residual good offices mission being maintained to assist in the search for political compromise. Although the ambitious goal of reconstructing a stable Somali State was not achieved, the mission's principal objectives of ending the dire conditions of famine and of restoring some stability to most of the country were secured.

In recent years, the practice of peace-keeping, developed during the cold war and based on the consent and cooperation of the parties and impartiality of United Nations forces, with resort to arms only in self-defence, has proved most effective in multidimensional operations where the parties not only entered into negotiated agreements but demonstrated the political will to achieve the goals established. However, where the climate was one of hostility and obstruction instead of cooperation and political will, peace-keeping came under heavy strains and pressures. This has been the experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the United Nations itself came under armed attack. While efforts to achieve a political agreement between the parties remained futile, the determination to press for military advantage undermined laboriously negotiated cease-fires, and the force of events on the ground drove the United Nations into situations in which mandates assigning peace-keeping tasks simultaneously with limited enforcement actions proved contradictory and ineffective. The Bosnian Serbs' use of military force to obtain their objectives demonstrated the perilous balance to be maintained by the international community between the limits of a mandate defined in response to a particular situation and the larger objective of realizing the purposes of the Charter. This has compelled renewed reflection on the instruments available to the international community in its efforts to maintain international peace and security.

The limits of peace-keeping in ongoing hostilities starkly highlighted by the distressing course of events in the former Yugoslavia have become clearer, as the Organization has come to realize that a mix of peace-keeping and enforcement is not the answer to a lack of consent and cooperation by the parties to the conflict. The United Nations can be only as effective as its Member States may allow it to be. The option of withdrawal raises the question of whether the international community can simply leave the afflicted populations to their fate. The Organization has been confronted with this issue with increasing frequency, not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also in Somalia, Rwanda, Liberia, Angola and elsewhere.

The international community's response to these situations was varied. In some cases, it became necessary to rethink and readjust the measures taken. Such, often difficult, readjustment can be minimized if mandates given the Organization establish well-defined, achievable objectives and have the necessary political and material backing of Member States. Especially in instances where the Security Council authorizes the use of force even to a limited extent, under Chapter VII of the Charter, the composition, equipment and logistic support of such an operation must be commensurate with the task.

Peace-keeping missions have multiplied in number and complexity in recent years (see

To ensure its effectiveness, the stand-by arrangements system relies on detailed volumetric information on resources specified in each of the stand-by arrangements. By maintaining a comprehensive database of the volumetrics, the Secretariat will be in a better position to assess detailed requirements. Secretariat planners will know well in advance what movement provisions are required and what items should be procured if deficiencies exist. In addition, procurement activities can be pre-planned, thereby reducing costs.

So far 46 Member States have confirmed their participation in stand-by arrangements and 13 are in the process of finalizing their offers. The commitments made to date do not, however, cover the whole spectrum of resources required to mount and execute future peace-keeping operations adequately. Deficiencies still exist in critical areas such as communications, multi-role logistics, health services, supply, engineering and transportation.

The Stand-by Arrangements Management Team is currently manned by one United Nations-contracted military officer and three others on loan from Governments. In addition, the team is temporarily assisted by four officers from other teams within the Mission Planning Service of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations.

Potentially, the stand-by arrangements system will offer an effective means of rapidly deploying needed resources to new or current peace-keeping missions. If these arrangements are fully built up, the Secretariat would be in a better position to meet current challenges. The system's success is totally dependent on the support and participation of Member States, since even under the stand-by arrangements Member States will retain the right to deploy the agreed units in a particular operation.

The daunting experiences in United Nations peace-keeping in the turbulence following the end of the cold war also have confronted the Organization with problems on a more practical level. The difficulties in securing resources have led to unacceptable delays in deployment of peace-keeping forces in emergency situations that cannot afford delay. In the Supplement to "An Agenda for Peace", I urged that serious thought be given to the idea of a rapid reaction force to provide the Security Council with a strategic reserve for deployment in emergencies requiring the immediate presence of peace-keeping troops. The system of stand-by arrangements does not so far ensure the reliability and speed of response which is required in such emergencies. It is essential that the necessary capabilities are reliably available when they are needed and can be deployed with the speed dictated by the situation. It is evident that Member States possess such capabilities; what is needed is the will to make them available for the execution of Security Council mandates.

The work of peace has never been without risk, but today United Nations personnel are routinely required to face dangers to their life and health in the course of unpredictable and risky operations in hostile environments. This is demonstrated by the unfortunate fact that there have been 456 fatalities in peace-keeping missions between 1991 and 1995 as compared to 398 between 1948 and 1990. Particularly disturbing is the tendency by some to ignore the international status of United Nations personnel and to attack peace-keepers as they carry out their duties mandated by the Security Council (see fig. 18). The Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel adopted by the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session is of crucial importance, and I urge Governments to take the necessary action to ensure that the Convention enters into force as soon as possible.

There is an increasing awareness among Member States that public information, both internationally and in the mission area, is critical to the success of peace-keeping operations. In the planning of recent major operations, therefore, the requirements for an information capacity were examined at an early stage and the resources required were included in the proposed budget.

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