Peacekeeping

Peacekeeping: The Pillar of Lasting Peace

Imagine a world where conflicts are not just resolved but prevented from escalating into full-blown wars. That’s the essence of peacekeeping—military activities aimed at creating lasting peace conditions, reducing civilian and battlefield deaths, and ensuring compliance with ceasefire agreements. The United Nations (UN) is one of the major players in this global effort, alongside non-UN forces such as NATO, European Union, and African Union missions.

Peacekeeping operations come in various forms:

Types of Peacekeeping Operations

• Chapter VI Consent-Based Missions: These require the consent of belligerent factions to operate. If this consent is lost, peacekeepers must withdraw.
• Observation Missions: Typically unarmed and non-interventionist, these monitor cease-fires and conditions.
• Interpositional (Traditional) Missions: Serve as a buffer between factions, monitoring compliance with ceasefire agreements.
• Multidimensional Missions: Implement comprehensive settlements including electoral supervision, police reform, institution building, and economic development. These are often multidimensional operations comprising both civilian and military personnel, with substantial military force and fairly well-equipped standards by UN Peacekeeping norms.
• Peace Enforcement Missions (Chapter VII): Do not require consent from belligerent parties and can use force for purposes beyond self-defence. These are often multidimensional operations involving both civilian and military personnel.

The Evolution of UN Peacekeeping

During the Cold War, peacekeeping was primarily interpositional in nature, with UN Peacekeepers deployed after interstate conflicts to serve as a buffer between belligerent factions. Post-Cold War, the United Nations has taken on a more nuanced approach, including preventative diplomacy, peace-enforcement, peace-making, and post-conflict reconstruction.

UN Missions: A Broader Aim

The broader aims of UN missions include:

• Preventative Diplomacy: Engaging in early warning and preventive action to prevent conflicts from arising or escalating.
• Confidence-Building Measures: Actions that increase trust between conflicting parties, such as dialogue and cooperation.
• Peace-Enforcement (Acting with or without Consent): Using force for purposes beyond self-defence to maintain treaty or cease-fire agreements.
• Peace-Making (Compelling Belligerents to Seek a Peaceful Settlement): Mediation and negotiation to achieve peaceful settlements between conflicting parties.
• Peace-Keeper Deployment: Deployment of lightly-armed United Nations presence with consent from belligerent factions.
• Post-Conflict Reconstruction (Developing Economic and Social Cooperation): Building economic and social cooperation to mend relations between belligerents, often involving the development of infrastructure, institutions, and governance structures.

Non-UN Peacekeeping Forces

Other organizations also contribute to peacekeeping efforts. For example, the Multinational Force and Observers monitors the Sinai Peninsula under an agreement between Israel and Egypt in 1981. The African Union (AU) is working on building an African Peace and Security Architecture to enforce peace and security on the continent.

Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeping

Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeping (UCP) personnel use non-violent tactics to protect civilians in conflict zones. UCP, also known as civilian police or civilian protection, plays a crucial role in ensuring safety and security for local populations.

A Historical Perspective on UN Peacekeeping

The United Nations has a long history of peacekeeping operations dating back to 1948 when the UN Security Council authorized the deployment of unarmed military observers to monitor the armistice agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Since then, sixty-nine UN peacekeeping operations have been authorized, with most beginning in the post-Cold War world.

Security Council Resolutions

Key resolutions such as Security Council Resolution 1325 emphasize the importance of women’s equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security. While progress has been made, challenges remain, particularly in increasing women’s participation in peace negotiations and reducing sexual and gender-based violence.

Theoretical Basis and Empirical Evidence

Virginia Page Fortna’s research categorizes four causal mechanisms through which peacekeepers can lay the groundwork for lasting peace:

• Changing Incentives: Making peace more desirable or war more costly.
• Reducing Uncertainty and Fear: Addressing security dilemma spirals.
• Preventing Accidents and Rogue Groups: Deterrence against actions that might escalate back to war.
• Preventing Political Abuse: Deterring political abuse by one side, particularly the government.

Studies show that peacekeeping increases peace and reduces the risk of renewed warfare, battlefield deaths, and civilian deaths. However, challenges remain in ensuring effective deployment and addressing issues such as hidden information about belligerent strength, rebel involvement in illicit financing, and extremist spoilers.

Cultural Challenges

Contemporary peacekeeping operations face significant cultural challenges due to the diverse backgrounds of contributing countries and troops. Maintaining consent from the local population is crucial but can be complicated by language barriers, misunderstandings, and prejudices among different cultures within a UN deployment.

The Future of Peacekeeping

While peacekeeping has made significant strides, it faces ongoing challenges. The international community must continue to adapt its strategies to address the complexities of modern conflicts. As we move forward, the role of peacekeeping in ensuring lasting peace will remain a critical focus.