Who are the UN Peacekeepers and what is
their mission? UN peacekeepers are troops and other
personnel contributed by different Member-States for the purpose of
keeping peace in a conflict situation -- until the disputing parties can
negotiate a settlement. The idea of peacekeeping is that a United
Nations presence can create sufficient calm, order and legitimacy to allow
negotiations to continue. As long as people are talking, they are not
fighting. As long as peace prevails, local
people can carry on their daily lives and local social institutions
(schools, hospitals, workplaces, etc.) can carry out their functions. UN
peacekeepers play many roles in their efforts to bring about peace in a
region; they work as de-miners, electoral
experts and observers, human rights monitors, experts in governance
and communication. They work to ensure that the will of the international
community, as expressed in Security Council resolutions, is carried
out.
In order for peacekeepers to carry out
their work, certain pre-conditions are necessary. First, it is necessary for the disputing parties to consent
to the presence of the peacekeepers; second, it is necessary for the
disputing parties to respect cease-fire agreements; third, it is necessary for disputing parties to respect
humanitarian norms.
While in past decades, most
conflicts broke out between
different nations, in recent decades, many conflicts have broken out among
multiple factions within individual nations. This new pattern
of conflict has created special challenges for
peacekeepers in carrying out their missions - as not all factions involved may
accept the pre-conditions to peacekeeping. When these pre-conditions are
met, UN peacekeepers can help create conditions that allow
democratic elections, help establish stable governments and
aid development as seen in such missions as Cambodia, Sierra Leone,
and Timor Leste.
The Security Council has the
authority to deploy a peacekeeping mission if 9 out of 15 Council members
vote in favour of it and if no permanent member vetoes it. The cost of a
peacekeeping mission is shared by member-states with each contributing
according to its economic capacity. At the Secretary-General's
request, Member-States sometimes contribute personnel and other supplies
to missions.
Successful peacekeeping
missions require adequate supplies
and resources, a clear mandate, and the firm support of the
international community.
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Comprehension Check Vocabulary Puzzle More About the UN Peacekeepers |