World Political Blog » United Nations http://worldpoliticalblog.com World Political Blog Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:09:59 +0000 en hourly 1 Congo – a failure of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force http://worldpoliticalblog.com/2010/10/04/congo-a-failure-of-the-united-nations-peacekeeping-force/ http://worldpoliticalblog.com/2010/10/04/congo-a-failure-of-the-united-nations-peacekeeping-force/#comments Mon, 04 Oct 2010 18:23:43 +0000 Ashish http://worldpoliticalblog.com/?p=276 The United Nations Peace Keeping force is an international force comprising of contributory soldiers from many countries, who are deputed for deployment in countries where there is a need for some security forces to maintain law and order. These could be situations where there is a huge amount of internal strife, or the governing party [...]]]> The United Nations Peace Keeping force is an international force comprising of contributory soldiers from many countries, who are deputed for deployment in countries where there is a need for some security forces to maintain law and order. These could be situations where there is a huge amount of internal strife, or the governing party are subjugating other sections of the population (as happened in some parts of the former republic of Yugoslavia), or where there is no effective country (such as the country of Somalia where a contingent of Ethiopian soldiers had entered under the mandate of an agreement by the African Union). In some cases, these contingents are successful in enforcing the peace, but in many other cases, the various constraints and controls placed on these peacekeeping forces prevents them from being effective.
Consider the case of Congo, where there is a Government, which has an army and police force, and is fighting some very determined rebels. The fight between the army and the rebels is quite bitter, and the rebels have also taken to terrorize the population. The incidence of rape and killings is high, with the use of rape being an instrument to punish entire localities. In addition, there is money involved with mines in the vicinity, and some of these mines are controlled by the rebels. The army and police are not exactly straight either.
In these circumstances, the peacekeepers have their tasks cut out, and are failing to implement the peace. There was a recent terror campaign in which a huge number of the woman in a township were gang raped one after the other, and there was nobody to stop them. The peace keepers were not to be found nearby, arriving there after everything had happened. Further, the responsibility of covering this area was on the Army, which had suddenly vanished. In such a case, the local people do not really appreciate the efforts being put in by the peace-keeping forces, and do not really perceive a sense of security.
UN peace keeping forces are sometimes called as police work being done by soldiers, in the sense that most of their work is around ensuring that there is a sense of security in the area, and not indulging in combat operations as they are trained to do. This sort of work is not really what they are supposed to do, and postings in such areas also dulls their edge. Further, their hands are tied in terms of local politics, in terms of what they can do and what they cannot do; such policies prevent them from being able to take effective steps to counter such grisly episodes, or being there to stop such disasters from happening.

]]> http://worldpoliticalblog.com/2010/10/04/congo-a-failure-of-the-united-nations-peacekeeping-force/feed/ 0 Sending forces to Darfur, too little too later http://worldpoliticalblog.com/2007/08/02/sending-forces-to-darfur-too-little-too-later/ http://worldpoliticalblog.com/2007/08/02/sending-forces-to-darfur-too-little-too-later/#comments Thu, 02 Aug 2007 13:03:56 +0000 Ashish http://worldpoliticalblog.com/2007/08/02/sending-forces-to-darfur-too-little-too-later/ For years now, the world has sat by and watched while the Sudanese Government sponsored militia, the Janjaweed raped, killed and butchered adult men, and equally despicably, did the same to women and children. There has been a lot of talk, a lot of discussion and some pressure on Sudan, but not any action. China [...]]]> For years now, the world has sat by and watched while the Sudanese Government sponsored militia, the Janjaweed raped, killed and butchered adult men, and equally despicably, did the same to women and children. There has been a lot of talk, a lot of discussion and some pressure on Sudan, but not any action. China is partly to blame, since it has oil and economic interests in Sudan, and did not want these interests to get affected by any action against Sudan.
Well, it seems like there has been a better agreement between the parties at the United Nations, including China, since the United Nations has got off its ass and approved using force to protect civilians. The resolution authorizes a total of 26,000 troops (19,555 army and 6432 police force) in a combined UN – African Union force to protect the people of Darfur. Even in this resolution, the UN force cannot seize illegal weapons, they can only use force in self-defense, or to protect supplies and civilians. However, the resolution does not mention as to what the United Nations will do if Sudan refuses to let the UN peacekeepers in. Earlier sanctions were to be planned for such an eventuality, but China got that part watered down.

The resolution, number 1769, invokes Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, under which the UN can authorise force. The measure allows the use of force for self-defence, to ensure the free movement of humanitarian workers and to protect civilians under attack, but acknowledges Sudan’s sovereignty. The resolution, which has been watered down several times, no longer allows the new force to seize and dispose of illegal arms, saying it can only monitor such weapons.
Rape, looting, murder and government bombardment drove millions from their homes in Darfur, where mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003. The rebels have now split into a dozen groups, many fighting one another. Sudan, after months of hesitation, has agreed to the troop numbers, but UN officials expect it will take a year to get the entire force in place. Khartoum also has to agree to allow units from individual countries into Sudan. The new headquarters should be running by October 31, and UN members were urged to cover costs as soon as possible for the AU troops. The combined force is to be in charge of all operations by December 31.

It will take a certain amount of time to set this up, and in some respects, this force might still be toothless and not able to protect the people it is supposed to. There is a very clear chance that Sudan agreed to this force for the time being, but will start to put obstructions in terms of the places it can go to, and what all the force is allowed to do. That aspect needs to be carefully monitored.

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