1. UN roles in international security

• Peace diplomacy
o
.

• Peace making
o What it is: It is the process of diplomacy, mediation, negotiation, or other forms of peaceful settlement that arranges an end to the dispute and resolves the issue that led to the conflict.

• Peace keeping
o What it is: They are efforts made by third parties to act as a buffer between warring parties / to separate antagonists (e.g. in civil wars, interstate wars) or to prevent hostilities between potential belligerents from escalating so that a negotiated settlement of the dispute can be reached.

• Peace building
o What it is: This refers to post conflict actions, predominantly economic and diplomatic in nature to strengthen and rebuild governmental infrastructure and institutions so as to avoid the return to armed conflict.

• Peace enforcement
o What it is: It is the application of military force or the threat of its use, usually pursuant / in accordance to international authorization, to force compliance with resolutions or sanctions designed to maintain or restore peace and order.

• Collective Security
o What it is: It is a regional or global system that works on the basis that each state shares the responsibility for all other states’ security, and agrees to join in a collective response to aggression.
o What it is not: It is not a system of balance-of-power whereby each state acts on its own self-interest for its individual protection (e.g. states forming coalitions to offset against others to equilibrate them so as to prevent war).


• Humanitarian intervention



2. The Charter and Peacekeeping

 Peacekeeping not mentioned in the Charter
The Charter never specifically mentions peacekeeping as a tool to be employed by the United Nations. The concept somewhat lies in the Charter in between Chapters VI and VII, in other words, it developed out of the Charter as an approach the support the main purpose of the UN (i.e. the maintenance of international peace and security).
 Chapter VI: Outlines specific means which countries may use to settle disputes peacefully before the conflict – negotiations, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional institutions or arrangements or other peaceful means.
 Chapter VII: Allows enforcement action by UN Members States after the conflict, including the use of armed force or other collective measures for dealing with ‘threats to peace’. For authorisation, endorsement is needed from 9 (including all 5 permanent members) out of the Security Council’s 15 members.

 Peacekeeping is ad-hoc
o Peacekeeping is essentially operating on largely an ad-hoc basis. Each operation has been tailor-made to meet the demands of a specific conflict. It was also to evolve and broaden over time.

3. Peacekeeping in the Cold War (Before 1985)

(A) The Concept of Peacekeeping
(i)The Policeman Role (The traditional/classical roles)

• Authority
o __________________________: Developed during the Cold War period, it was a means to resolve conflicts between states under UN command between the armed forces of the former warring parties.
• Roles/Purpose
o Observer role: Generally, they were deployed when ceasefire was in place and the parties to the conflict had given their consent. Their role was generally to observe and report impartially on the adherence to the ceasefire, troop withdrawal or other elements of the peace agreement. This was to provide space for diplomatic efforts to address the underlying causes of conflict.
o Defensive role: Peacekeepers were not expected to fight fire with fire. They are only allowed to take up arms as a form of self-defence.

• Composition
o Unarmed or lightly armed military personnel
o Smaller in scale, fewer in numbers
o Given narrowly defined roles
o Deals with interstate conflicts
o Operates in familiar terrain

(ii) The Requisites of UN Success
• Role and the Mood of superpowers
Superpower rivalry, polarizing east-west dichotomy resulted in the frequent misuse of vetoes by US and especially USSR. (Note: The Soviets had used more than 280 vetoes from 1955-1985)
o This affected peacekeeping in the following ways:
 No unanimity in sending peacekeepers as the US and USSR are often engaged in a deadlock.
 Both perceived that sending peacekeeping forces to crisis areas would affect their own interest. (E.g. Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, US military actions in Vietnam, the Arab-Israeli conflicts)

(B) Case Studies
(i) Limits of Collective Security and Emergence of peace-keeping operations
(1948-1956)

Limits of Collective Security – Peace Enforcement in Operation

a. The Korean War (1950 – 1953)
• Context : North Korea invaded the South in June 1950. The UN SC discussion took place in the absence of the Soviet delegates, who boycotted meetings since the beginning of 1950 over the issue of seating Taiwan in the UNSC. (this persisted until 1971)
• Organs involved :
o UNSC : Acted in Soviet’s absence. Being wholly western in composition, it recommended that UN members should assist the South. But ultimately, it was an American initiative legitimized by a UNSC resolution and not established under Article 43 of the UN Charter, which was to place military obligations on all the Charter signatories.
o UNGA : On Nov 1950, UNGA passed the ‘Uniting for Peace’ Resolution, which permitted the transfer of decisions over security matters to the GA when action by the SC was blocked by a veto.
o UNSG : Trygve Halvdan Lie’s pro-western sympathies are seen as quite evident in the Korean War.

• UN Force
o Was designed to impose and enforce a particular outcome.
o Was essentially action taken by coalitions where the UN allowed the US to lead and direct it. The UN force was essentially 2/3 American and the rest were Western states.
• The Limitations and Impact
o The Cold War Agenda promoted by the superpowers is somewhat incompatible to the idea of collective security since it was anticipated that the interest of one would like to infringe on the other.
After the Korean experience, the UN did not undertake ‘enforcement’ mission to defeat an aggressor for another 40 years until Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.

b. India and Pakistan, 1947
• Context : In August 1947, India and Pakistan became independent. Under the scheme of partition provided by the Indian Independence Act of 1947, Kashmir was free to accede to India or Pakistan. Its accession to India became a matter of dispute between the two countries and fighting broke out later that year.

• Organs involved :
o UNSC : In Jan 1948, the UNSC (with abstention from SU) adopted a resolution to establish the UN Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) to investigate the problem of the status of Jammu and Kashmir. It recommended various measures including the use of observers to stop the fighting. The UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) was thus established in 1949.
o UNMOGIP :
 Was tasked to supervise the ceasefire in Kashmir. Its functions were to observe and report, investigate complaints of ceasefire violations and submit findings to each party and to the UNSG.
 It achieved reasonable success, but there is no political will by India and Pakistan to resolve the complex and communal problems in Jammu and Kashmir, so the UNMOGIP supervision of the cease-fire line remains to this day.

c. The Suez Crisis of 1956
• Context : Egypt’s nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956 provoked Britain, France and Israel to launch an assault on the Canal Zone in Oct.

• Organs involved :
o UNSC : Was convened in Oct on American request and called for a withdrawal of Israel (indirectly referring to Britain and France, though at this point not engaged in military action). This resulted in the Britain’s first ever veto.
o UNGA : Uniting for Peace procedure was invoked with Soviet support to outflank this western veto and GA took up the issue. Passed a resolution to create the UNEF1.
UNSG : Dag Hammarskjold was instrumental in suggesting that the force should not include contingents from any of the permanent members of the UNSC. This was the first time what would become a fundamental principle of cold war peacekeeping. Dag was also to invent the concept of peacekeeping after the Suez Crisis when he in Oct 1958 circulated to the GA a ‘Summary Study’ to provide a framework of stand-by arrangements.

o UNEF1 – The Beginning of Peacekeeping Missions
 Was the First Major Peacekeeping Force set up by the UN.
 Task was to secure and supervise the cessation of hostilities.
 Operated under the approved guidelines drafted by Dag.
 It oversaw the establishment of a cease-fire and the withdrawal of British and French forces by the end of 1956 and the withdrawal of Israeli forces by the end of March 1957.
 It was an armed peacekeeping mission, and comprised of peacekeeping forces without any permanent members of the UNSC.
 It was also the first time that the UN undertook military action with the consent of the parties to the conflict.
 It helped to maintain stability between the 2 countries, but when Egypt exercised its right to withdraw its consent to the force’s presence despite UNSG U Thant’s plea to not do so. It brought an end to the operation, resulting in the controversial outbreak of war in 1967.

(iii) ________________________________________________)

• Great optimism of peacekeeping work and the Cold War
o The success of the UNEF and the high expectations of the UN, furthered by the continuing work in Palestine and Kashmir, resulted in a surge of peacekeeping operations in the period 1956-1964.

• Laying the foundations of peacekeeping
o This period laid the foundations of UN peacekeeping operations. This included reaching an agreement on the number of guiding principles: The role of the UNSG and the UN command; the political perimeter of the operation e.g. the consent of host states, and at times the main parties involved, the need to maintain impartiality and neutrality and the need to be flexible
o It establishes the scope of peacekeeping; the outcome of settlement depends on the will of the parties involved.(i.e. peacekeeping cannot resolve underlying problems)

a. The Lebanon Crisis of 1958
Context : A crisis in the internal politics of Lebanon led to a sharp deterioration of inter-ethnic relations within the country wrought by religion and culture differences. Lebanon’s Maronite Christian president was worried by the threat of Muslim Arab hegemony in the Middle East. He enlisted the still western dominated UN to protect Lebanon from infiltration and the perceived threat of invasion from Syria.

• Organs involved :
o UNSC : A small-scale Observation Group in Lebanon (UNOGIL) was deployed instead of a larger full-scale UN force to avoid the Soviet veto in 1958.
o UNOGIL :
 Was deployed as a UN military observer mission.
 Was to ensure that there was no illegal infiltration of personnel or arms across Lebanese borders after the main regional body, the Arab League failed to resolve the increasing tensions between Christians and Muslims.
 The US sent it substantial force into Lebanon despite the presence of UNOGIL observers. This was because the US feared pan Arab militancy was becoming pro-Soviet (or at least anti-west) derived from Arab nationalism. This was seen by Nasser’s intentions to merge between Egypt and Syria and radical nationalist overthrew the overthrow of the Iraqi monarchy in 1958.
 The Soviets veto 2 UNSC resolutions to renew the role of UNOGIL and UNGA passed a resolution suggesting that UNOGIL to replace US troops.
 US troops were withdrawn and in Dec 1958, after a deployment of 6 months, the UNOGIL was withdrawn.



b. India and Pakistan, 1965
• Context : Military incidents between India and Pakistan arose once again over Kashmir.

• Organs involved :
o UNSG : Adopted a resolution that called for a cease-fire and cooperation with UNMOGIP. It also passed another resolution to establish observers to monitor the cease-fire line outside Jammu and Kashmir and established the UN India-Pakistan Observation Mission (UNIPOM).
o UNIPOM :
 Was primarily to observe and report breaches of ceasefire but they had no authority or power to order a cessation of firing.
 Played a useful role in calming the situation; was withdrawn in Feb 1966 following a peacemaking meeting between India and Pakistan under Soviet’s chairmanship.

c. Congo Crisis of 1962-1966
Context : In 1960, Belgium withdrew from the vast African colony and transferred power to an independent African government. The swift exit created a political crisis in Congo, resulting in a mutiny that brought about Belgian military intervention without the Congo government’s consent. Exploiting the chaos, the mineral-rich southern province of Katanga declared ‘independence’ from Congo. The Congolese prime minister, Patrice Lumumba and its president, Joseph Kasavubu sought UN to help to deal with the unrest and threats of secession. The uniqueness of this crisis did not follow the standard peacekeeping guidelines established thus far by Dag :
o Host state consent had limited meaning since control of the state was uncertain.
o Defensive role of peacekeeping force in question since there is a need to re-impose order.
o The principle of non-interference in local politics would be unsustainable if UN acts on behalf of central government against regional secession.

• Organs involved :
o UNSG (Dag’s independence): The SG for the first time in UN history invoked the power given to him under Article 99 and Dag brought the issue before the UNSC himself. He initially sought the UNSC’s authorization for an operation that would cover the withdrawal of Belgian forces from the Congo (aim seems similar to UNEF1).
o Dag had also personally identified with the operational details and his use of the initiative under Article 99 meant that whatever the real limits of his personal control over the politics of either the UN or Congo, he would be a prime target from the side, which perceived itself as the loser from the UN intervention.
o UNSC: The UNSC adopted a resolution that not only called for the withdrawal of Belgian forces but to assist the Congolese government as well. The force assembled in July 1960 was known as Operation des Nations Unies au Congo (ONUC).

o ONUC :
 Marked a milestone in UN peacekeeping operations in terms of responsibilities it had to assume, the size of its area of operation and the manpower involved. It included, at its peak, nearly 20,000 officers and men, and an important Civilian Operations component.
 Was to monitor the withdrawal of Belgian forces and help restore law and order.
 But when Lumumba was murdered in Feb 1961, the UNSC authorized the ONUC to use force if necessary to prevent civil war. This represented an abandonment of the basic Hammarskjoldian principle that peacekeepers should use force only in self-defence and shifting to more of an enforcement function.
 The UN troops launched operations to end Katanga’s secession and this in turn left UN open to attacks as well. The situation was compounded by an apparent accidental death of Dag in an air crash in Sep 1961 on his way to meet the secessionist leader of Katanga.
 Dag’s successor, U Thant did not bring a fundamental change to the UN operation in Congo.
 UNSC adopted a new resolution, which was even more forceful than the Feb resolution and ONUC was instructed to use force to end Katangese secession.
 Fighting broke out from late 1961 and by the end of 1962, UN forces were in control of Katanga. Congo was unified under a centralized administration and ONUC withdrew from Congo in Jun 1964.
The operation succeeded in fulfilling its mandate but it led to widespread distrust
 of the possible ramifications of peacekeeping (because of its peace-enforcement role) in the Third World.
 The Permanent Members of UNSC were also determined not to have a UNSG as dominant as Dag and attempted to establish the UNSC as the only UN body capable of setting up peacekeeping operations.
 Indeed, UN operations have been the most controversial of all peacekeeping operations and has been often cited as an example of the legal, humanitarian and political pitfalls of peacekeeping especially when it moves to a peace-enforcement role.


(IV) _________________________________________

• 1956 – 66 – Ended on a very controversial note
o Testing the limits of peacekeeping boundaries : Withdrawal of UNEFI from Egypt in 1967, followed immediately by the Arab-Israeli War. The Congo Crisis (1962-66) expanded beyond the narrowly defined role of peacekeeping to including assisting the incumbent government to quell a secessionist revolt.

• 1967 – 73 – More positive note with the coming of Détente
o Greater superpower cooperation : It was the period of détente around the late 1960s into the 1970s. There was growing awareness in the 1960s among the 2 superpowers that they could work towards mutual economic and technological benefit, and so they were more willing to cooperate to mutually resolve international conflicts than to unilaterally exploit them.
o New challenges with inclusion of new UN members : Membership of UN expanded throughout the 1960s and by late 1960s the built-in western majority in the GA had long vanished. There is a tendency for most part of the non-aligned towards anti-imperialism (vis-à-vis the west).

• 1974 – 84 – Less positive with détente in decline and the return to Cold War
o Less superpower cooperation: US and USSR were less able to see eye-to-eye on issues surrounding the countries in conflict.
o Less number of peacekeeping efforts: There was no new peacekeeping or observer force for 10 years after the formation of UNIFIL (UN Interim Force in Lebanon). Even the UNIFIL was set up in the dying days of détente and had to operate in the midst of increasingly hostilities between US and USSR. This does not mean that the work of peacekeeping was suspended. Multilateral operations were still mounted but these new forces were for the most part substitutes for (or extensions of) existing operations previously undertaken by the UN.




a. Arab-Israel War of 1967 and 1973 (Peacekeeping operations in Israel and Egypt)
• Context: The withdrawal of UNEF1 from Egypt in May 1967 led immediately to the Arab-Israeli War. There was no UN involvement after the 6-Day War of 1967 to replace the UNEF until after the Yom Kippur war of 1973.
• Organs involved:
o UNSC: SU, US, Fr and Br supported the adoption of a resolution to set up the UN Emergency Force (UNEFII) was also to cooperate with the military observers of the UNTSO and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in its humanitarian efforts.
o 1971: Marked the entry of PRC to replace Taiwan as the representative of China in UNSC and it chose until 1981 not to participate in resolutions authorizing peacekeeping bodies.
o UNSG: Kurt Waldheim, who succeeded U Thant in 1971 played a secondary role.

• UNEFII (Oct 1973-Jul 1979) & UNTSO (May 1948 to present)

o UNEFII was to supervise the ceasefire between Egyptian and Israeli lines in Sinai after the Oct 1973 war.
o It had a maximum strength of about 7,000 to supervise the ceasefire, and had no forces from Permanent Members of the UNSC.
o SU joined the US and Fr in sending observers to UNTSO.
o Poland became the first eastern European state to join a UN peacekeeping force.
o Thus given the mutual superpower interest in the force, its deployment and operation were effective and efficient. Both Egypt and Israel cooperated in the intervention.
o UNEFII created the conditions for negotiations for a comprehensive peace agreement but the UN made no significant input into the final agreement. It was almost wholly the Americans, through the encouragement of President Jimmy Carter that a treaty was agreed between Israel and Egypt at Camp David and signed in Mar 1979.
o The Camp David settlement was a victory for the West and the SU, being alienated from the US-driven peace process, made it clear that it would not allow the UNEF II to continue and the operation ceased in Jul 1979.

• The creation of a Multination Force and Observers (MFO) to replace
UNEFII.
o Context: The MFO is an international peacekeeping force that exists independent from UN coordination. Its origins were found in the events that follow the Israel-Eqypt Peace Treaty in Mar 1979 (see above) when the UN decided not to continue the peacekeeping mandate on the Sinai Peninsula (i.e. the disbanding of UNEFII). The terms of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty required the presence of international peacekeepers to ensure that both countries kept the provisions regarding military build-up along the border. In the absence of UN peacekeeping forces, the Protocol to the Treaty of Peace was signed in 1981 establishing the MFO.
o MFO
 Was essentially western in character consisting of US, Israel and Egyptian forces. It was more often than not seen as an American foreign policy project than an international one.
 Was to supervise the peace treaty that was established between Israel and Egypt. Being guaranteed by the US, the MFO faced no great operational challenge.




b. Crisis in Lebanon in the 1970s
• Context: Tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border increased especially after the relocation of Palestinian armed elements from Jordan to Lebanon. Jordan had in 1970 expelled its Palestinian exiles, which sought refuge in Lebanon, particularly in the south. A civil war in Lebanon broke out in 1975 resulted in the Syrian intervention in 1976. The Palestinians took the opportunity to launch cross border attacks against Israel from southern Lebanon. In response, Israeli forces invaded Lebanon in 1978 and occupied the South.
• Organs involved:
o UNSC: Adopted a US draft resolution to call for Israel’s withdrawal and the establishment of a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) except for SU which abstained from voting.

• UNIFIL (Mar 1978 – present)
o Was to oversee the withdrawal of Israel from southern Lebanon, restore international peace and security and assist the Lebanese government to regain its authority in the area.
o Had a force of 6,100 men by 1978.
o Was seen by SU as a western response to a problem of western international relations – those between the US and Israel. Superpower differences were also seen in the refusal of any Warsaw Pact states to contribute to UNIFIL
o Was not able to fulfill its mandate. Israel withdrew from the North but not the south.
o Hostilities flared up sporadically in 1980 and 1981. And in 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon, despite the presence of UNIFIL, in order to destroy PLO’s (Palestine Liberation Organisation) presence there and to establish a regime favourable to its interests.
o Was not able to perform any peacekeeping function in an area dominated by Israel and its local allies from 1982-1985. This was because the SU was never enthusiastic to support UNIFIL and the US in the era ending détente was more reluctant to confront Israel’s objections to the UN role in Lebanon. Thus when Israel withdrew in 1985, it left behind an expanded security zone which further restricted UNIFIL’s authority.
o UNIFIL remained in existence till today.

• Multinational Force in Lebanon (MFN) to replace the ineffectiveness of UNIFIL
o Similar to the MFO. Operated outside the jurisdiction of UN.
o Was a western peacekeeping force created in Aug 1982 comprising of American French and Italian. It was re-designated as MNFII when the British troops were added in.
o Was to bolster the authority and demoralized Lebanese army and to act as a buffer force between Israelis and the local Muslim militias which remained after the departure of the Palestinians. (oversee withdrawal of PLO)
However, the MFN lacked the legitimization of a UN mandate and both sides did not accept the MFN role. The MFN was seen by the militias as instruments of pro-Israeli western and found itself coming into armed confrontation with them. The operation was wound up in 1983 having achieved less success than the MFO.


4. Peacekeeping in the Post Cold War period (1985-1991)

4.1 The concept of Peacekeeping
4.1.1 Expansion of UN peacekeeping (New roles)
• Authority
o More active intervention, more offensive role.
• Role/Purpose
o Expanded and diverse role: The role of Peace keeping widened after the Cold War period. Most peacekeeping operations more complex and larger, often to implement comprehensive peace agreements between protagonists.
o Multi-dimensional role: Peacekeeping operations are more multi-dimensional, requiring each to carry out a variety of functions involving peace-making and peace-building. It even involves more and more and more non-military elements to ensure sustainability. (E.g. monitor elections, oversee refugees, humanitarian aid.)
• Composition
o Larger in scale, more in numbers
o Lightly armed military personnel
o Given expanded roles
o Deal with inter and intrastate conflicts (i.e. domestic conflicts) e.g. civil wars
o Operate in unfamiliar terrain (e.g. very forested and dense areas)
o More expensive

4.1.2 Requisites for UN success

• ______________________________________
o Larger in scale, more in numbers
o The increase number of regional conflicts, not a result of the Cold War
o The enlarged role of peacekeeping to deal with the new sources of conflict (e.g. over national, ethnical, cultural, religious issues)
o Greater opportunities for the peacekeepers to get involved
o Increased successes of peacekeeping operations (e.g. roles played in Mozambique, Angola, El Salvador, Namibia and the height of its success was found in the role played in the Arab-Kuwaiti crisis in 1991)

• _____________________________________
o There was more agreement among the Big Five; there was a more convergence of interest between them.
o Less superpower interference in peacekeeping efforts (as there is less need to win over allies in the developing countries. E.g. in backing groups in civil wars and using them as proxies) means also less interest in their involvement in such conflicts (i.e. tendency to leave everything to the peacekeepers).

• New challenges
Peacekeeping became more expensive.
o More financial resources required and shortages remained.
o The defensive role of peacekeeping was put into question.
o The continued perception that the UN, including peacekeeping was a pawn of the West.
o Successes led to heightened expectations. (e.g. peacekeeping missions in the 1980s were relatively easy to manage but the outcome was less than desired)

4.2 Case studies
4.2.1 The resurgence of peacekeeping missions
• Increase in numbers of peacekeeping missions
o New operations and small scale: From 1984-1998, there were about 20 new peacekeeping and observer missions established as compared to the period 1945 to 1978 (when UNIFIL was established), there were only about 15 operations. 3 out the 15 operations had observer corps that had less than 100.
o Continuation of existing operations and larger scale: Out of the 15 operations, 5 of them continued on into the late 1980s and 1990s (UNTSO, UNMOGIP, UNFICYP, UNDOF and UNIFIL)
• Operations covered a wider new areas of conflict
o The expansion of commitment to more parts of the world reflected the post cold war relations within the UNSC and also the types of conflicts that had gone beyond the earlier bipolar realities. There were 6 larger commitments in Europe (5 in various parts of former Yugoslavia and 1 in Georgia); and 2 in a new area of Middle East (the borders of Iraq); 8 in Africa, 3 in Central America and Caribbean, and 1 in Cambodia.
• Greater optimism of peacekeeping work
o There was general optimism that ________________________________ ______________________________________ now that the end of cold war had opened up areas previously untouchable by superpower rivalry. There was also greater likelihood that the superpowers were to cooperate in peacekeeping efforts given the new environment.

a. Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Context: Soviet forces entered Afghanistan in 1979 in response to a request by the Afghan government for assistance against insurgent movement. They soon became caught in a protracted conflict with the Afghan resistance factions, the mujahideen. It was only in 1988 that the SU announced it would withdraw its troops.

• UNGOMAP (May 1988 – Mar 1990) (UN Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan)
o Was to negotiate and report any violation of the Geneva Accord.
o Was to monitor the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the voluntary return of refugees and the non-interference and non-intervention by the parties in each other’s affairs.
o Was somewhat a facing-saving mission for the SU, which ended in March 1990.

b. Cambodia
• The Context: In Dec 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia and installed a new government headed by Heng Samrin, a former division commander of the Democratic Kampuchea.
• The organs involved:
o UNGA: In 1979, the UNGA called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces, the non-interference by other states in the country’s internal affairs and the self-determination of the Cambodian people. It also requested the UNSG to exercise its good offices to contribute to a comprehensive political settlement.
o UNSG: After visiting the region, he saw possibilities and later detailed the main elements of a comprehensive political settlement. This included the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Cambodia; non return to the condemned policies of the recent past; promotion of national reconciliation; right for Cambodians to determine their own destiny; the respect of country’s territorial integrity’ and international guarantees to supervise the agreements reached. His proposals resulted in the first face-to-face talks among the 4 Cambodian parties in 1988, and a series of other conferences.
o UNSC: In Jan 1990, the 5 permanent members started a series of high level meetings on Cambodia, which resulted in the 4 Cambodian parties agreed to accept a comprehensive settlement including the mandate of UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).
o It further authorized a UN Advance Mission in Cambodia (UNAMIC) to be deployed once the final agreements have been signed.

• UNAMIC (Oct 1991 – Mar 1992)
o Mainly consisted of military liaison officers to help the parties address and resolve any violations or alleged violations of the ceasefire. It also looked into the issue of refugees repatriation routes, reception centers and resettlement areas and subsequently established mine-awareness and clearance programme.
o It was later absorbed into UNTAC.

• UNTAC (Feb 1992 – Sep 1993)
o Was set up after parties signed in Paris the Agreements on the Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodian Conflict in Oct 1991.
o Was the first vote to set up a peacekeeping body by Russia, following the end of SU and was the first UN force to include Japanese
o Was mandated to cover 7 components: human rights, electoral, military, civil administration, police, repatriation and rehabilitation.
o Was to consist of between 15,000 to 20,000 UN personnel including human rights, civil administrative, military components and police component
o Was therefore different from traditional peacekeeping missions because it amounted to an administrative authority exercising key functions of government (similar to UNSF in West New Guinea). It therefore assumed control of key sectors including foreign affairs, defence, security, finance and communications in order to build a stable environment for national elections. It also oversaw the successful repatriation and resettlement of refugees and displaced person
o Was successful in overseeing the elections in May 1993 and withdrew in 1993.

4.2.2 A return to the practice of peace enforcement?
a. Iraq and Kuwait
• The Context: Iraq was heavily indebted to several Arab countries after its war with Iran. It had hope to repay its debts by raising the oil price through OPEC production cuts but instead Kuwait increased productions and lowered price. Iraq also accused Kuwait of drilling into neighbouring Iraqi oil fields Iraqi had been unhappy that Kuwait had exceeded its OPEC production quota and was depressing the market price and Kuwait should help Iraqi call on other Arab states to cancel its war debt, having acted as a buffer against Iran. On 2 Aug 1990, Iraq therefore invaded and occupied Kuwait.

• The organs involved:
o UNSC:
 On the same day, it adopted Resolution 660 condemning the invasion and demand its immediate and unconditional withdrawal its forces. It also adopted Resolution 661 on 6 Aug to impose a wide range of mandatory arms and economic sanctions (excluding humanitarian supplies) against Iraq.
 Saddam responded by annexing Kuwait as its 19th province; the first time in UN history that a member state forcibly annexed another)
 On 18 Aug, SC unanimously adopted Resolution 664 demanding an end to Saddam’s forcible closure of diplomatic mission in Kuwait and the seizure of large number of Western hostages.
 Subsequent resolutions were adopted. Resolution 665 imposed a maritime blockade of Iraq; Resolution 670 imposed air sanctions; Resolution 666 authorised the dispatch of humanitarian aid to Iraq and Kuwait; Resolution 667 reverted to Iraqi aggressive acts against diplomatic personnel and premises in Kuwait and the abduction of foreign nationals; Resolution 674 called for Iraq to stop its mistreatment of Kuwaitis and to collate its human right breaches
 With all non-military means being exhausted, it was clear that the UNSC was advancing on a watershed, namely the formal authorization of the use of force. It there culminated to Resolution 678 that if Iraq refuse to implement UNSC’s resolutions, member states would cooperate with Kuwait government to use all necessary means to force Iraq to do so (as sanctioned under Chapter VII, article 42). In Jan 1991, the coalition armed forces launched a systematic and comprehensive attack on Iraq and liberated Kuwait in Feb 1991.
 Adopted Resolution 687 on Apr 1991 to detail conditions for a formal ceasefire to end the conflict and establish a demilitarized zone (DMZ) along the boundary between Iraq and Kuwait to be monitored by a UN observer unit. The Resolution also covered all bilateral Kuwait/Iraq issues and foreshow action on the question of chemical, bacteriological and nuclear weapons, and nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, regional arms control, hostage taking, terrorism and humanitarian matters. Furthermore, the Resolution 689 was adopted to establish the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM).
 These, among other things, were the most intrusive and wide ranging arrays of demands made on a sovereign state since the creation of UN in Oct 1945.
• UNIKOM (Apr 1991 – Oct 2003)
o Was given the mandate to monitor the DMZ, to deter violations of the boundary and to observe any hostile action mounted from the territory of one state against another. It however did not have the authority or capacity to take action to prevent the entry of military personnel or equipment into the DMZ and the military observers were unarmed
o Include military forces drawn from UNFICYP and UNIFIL, which were withdrawn by the end of June 1991.
o Its mandate was expanded in 1993 following a series of incidents on the DMZ involving Iraqi intrusions to include the capacity to take physical action to prevent or redress small scale violations of the DMZ and the problems arising from Iraqi installations, citizens and assets in the DMZ.
o The mission ended in Oct 2003

b. Somalia
• The Context: In 1991, President Siad Bare was overthrown, leading to conflict between warlords leading to civil war. More than a million people were in danger of starvation
• The organs involved:
o UNSC:
 January 1992, passed a resolution imposing an arms embargo against Somalia.
 Would later sanction actions that allowed USA to
• UNOSOM (1992 – 1993)
o Organised along traditional lines, believing that it was working with the permission of the government, but in reality there was no true central Somalian government, all claiming authority. So there was simply “no host state”
o Pakistan troops formed the bulk of the forces but were attacked by warring factions, and since other states were unwilling to contribute forces, Somalians continued to suffer.
o Operation Restore Hope
- US forces created a task force (US not UN)
- Therefore with the SC’s blessing The United Task Force (UNITAF) was created, headed by USA with 29 other nations
• UNOSOM II
o Once UNITAF had achieved a level of stability, the UN forces created a new force, UNOSOM II. Was this due to the USA forces succeeding where the UN forces had failed at first?
o Never quite reached the target of 28,000 personnel it needed – possibly due to lack of support for efforts in Somalia
o UNITAF wanted to leave but soon it was realized that many states preferred US presence
o The problem was that the USA forces also wanted to move beyond UN directives and remove the warlords, which led to increasing death toll; in particular in a conflict in Mogadishu.
- 23 Pakistani troops were killed in an ambush led by General Aidid
- He and his supporters denounced UN and US involvement in what they believed was a domestic affair.
o Showed that peace could not be maintained unless the locals were disarmed, which they had been trying to do since 1991.
o UN forces were also unable to target enemy forces correctly, leading to deaths of many civilians and their welcome also soon began to wear thin. (Sep 1993, UN helicopter fired into a crowd, killing 200; including women and children)
o UN forces were neither well trained or familiar with the region.
o No clear directive – were they there for peacekeeping or were they there as a coercive force? What were the roles of the UN and US troops?
o UNOSOM left in March 1995, where the warlords battled for the UN compound.

c. Rwanda
• The Context: The genocide in Rwanda was the mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda's Tutsis (and moderated Hutus) by the Hutu dominated government over the course of approximately 100 days. With the death toll ranging from between 500,000 and 1,000,000.

• The organs involved:
o UNSC
• UNAMIR (1993 - 1996)
o Failure in Somalia affected actions in Rwanda.
o After the killing of 10 peacekeepers in 1994, Belgium wanted to pull its forces, believing that there was no peace to keep and its members were in danger for no reason.
o Other states followed suit because of “unacceptable” risk.
o UNSC reduced presence in the region
o They were therefore unable to prevent the genocide from taking place.
o For approximately 100 days, or more, from the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana on April 6 through mid-July, at least 500,000 people were killed
o The situation proved too "risky" for the United Nations to attempt to help. The UN-mandated French-led force, under Operation Turquoise, established and maintained a "safe zone" for Hutu refugees to flee to in the southwest. Eventually, after the UN Mandate of the French mission was at an end, millions of refugees left Rwanda, mainly headed to Zaire (Now the Democratic Republic of Congo).
o The UN's mandate forbids intervening in the internal politics of any country unless the crime of genocide is being committed. France has been accused of aiding the Hutu regime to flee. Despite emphatic demands from UNAMIR's commanders in Rwanda before and throughout the genocide, its requests for authorization to end it were refused and its intervention-capacity was even reduced.

5. Common characteristics
• Features: While each UN peacekeeping operation is unique, there are some common features
o All are required the consent of parties involved in a dispute
o None can be unilaterally imposed or from outside; they have to be invited by host country
o None are involved military enforcement measures or coercive actions, except in the very limited context of self-defence or defence of civilian populations
o All involved in the deployment in the field (military/civilian) are made available to the Secretary-General by governments
o All are under the operational command of the Secretary General of the UN
• All are deployed to help control and resolve international conflicts, or increasingly, internal conflicts having an international dimension.

Problems:

On the part of UN peacekeeping forces
o ____________________: Peacekeepers being drawn from various countries commonly faced the difficulty of cooperating together resulting in problems of coordination, communication and commitment.
o _____________________: Peacekeepers are also faced with the difficulty of carrying out their missions if there were insufficient resources in terms of arms, numbers or even training. This is especially so whenever developing countries contribute peacekeeping troops
o ___________________________: Although Article 43 provided for a permanent standing force, it was never set up. Very often, the UNSG has to persuade countries to contribute troops for peacekeeping missions. This often delays the set up, and by the time it is assembled, the conflict situation might have taken a turn for the worse.
o ____________________: According to Article 2(4), peacekeeping forces are supposed not to take sides in the conflict, but this was not always the case especially during the Cold War.

On the part of UN organization
o Financial constraints of member states: Upkeep of peacekeeping forces is expensive. From 1948 to 2005, cost of supporting peacekeeping operations is about US$36 billion. Article 17 states that the expenses by UN should be borne by member states and this include peacekeeping expenses apart from the regular ones. However, the peacekeeping forces suffer from financial resources because of:
 Accumulation of unpaid contributions: E.g. by 1986, only 19/150 countries paid their contributions in full that includes those from
 Developing countries: They make up ¾ of GA members and the country’s huge demands often affects their payment abilities.
 Developed countries: Rich countries at times withhold or delay payment for various reasons.
 An example: The US delayed payments because many developing countries were anti-US for they felt that the US was not doing enough to help the poorer countries. Moreover the US economy was not doing well e.g. in 1980s, US suffered twin deficit – budget and trade i.e. spend more than it received, especially deriving from the trade imbalance with Japan. US was also unhappy with the UN and wanted weighted vote instead of single vote.
 Lack of enforcement on members in arrears: Article 19, which spelt out penalty for late payment via deprivation of voting rights were not strictly implemented.
 Bureaucracy and mismanagement: The increased size of the organization created red tape resulting in duplication of duties, having staff in excess and hiring of costly consultants. There was also instances of corruption and embezzlement, all of which serves to drain monies away from peacekeeping efforts
o Constrained roles of UN organs: In particular, the Secretary General which according to Article 99 could only bring to the attention of the UNSC potential threats to peace and secretary, and the UNSC decisions are very much influenced by their own national interests

On the part of host countries
o Intervention and termination is dependent on host country: Article 2(7) is designed to protect sovereignty of countries but host’s decision vis-à-vis peacekeeping efforts could hinder peace efforts e.g. UNEF1 was stationed after the Suez crisis, but U Thant’s acceded to Nasser’s call for withdrawal in 1967, the result was the 6 Day War.
o Lack of political will by warring countries to solve conflicts: Such conflicts often involved parties/groups of competing interests and they may be less keen to seek international solutions to end conflicts as it could be jeopardizing their own vest positions of power and authority.

5. UN’s role in promoting peace

5.1 How does UN promote peace?
• Provide alternative to war solution: As a center for diplomacy and debate, it provides an alternative to war, a framework for the peaceful settlement of disputes. In times of
international crisis, the UN works to ease tensions and facilitates negotiations. It is a rally point for those who try to prevent or stop armed conflicts.
• Use of wide range of peace instruments: The UN promotes peace through a wide range of its activities: UN promotes peace through its efforts to protect human rights, through its peacekeeping operations and through work in developing a growing body of international law. It undertakes preventive diplomacy to stop conflicts before they get started. It provides electoral assistance and support democratization process. In promoting economic and social developments, the UN helps to sustain peace by working to eliminate deep-seated causes of war. Alongside the rest of the UN family of organizations, the UN provides humanitarian assistance, repatriates refugees and helps repair national infrastructure and promotes reconstruction.

5.2 Why can’t UN impose peace?
• Unable to impose peace by force: It is not a world government. It has no standing army and no military assets. It is not an international police force. The effectiveness of the UN depends on the Member States, which decides if, when and how the UN takes action to end conflict.
• UN organs use peaceful means to maintaining peace and security:
o The UNSC: Has this special responsibility for maintaining peace and security. It can exert diplomatic and political pressure on the parties to a conflict or provide means for settling dispute e.g. using fact-finding or mediation missions.
o The GA: Can bring the power of world opinion to bear on the warring parties
o The SG: Can lead in negotiations and bring an end to fighting
o The peacekeeping forces: Once a truce is in place, the UNSC may deploy a peacekeeping operation to help parties carry out their agreements
• UN organs use stronger means to enforce peace and security:
• The UNSC: If persuasion fails, the UNSC can take stronger actions e.g. imposing economic sanctions, declaring a trade embargo or use armed force. It may also establish international tribunals to try persons accused of war crimes as it had done in the case of Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. On some occasions, the UNSC has authorized member states to use ‘all necessary means’ including armed force to deal with armed conflict e.g. Kuwait in 1991.

5.3 Who establishes peacekeeping operations? The role of UNSC
• Establishes peacekeeping operations, where decisions are subject to veto by the 5 permanent members.
• Determines the mandate, size, scope and duration of an operation based on recommendations, including financial information provided by the UNSG. The UNGA votes on the operations budget.
• Determines peacekeepers’ duties according to the requirement of each situation. Peacekeepers may observe ceasefire, establish a buffer zone, help former opponents carry out a peace agreement, protect the delivery of humanitarian aid, assist with the demobilization of former fighters and their return to normal life, set up mine clearance programmes, supervise or conduct elections, train civilian police and monitor respect for human rights.
• Permits troops who serve in a UN operation to carry light arms for use only according to strict rules of self defence or when an armed party attempts to prevent them from
Carrying out their mandate. However force is rarely used as it often involves difficult choices and is controversial.

5.4 Who commands the UN peacekeeping operations
• UNSC is in charge of the peacekeeping functions of the operation. The UNSG, with the agreement of the UNSC appoints a Head of Mission and a Force Commander or Chief Military Observer. The Head of Mission/Force Commander/Chief Military Observer reports to the UNSG, who in turn reports to the UNSC.
• Government volunteers military and civilian police personnel to peacekeeping operations on a case-by-case basis. Each government retains ultimate control over its own personnel. A national contingent serves under its own commanding officer. All uniformed personnel wear their national uniform. They are identified as UN peacekeepers by a UN blue helmet or beret and a UN badge.

5.5 What is UN doing to make peacekeeping more efficient?
• Provide more resources for peacekeeping efforts: By late 1998, 80 member states had officially expressed their willingness to enter into standby arrangements with the UN. 61 of these had specified the resources they could make available if they decided to participate in an operation and 20 had singed standby agreements. Within this framework, a group of member states has established a Standby Force High Readiness Brigade to enhance the capacity of their troops to serve together in a peacekeeping context.
• Better communication infrastructure: At the UN Headquarters in New York, the Situation Centre provides 24 hour link with all peacekeeping operations. In Brindisi in Italy, the UN’s supply and storage depot improves storage and maintenance of reusable assets, saves money in procurement costs and facilitates faster deployment of new operations.